Online high schools recommended by Calvert
I hope you can open this file. This is a list of high schools that homeschoolers can potentially use. Calvert sent this to me a year or two ago, so I thought I’d share it here. Of note, Calvert will be offering high schools classes beginning in the fall of 2014. I’m looking forward to seeing their class descriptions and how much they intend to charge. I’m already staring at 4 different grade levels to pay for this fall-ugh…
http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/20253169/2064306278/name/High%20School%20Chart%202011.pdf
My spring break reading
Spring break approaches for us. We will continue studies but in a different environment.
I’ve just ordered these 2 books from the library for personal reading: The Price of Privilege and Teach Your Children Well by Dr. Madeline Levine. It’s a real challenge for me as a parent trying to balance the craziness of raising our kids in this competitive environment and wanting to just enjoy them and our life experiences together. Looking forward to hearing what Dr. Levine’s approach to it all is. I’ll be interested to see if she comments on family values and faith, as well.
http://www.amazon.com/Teach-Your-Children-Well-Parenting/dp/0061824747
http://www.amazon.com/The-Price-Privilege-Generation-Disconnected/dp/0060595841/ref=pd_sim_b_4
Here’s a statement from The Price of Privilege:
“The various elements of a perfect storm—materialism, pressure to achieve, perfectionism, disconnection—are combining to create a crisis in America’s culture of affluence. This culture is as unmanageable for parents—mothers in particular—as it is for their children. While many privileged kids project confidence and know how to make a good impression, alarming numbers lack the basic foundation of psychological development: an authentic sense of self. Even parents often miss the signs of significant emotional problems in their “star” children.”
Coursera and others to revolutionize education as we know it
Many elite universities are jumping on board offering free online classes. Corsera is one company providing a way for outsiders to attend classes at these prestigious universities without ever leaving the comfort of their home. Education should look very different in just a few years, maybe sooner.
Copycat-sort of
I am constantly studying what programs are out there for kids. I’ve recently been reviewing Hopkins gifted program to see what their curricula offers. No, my kids were not doing performing long division at the age of 3. Still, why not offer things in our home studies that an expensive, elite program might offer even if it’s altered? It certainly can’t hurt. It just takes some effort on my part. For example, I was looking over their various book lists in their LA programs. I added these book lists to the kids’ already existing book of book list. Then, I went to the library and obtained a few of them for my oldest child to potentially read and let me review what the CTY students are being exposed to. I can’t mimic their actual online literary discussion, but I can at least do this much, and it’s free! There’s also another CTY class on inventions, so I checked out the DK Eyewitness book “Inventions” from the library. My thought was that I’ll look through the book with my kids, and then have them start keeping a log of their ideas that could possibly be turned into inventions. Again, it’s not CTY, but it might be worthy of the attempted copycat effort. This is what I do with some of my free time. Am I nutty? Yeah, probably a little bit…
Peter Thiel’s views on the future/independent colony off of CA
I’ve discussed the evolving face of education before in earlier posts, but I guess I’m just so fascinated with the way our future is changing as a result of technology that I keep reading more about the topic. And the change will have a massive effect on our children’s academic endeavors, their careers, and where they choose to live just to name a few. Remember the cartoon, “The Jetsons”? Is that where we’re headed? Will our kids even bother with the old school college model if they can harness their interests and turn them into careers? Are those running the elite, competitive universities cringing with the changes that are taking place or are they embracing them? So interesting..
How will technology change the traditional model of education?
Cyberspace is changing the how, when, and where of education for our kids. The alteration will undoubtedly revise the traditional model of education, possibly even the existence of universities and teachers as how we knew them when we were growing up. For homeschoolers, the development is an exciting one because it offers an endless array of possibilities for our kids in what they’re exposed to. I’m constantly monitoring the trend to see how this will affect us in our home studies. Who knows what this will look like 10 years from now?
http://professional.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303807404577434891291657730.html
http://www.floatinguniversity.com/
http://www.udacity.com/overview/Course/cs101/CourseRev/apr2012
Ivy League Homeschooling 
Good read by Cal Newport
I just downloaded this book. Good read so far..insightful into the college admissions process. Yes, I’m already thinking about this..
http://calnewport.com/books/highschool.html