My Little Sister

Pre-College Issues Home Schooling and College
1

<p>I don't know if this is necessarily supposed to be in Home Schooling, as she is in public High School during the day, but I've been teaching her on my own at home in subjects she has yet had available in High School (and won't until college).
She's told me about how her easy classes are, and she's maintaining high 90s (around 95-99) in all of her classes. She says she's bored of school and wants a challenge, so I decided that maybe I could use her intelligence for her benefit.</p>

<p>She is in 9th grade, in an Accelerated Geometry class. However, at home, she is a Calculus and an A+ certification student. She's told me that she wants to major in Math and Computer Science, so, as a Math/CS major, myself, I felt obligated to help pass any and all knowledge I've gained down to her.</p>

<p>I was wondering, if anyone else here has an aspiring Computer Scientist, if the lesson plan I've made up is any good.
From what I've had planned (and what I am currently doing), on week days I'll teach her Calculus (9th grade), C++ programming (10th grade), Java programming (11th grade), and Data Structures (12th grade), and on week ends, I'll be preparing her for the A+ certification (9th), Network+ certification (10th), Security+ certification (11th), and LPI (Linux Professional Institute) Certification Level 1 (12th) exams.
(The certifications each have an average of a $40,000 yearly salary among people holding them, so I thought maybe if she had professional, technical certifications before entering college that she'd have a better chance of being noticed.)</p>

<p>Here are the texts (so far) that I am currently building the lesson plans on for her classes:
Calculus - "Calculus" by Gilbert Strang (MIT)
A+ Certification - "CompTIA A+ Complete Certification Kit" by Docter, Dulaney, Skandier, Pyles
C++ Programming - "Starting Out with C++: From Control Structures through Objects" - Tony Gaddis
Java Programming - "Starting Out with Java: From Control Structures through Objects" - Tony Gaddis
Data Structures - "Introduction to Algorithms" - Cormen</p>

<p>I know she can handle it. She's been absorbing the information that I've given her like a sponge, and it definitely sticks. Any time we go on to a new concept, she's alert and ready to take it all in, and she always does a really good job on the review problems I give at the end of the lecture (an example of one is from yesterday's chain rule lesson: the second derivative of tan(2x)). She even made an 89 on her first Calculus test, and that's on a test that made my Calculus 3 instructor call me a sadist (and he's known for his difficult tests). She's also been making basically perfect grades on the end-of-chapter assessments from the A+ certification book (we do 2 chapters a week: 1 Saturday, and 1 Sunday).</p>

<p>So, if anyone has any suggestions, I'm open for anything. This is for my sister's future, after all.</p>

2

<p>Sounds like a good plan, and she’s lucky to have you. It seems like a lot of work for you, though - how are you managing? Another possibility, depending on how much she likes her high school, is to bag it and start officially homeschooling. She could take classes at the local community college dual-enrollment with homeschool/high school so she wouldn’t jeopardize her ability to get accepted into four-year college when she’s ready to.</p>

<p>The A+ certifications would get her noticed in college, certainly, but she sounds pretty noticeable anyway. I’m not sure that those certifications are of much practical value unless she’s hoping to work in that as well. Feel free to PM me if you want to talk more.</p>

3

<p>I’m doing very well, actually (I got a 95 on my Linear Algebra test today :slight_smile: ). It’s not really hard (especially when you know very much how your student learns), and it’s very good experience. What I want to do, after getting my Master’s degrees in Math and Computer Science, is teach at the community college, so this is a win-win.</p>

<p>We are definitely planning for dual enrollment. She doesn’t want to leave her friends in High School, some she’s known since Kindergarten, and she can’t dual enroll until 11th grade (the High School won’t allow it), so we’re getting a head start in what she’ll be learning.
She definitely has an interest in building computers (or anything computer related, for that matter), so they’re good to have. And you, as a parent, definitely know that feeling of “I have to give (him/her) the best opportunities that I possibly can”. Well, I have that feeling, too, as her big brother. That’s why, even if she’s a very noticeable student already, it doesn’t hurt to give the universities that extra nudge in her direction. :D</p>

4

<p>You might want to check out this: [Programming</a> Contest](<a href=“http://www.uwp.edu/sws/usaco/]Programming”>http://www.uwp.edu/sws/usaco/)</p>

<p>It is a national (and international) programming competition. Anyone can participate. Mainly you can get some really good experience in programming.</p>

5

<p>Wherever you teach will be lucky to have you.</p>

6

<p>As long as she is happy, all is probably well. Just don’t assign or plan so much that she reaches an early burn out in a couple of years. There’s a lot to be said for having significant down time (relaxation time). IMO, way too many bright kids are go, go, go on the academics and almost need to be taught a totally non-related hobby to give their brain a much needed break/distraction. Otherwise, they go strong for a few years, then slip down hard into burnout. Try not to set her up for that. See to it that she enjoys time to swim/bike/chess/karate (or whatever appeals to her that isn’t related to academics or computers).</p>

<p>Should add that my bright son opted to ditch school, but keeping up with his friends wasn’t as important to him. He does stay up with kids his age via youth groups and chess club.</p>

7

<p>I already had that in mind. :slight_smile:
That’s why I make a point of canceling class whenever she has homework that can take awhile (not in difficulty, but busy work like a word search for 26 subject-related words without a word list) and helping her with that, instead, and giving her the day off. She has plenty of time to sit back and relax, play games (she’s addicted, by her own admission, to a game on her Nintendo DS called Professor Layton), and her class time is dependent on her. Some days we’re ahead, some days we’re a little behind. Right now, we’re a bit behind because we skipped a couple days in a row, but we should get back on schedule soon, and I’m only worried about how she feels rather than how much knowledge I can cram in her head.</p>

<p>She’s the only little sister I have, I definitely don’t want to make the mistake of putting too much on her plate. :)</p>