We have chosen to homeschool High School!
This is a rather big deal for us. If you would have asked me all those years ago when we started to homeschool if we would homeschool high school as well I would have told you that is a bridge we will cross when we come to it. We try to keep an open mind and willingness to adapt with our children’s growing needs. It is time though to plan for our oldest daughter who is now 13 and currently in 7th grade. (waldorf grades are a year behind public)
But 8th grade isn’t high school? It isn’t generally but because we would like her to graduate from an official program to make college an easier step we want to get her into a program for 8th grade so she can get her feet wet, get used to dealing with teachers who are not her parents, and classes that are not fully formed around her.
We picked an online high school that looks perfect for her, or as perfect for her as we could home given we will not be the ones in charge of her education as fully then as we are now. She will have online classes with other student, live, and will have projects with other students as well. They have online social events and it all looks like something I would have loved at her age. But will she love it?
I talked to her about her options for high school and she thinks this will be a great fit, she is nervous of course. She knows she can go to dances with local homeschool groups and has her local friends to hang out with as well, both homeschooled and not. She isn’t used to strict deadlines though and really values how flexible her life is right now. While she might get a flexible job when she is older, chances are she will have deadlines beyond her control and meeting them is a skill she should master now before college. Why not normal public high school though? Many home school students seem to jump ship as they say to go. Mostly it is due to the lack of morals and respect both by students and at students that is a prime concern for our daughter and ourselves not to mention moving a few times in the next few years and throwing school into chaos.
So now then asked if we are going to homeschool high school I can say yes, at least for now, that is the plan for our oldest daughter. It could change! She could suddenly find a need to be public schooled. I don’t think so though. I think we have found a path and a school that will work great and if it doesn’t, at least we have time before 9th grade to figure it out!
You can do it@@@ I have one graduate, and currently a senior and freshman. I didn’t homeschool them just to hand them over to the public school system to get the credit at the end 😉
If I had kids this would be a tough one for me. I mean schools do have a lot going one that you wan to keep your kids from, but as someone that was put in homeschool going into the 6th grade. I know a lot of jobs out there look down on it. makes it harder to find work.
Oh goodness, I have never heard of this issue with jobs and homeschoolers! Can I ask what college and degree and field of work you went into that gave you such trouble? I have read the opposite is true about colleges and employers, that they like to hire homeschoolers as homeschoolers tend to be self motivated, leaders, and innovators. Just because that is what I have heard and read though does not mean it is true for everyone, or across the board and certainly ever side needs to be considered.
I am guessing she is referring to a home school diploma rather than a GED or diploma issued from an accredited high school. I earned my high school diploma at home from a correspondence high school and never had any trouble getting a job or getting into college. I think a lot of colleges are also much more home school friendly now than they were even 5-10 years ago.