Secular Charlotte Mason
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Do you see a need for a high school specific yahoo group for secular CMers?
| Posted on February 9, 2011 at 1:44 PM |
I've been thinking about this for quite a while now and even started a discussion on the topic over on the SecularCM yahoo group. At the time the general consensus was that it is best to not have secular CM yahoo groups for each of the three stages since that would divide an already small population of homeschoolers.
After doing high school for the last 2 years I am rethinking this because I do think there is a need for a specifically secular CM high school group. The issues we run into are so very different than the issues we ran into with our younger kids. I am on CM high school groups like House of Education but their approach is based on Ambleside Online and it just isn't providing me with the resources, ideas and support that I need as a secular CMer. I tried starting conversations on my forum specifically for HS but we just don't have enough activity on the forum to make it worthwhile. I know there are bloggers who write about this topic, but honestly, I tend to follow blogs only of people I know in person or are online "penpals" with so that isn't the best option for me.
Even though I know this is not true, I sometimes feel like I am the only one trying to incorporate more secular CM into the high school years. Even researching Ms. Mason herself is not providing me with the support I need since she tended to write more for the younger years and what she did write about HS seems geared more for her schools than for her governesses which is harder to translate into a homeschool setting.
So, my question for you all is:
Do you see a need for a high school specific yahoo group for secular CMers? I would love to hear your comments here, on the Secular Charlotte Mason page or via email.
Categories: Observations About a Charlotte Mason Education, High School/Rhetoric Stage
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8 Comments
As my boys are mid-way through 7th grade, and even though I know that middle school is still different from high school, I would almost say maybe we could open the group up to 7th-12th grades. Teaching/homeschooling these grades, even the 7th and 8th grades, is so much different from homeschooling the elementary grades. I am finding the middle grades hard to balance between not going overboard and thinking they are already in high school, but still trying to raise expectations and work level beyond that of elementary school and at the same time, give them more say in what and how they study so that they are a more active participant in their education.
If we can round up a dozen people I am willing to start one as I have less and less time to wade through conversations and research on the younger years. I've been there, done that, know what to do. It's the high school years that I am needing support for.
Carri Ann says...
the main focus seems to be on taking tests and getting into college - with little discussion or acknowledgement that there are other paths or ways to do things.
Exactly! And even though I hope that the boys go to college, there is more than one way to get there, and jumping through all of the testing and the highly-competitive admissions process is not the path I see my boys taking - at least not at this time. I would rather they use the high school years to dable in a wide variety of interests and learn what they are passionate about instead of having to march lock-step with everyone else with the only focus on college admissions.
secularcm says...
If we can round up a dozen people I am willing to start one
Gina - I forwarded your blog post to a friend of mine from the Basically Beechick Yahoo Group who has a 13 yo son and a 17 yo son, both with learning challenges and both for whom they use a lot of living books and narrations. We need to get the word out so people will join!
Which do you think is better a yahoo group or one of the new interactive facebook pages? I'm willing to do either, or both.
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