HIGH SCHOOL EDITION #2
By Heather Idoni
Added Monday, April 27, 2009
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The Homeschooler's Notebook
***SPECIAL SERIES - High School Homeschooling***
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Vol. 10 No 33 April 27, 2009
ISSN: 1536-2035
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Copyright (c) 2009 - Heather Idoni, FamilyClassroom.net
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Welcome to the Homeschooler's Notebook!
If you like this newsletter, please recommend it to a friend!
And please visit our sponsors! They make it possible.
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IN THIS ISSUE:
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Guest Article
-- Writing for a New Generation
High School Answers
-- Readers' High School Hindsight
Winning Website
-- Interactive Chemistry
Reader Question
-- 'Less Traditional' High School?
Additional Notes
-- Newsletter Archives
-- Sponsorship Information
-- Reprint Information
-- Subscriber Information
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Guest Article
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[Editor's Note: Some of the links in the following article may not
necessary be suited for all readers' families. Review and utilize at
your own discretion.]
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Writing for a New Generation
by Kerry Jones
---
Can you see the writing on the wall? Several major newspapers have
folded in the last year due to lower subscription rates and the
proliferation of online news sources. Even cable news outlets have
regular segments where they check in with blogs and Twitter for
up-to-the-minute information on breaking stories. And with devices
such as Amazon's Kindle selling so quickly that that customers with
backorders are looking at months, not weeks, to wait until they are
restocked, we can assume that the willingness of people to receive
information digitally is more than just a passing phase.
While we as homeschooling parents have been shopping the curriculum
fairs for more information on six-trait writing and the perfect
paragraph, our kids have been busy devouring a whole new world of
writing that has very little to do with anything we were instructed
about in our college English courses. Blogs and microblogs have
overtaken the traditional essay as the way to communicate information.
Wikis have created a new way of thinking about what is true and
accurate, and have created an entirely new collaborative writing
experience. Chat rooms, texting, instant messengers and forums have
created a world where waiting to find out what you want to know seems
laughable.
As difficult as it is to let go of the old, and embrace the new, we
would be doing our children a disservice by not preparing them for
this new paradigm shift. If it makes you nervous, then don't think
of it as 'high tech', but rather 'forward thinking'. Where traditional
writing focused on organization, word choice, and voice, writing for
today's media emphasizes content, compactness, and conversational
tone. Although I haven't yet discovered a writing curriculum that
adequately addresses how to help your student make the shift toward
writing for this new age, I have discovered some helpful online tools
and websites that can help them at least get their feet wet in the
digital pool.
-- Plinky is a fun and interactive writing website that provides a
new prompt, question, or challenge each day for you to respond to.
What makes this different from most other writing prompt resources
is that it adds a social aspect to the process because members can
read other responses to the same prompt and even comment on them.
And your answers can also be quickly exported to your favorite social
networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and major blog hosts.
http://www.plinky.com/prompts
-- LiveJournal is part blog/part journal/part social network. What
you want to be private, can be. What you want to share with the
world, you share. And by connecting with friends' accounts, you
can keep up with whatever they are writing about as well. This is
a must-have link for any reluctant writer of middle school or higher
age in your household.
-- Almost any popular form of media you experience today is probably
the result of some sort of collaborative effort along the way. Film,
television, radio, and web productions are almost never created in
isolation. That is why it is important for today's young writers to
experience what it means to take part in a group project. This might
seem difficult for homeschoolers, but thanks to an innovative new
website called Glypho, it is now easy to do. Glypho is a fun way for
kids and teens to work together to create a novel by adding chapters
to other peoples creations, or starting a work of your own and seeing
what someone else envisions for it.
-- For teens who have the blog bug, but aren't sure where to begin,
BlogWritingCourse.com offers an eight week complete introduction to
blogging, called Blogging 101. By the end of the course, new bloggers
have a complete blog of their own including a custom header, sidebar
widgets, and an extensive understanding of everything from tags to
blogging safety.
-- Phoneku is just as high-tech as it sounds, but with an educational
twist. Poetry 160 is a movement that has been growing in both Europe
and the Americas for several years now. It is a form of poetry
written in text-message style within the confines of the standard
160 character limit of most SMS systems. There have been many text
message poetry competitions held worldwide. Now there is a whole
website designed for texters to try their hand at this fun, creative,
and 'connected' way of expressing themselves.
So what if you are willing to accept that your son or daughter is
captivated by the fast paced world of digital media, but you aren't
quite ready to let go of the traditional conventions of 'good writing'?
One compromise might be to sign them up for an online writing course,
like the ones offered by Time4Writing. Your homeschooler gets access
to the latest technology in education, while you relax in the fact
that a certified writing teacher is providing one-on-one instruction
in everything from basic writing mechanics to SAT essay preparation.
Although our instinct as parents is often to resist change --
especially if we don't quite have a grasp on what it means for our
children -- the truth is that the digital age isn't just a passing
phase. We can either bury our heads in the sand and continue
pretending that erasers are better than spell checkers, or try to
embrace the new trends in writing and help prepare our children for
the inevitable -- a whole new way of thinking about writing.
---
Kerry Jones is a freelance writer and online marketing consultant in
North Carolina. She has two sons, and has been homeschooling since
1999. She writes a blog about her adventures homeschooling with
technology which you can check out at http://topsytechie.wordpress.com
and she teaches an online blogging course for new bloggers at
http://www.blogwritingcourse.com/ You can also visit her webpage at
http://homepage.topsy-techie.com-a.googlepages.com/ to read more of
her articles about homeschooling in the digital age.
---
Do you have comments to share? Please do!
Send your emails to: mailto:heather@familyclassroom.net
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High School Answers
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Each issue in this section I will share a few of our readers'
responses to a question. Currently our question is:
"For those who have graduated at least one child/student, what is
is the single most important thing you wish you had known before
you began the high school years?"
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"Not to wait til high school! My daughter wrote a book called 'The
Homeschooler's Guide to Preparing for College' precisely because
there were things we coulda, shoulda, woulda done if we only had
known! She ended up being accepted to Vanderbilt University but it
coulda, shoulda, woulda been a whole bunch easier and more relaxed
had we known about these opportunities before she started high school.
She would have had more time to plan and to execute these things.
She would have had more time to study and plan and we wouldn't have
had as much last minute running around! We also wouldn't have spent
a small fortune on college prep books that weren't worth it."
If you are interested, her book can be found here:
http://artofeloquence.com/catalog.php?item=45&ret=index.php
-- JoJo Tabares
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"There are MANY things I wish I'd known about high school home
school before treading those waters! But with two now successfully
navigating the waters of college and paying NOTHING for it in 'out
of pocket' dollars, I'd capsulate it into ONE idea and say DON'T BE
AFRAID TO BE YOUR CHILD'S ADVOCATE! Learn all you can about how to
prepare your child for college, both academically and economically...
and then keep learning. Begin early -- because some scholarships
are granted early in the senior year of high school that can never
be achieved later. Even if your child decides not to pursue college,
the clock cannot be turned back for many scholarships if he DOES
want to go to college. You've lost nothing in preparing him, but
have lost THOUSANDS if he does and was not prepared. Don't assume
you have to teach your child everything, but teach him how to LEARN
from everything! Focus on his natural, God-given talents, abilities,
and passions... but don't let those become an excuse for negligence
on other ESSENTIAL life-skills subjects. Learn to direct other
subjects INTO his natural passions. Think 'outside the box' on how
he has done some extraordinary things, not in textbooks. Record
those with GRADES as well as 'extra curricular' interests. You can
boost your child's GPA (thus enabling him for better scholarship
competition) by merely serving as his ADVOCATE as you record how his
'special interests' met requirements for certain subjects. He has
probably done 'hard things' above and beyond the level of requirements.
Be sure to reflect honors credit in those subjects where it is
acceptable and record details in his portfolio that represent his
leadership, initiative, and critical thinking. In completing
applications for employment or college scholarships, focus on FACTS
that represent his CHARACTER and ACHIEVEMENT. As a family on one
income with five children, we knew we could not afford college for
our children. Thus, my 'job' has been to be my children's advocate
at home and abroad, helping them achieve a college education by
EARNING it with their character and achievement. No one else knows
your child like you do. Don't be afraid to represent him as you
know him and let others see the potential from which they can benefit
as well -- as employers and institutions of higher learning! Your
child can help THEM -- but you will need to help them see that on
paper as well as in the character you have helped develop in your
child." -- Crystal in SC
---
"We have graduated one child (still have two to go). I wish I hadn't
worried so much about SAT/ACT scores. First of all, my daughter is
going to junior (community) college, and these scores become obsolete
after 28 units. We don't qualify for government grants, so the scores
are unnecessary. Her grade point average (which is verified on her
transcript) is what has gotten her financial aid on the local level
(from the college and a small private scholarship). So, concentrating
on being a good student with her required curriculum was the important
area, not how she did on the big tests. The study skills she developed
as a homeschooler are helping her maintain a good grade point average
at junior college, which helps her continue to receive her scholarships.
This will help her receive financial help when she transfers to a four
year Christian college. I know that excellent SAT/ACT scores can help
students get government aid if their families qualify, but since we
didn't, and she only did average on these tests, it was a lot of
unnecessary pressure." -- Kathy in CA
---
Do you have a high school tip or some experience to share? Please do!
Send your email to: mailto:HN-answers@familyclassroom.net
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Winning Website
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Dynamic Periodic Table of Elements
http://www.ptable.com
This amazing page has the periodic table in an interactive set-up you
just have to use to believe! Select "videos" from the drop-down menu
tab on the left and suddenly the chart links to videos on the individual
elements -- and they are FUN to watch videos. I wish I had something
like this when I was studying chemistry in high school! Try out all the
different bells and whistles... a great way to learn your elements.
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Last Issue's Reader Question
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"I am wondering if there are any out there who have successfully
homeschooled (or who are right now) a high schooler, but doing it
in a less traditional way. Most of the advice I hear is oriented
very much toward a traditional academic 'school' approach, and I
am curious as to how a more hands-on or 'life learning' approach
might look in high school. Is it even possible? How does one then
earn a diploma?" -- Lisa W.
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Our Readers' Responses
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"Yes, you can homeschool a high schooler in a less traditional way.
A great resource is a book called 'Senior High: A Home-Designed
Form+U+La', by Barbara Edtl Shelton. She lays out how you can turn
anything into an education credit by being organized, making up
forms, and laying out what is required in order to earn a certain
grade in that subject. She also shows you how to create a transcript.
Once your student has completed the course of study that you require
them to do through high school, you can issue a diploma. A great
site to design your own is www.homeschooldiploma.com -- Have a great
venture!"
Senior High: A Home-Designed Form+U+La
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1887639098?ie=UTF8&tag=hsaudio-20
---
"Lisa -- We did a mix of traditional and non traditional stuff for
highschool with a lot of hands on learning, work experience, field
trips, and participation in small, but great co-ops. One of my
favorite tools was the Unschoolers Network High School Curriculum
Guide -- www.unschoolersnetwork.bravehost.com It outlined what
needed to be covered and gave interesting ideas, required subject
areas, etc. It is very unschooler friendly, as the author was a
tried and true unschooler. We also got our diplomas through the
Network's diploma/transcript program. These were accepted with no
problem anywhere the kids needed them.
All three kids finished 'high school' in three years, due to a lot
of high school level kinds of projects they'd done in junior high
that counted on their transcripts. (They went on to take classes
at the local community college and did well, much to my extended
family's surprise.) I used a lot of this and that, unit studies,
and kept my focus on encouraging them to pursue interests, enjoy
reading, be good communicators, know the necessary math, and provided
them with resources to help them learn and be independent adults.
If I had to do it over again, I would concentrate a little more on
essay writing, whether or not they wanted to go on to college. I
would also add more volunteer work. Two finished college; the other
did not, but has a year's worth of credits and works as a freelance
graphic designer. The other two work somewhat in their fields of
study. Be encouraged -- they can make it through highschool just
fine!" -- Karen Lange, http://www.karenlange.bravehost.com/
---
"I can’t say enough about Barb Shelton's Highschool Form-U-La book.
I was homeschooled and I WISHED my mom would have used this book.
It shows you how to make sure your kids gets credits for highschool
(if that's important to you), but it is based upon the teen's
interests, so that you do get credit for it. You can do it with
ANY subject matter and design it with your highschooler." -- Annie
Senior High: A Home-Designed Form+U+La
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1887639098?ie=UTF8&tag=hsaudio-20
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Answer our NEW Question
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"I've been homeschooling for many, many years. I love my children
and what I do, but I am tired. I know God has given me this wonderful
opportunity but I've never felt up to the task. Can you give me some
suggestions for putting new wind in my sails and the children's?
Every time I see a book now -- or know I have to tackle another
'learning issue' -- I get a knot in my stomach." -- J.S.
---
Do you have some encouragement and/or practical advice for J.S.?
Please send your answer to: mailto:HN-answers@familyclassroom.net
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Ask YOUR Question
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Do you have a question you would like our readers to answer?
Send it to mailto:HN-questions@familyclassroom.net and we'll see
if we can help you out in a future issue!
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