Catholic Info
Traditional Catholic Faith => Catholic Living in the Modern World => Topic started by: Miseremini on November 19, 2025, 01:51:54 PM
-
Any thoughts from homeschoolers?
https://ca.style.yahoo.com/unschooling-movement-going-viral-people-023103056.html
-
Any thoughts from homeschoolers?
https://ca.style.yahoo.com/unschooling-movement-going-viral-people-023103056.html
It wouldn't be allowed in many states. Such states require, among other things, a minimum number of days of instruction, following (to a greater or lesser extent depending on the state) traditional core subjects such as English, math, and science, with records kept of what is studied, and many states require standardized testing. It would have to be an awfully education-rich household for such things to be imparted organically without some sort of plan.
For some unknown reason, my son was reading, and understanding what he read, before he turned three years old. One day, without prompting, he was reading aloud, of all things, the safety label on a set of gas burners for our fireplace (it's not connected to propane and we've never used it). Another time, he had a set of wooden letters laid out on the floor and, again, without prompting, spelled... "Quebec". He's never had the slightest problem reading anything that is put in front of him, and he has always been a prodigious writer. I mention this because, I suppose, a child could self-educate organically, but such education would inevitably have gaps, some of them crucial ones.
As to record-keeping and curriculum, I created a plan that fulfilled all of our state's requirements, and graded in accord with state standards. My son's quarterly grade reports and high school transcript (both of which I designed myself) are indistinguishable from those of a public or private day school, you would have to be told that it is from a home school. I couldn't find any record-keeping tools on the market that did what I wanted to them to do, so I just made my own using a spreadsheet program. Again, you would have to be told.
-
That article actually sums up my thoughts pretty well. The writer did a good job of covering the pros and cons. I like the lady that reached the compromise of structure where it matters most (imo, that would be religion, math, language arts) and then unschooling for the rest. What the article didn't address well is the difference between unschooling an elementary student vs. a high school student. I think the former is much easier to navigate successfully than the latter.
-
As to record-keeping and curriculum, I created a plan that fulfilled all of our state's requirements, and graded in accord with state standards. My son's quarterly grade reports and high school transcript (both of which I designed myself) are indistinguishable from those of a public or private day school, you would have to be told that it is from a home school. I couldn't find any record-keeping tools on the market that did what I wanted to them to do, so I just made my own using a spreadsheet program. Again, you would have to be told.
I've read that you should make your transcript clear that it's a homeschool so as to avoid the thought that it might be from a diploma mill.
-
I've read that you should make your transcript clear that it's a homeschool so as to avoid the thought that it might be from a diploma mill.
I have a portfolio comprised of each quarterly grade report (16 in all for the four-year high school portion) in which, in addition to the letter and percentage grades for each class, I also have a comments section with a recap of all material covered during the quarter for each class. This can be furnished upon request, for anyone who would have a need to see more detailed information. This would quickly dispel any notions of the transcript being from a diploma mill.
-
I rejected unschooling because it doesn't follow the time-tested trivium method of learning. I used my state's high school graduation requirements to design the program and made sure all criteria were met. Everything else was an elective and my kids all graduated with 22+ extra credits. And started college/trade school early.