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Can we get real?
I really appreciate when other real parents allow me to share their stories. Recently Lois contacted me about this blog post: Our Community College Stories. Here is the story that Lois has allowed me to share about her daughter.
Sometimes as homeschool parents we panic, and wonder if the grass is greener in another school or classroom. Sometimes other classes ARE good. But you know what? Sometimes your homeschool classes are great too! The grass is NOT greener on the other side.
If you would like some encouragement on facing high school physics, please see my YouTube tip here: Teaching Physics in Homeschool
For more information and stories about Community College read my article here: Facing the Community College Fad
I would love for you to share your stories about community college too! Please leave a comment and let me know your opinion.
Subscribe to my YouTube channel. You’ll get notified when I create new videos on homeschool high school topics!
Interesting Lee. One area my daughter did well in was in our local Community College.
Our successful method was — talking to students about the professors; getting recommendations about them in conjunction with RateMyProfessor.com. I found the latter to be highly accurate.
One course was full already because it was known she was excellent.I emailed to ask if she would take one more student as I heard she was excellent, and not an easy A. My daughter couldn't take an easy A course as writing was related to her career choice and she needed to develop in that area. So I told this prof that and she let one more in. By the end, she was impressed with my daughter's above average writing skills and helpful critiques on other students work the she offered this glowing letter for colleges and scholarships as well as signatures to enter the Scholastic Writing Contest.
My daughter had one bad experience, but it was incompetence by the teacher not an affront to our values. An abstract expressionist was teaching a classical drawing class (Representational art aka realism) and she felt like she didn't learn what she wanted since she chose the course based on the description. It was the one teacher we were not able to bet any information on before enrolling.
Did you know some local public schools will allow a homeschooler to enroll for one or two classes only? Well, I did that for Physics because I couldn't deliver that let alone supervise it. Nor did I have a lab. I could not find a tutor for it either. I did not think my daughter would do well using Virtual School Online as she needed a person when there was any math being done.
However, that turned out to be a horrific class. Most of the kids got Fs during the year, the teacher could not lecture well at all and spent most of his time talking about his stint in Vietnam. He was in his 70's. She however, got 95's because she was a good reader and it turned out she learned most of it on her own reading the book and using You Tube for some real world demonstrations. But the other kids learned hardly anything, but in the end he gave them As and Bs to pass them. Just terrible.
She at least got to see what a public school was like and her other peers. She thought a lot of them were unethical. Cheating and forging parental signatures even. She never was in a school with a bell system either and her reaction to that was pretty funny when the bells went off. So she got some exposure to public school.
Anyhow, hope my tips can help you or anyone out about how to use your CC. BTW I taught as an adjunct at the college level in the past.
Lois
Sometimes as homeschool parents we panic, and wonder if the grass is greener in another school or classroom. Sometimes other classes ARE good. But you know what? Sometimes your homeschool classes are great too! The grass is NOT greener on the other side.
If you would like some encouragement on facing high school physics, please see my YouTube tip here: Teaching Physics in Homeschool
For more information and stories about Community College read my article here: Facing the Community College Fad
I would love for you to share your stories about community college too! Please leave a comment and let me know your opinion.
Subscribe to my YouTube channel. You’ll get notified when I create new videos on homeschool high school topics!
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208 N Western St.
Amarillo, TX 79106
Phone: 1-888-533-2435
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday: 9.00 am to 03:00 pm (PST)
Amarillo, TX 79106
Phone: 1-888-533-2435
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday: 9.00 am to 03:00 pm (PST)
Comments 4
OK - just tried out a French "little kid" book by Edouard Manceau. These are great once you get used to the cursive writing. Tiny, short stories that are funny to boot.
Actually four ideas, but two of them we've implemented for quite some time.
The first idea is when we learn a rule of grammar, I put it on a flashcard. We drill daily with the flash cards. This helps considerably because there are so many rules in French where "this applies like this in most cases, but in these cases, you do these other things." As a continuing education teacher once told me, "This is French. Just roll with it!"
The second idea we've done infrequently and could probably benefit from doing more of - watch a familiar movie in French. Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" is fantastic because most of the original cast did the French. But be forewarned - I've yet to see a movie where the people who did the subtitles coordinated well with the actors. The actors speak colloquially, and the subtitles are always rather stilted and bookish.
The third idea is one we've implemented in the last couple of weeks is easy readers in French from the library. We've started out with the "Oui-Oui" books, which are a little more advanced than what I'd recommend for those just starting out (we've played with French informally for a few years). If we were just now starting, I'd go for very simple picture books you'd read to a toddler. Your librarian can help you find such books. This way we get to see French as a living language.
The fourth idea we haven't implemented yet. Stick labels on everything around the house. You can get labels that have just the right amount of adhesive to stick to things but won't be a pain to remove later. Tape a list of vocabulary words on your window for the things you see outside - trees, birds, squirrels, hills, etc. Wouldn't it be easier to practice the language if you could talk about something that is actually relevant to your current whereabouts and state of being? I don't always want to talk about sports or my luggage, LOL.
Joelle! Don't leave us hanging! What are your great ideas for French? I've got to know!
Blessings,
Lee
Hoo boy... And I thought my generation was bad! Well, maybe these kids aren't any worse, but at least the teachers were for the most part competent and didn't hesitate to send kids to detention or flunk 'em, LOL.
I admit I was tempted to put my kiddo in to a public school French class, but then I had a couple of brainstorms. One of the new ideas has helped us considerably. The other I have yet to implement, but it'll be fun.