IHM Conference notes: Homeschooling High School

Ginny Seuffert gave another inspirational, funny, and informative talk answering why should we and how we can homeschool our teens.

Why should we homeschool high school?

In public school teens have to go with the flow, the tribal mentality is overwhelming. Many teens are just trying to find ways to be angry.
"I wouldn't want to be shut up there for hours and hours each day, why would I force my kid to do it?"
The horrible materialism in terms of technology and cars that is present in high school leads to ostracization if your kid can't keep up. If you are a family with a single income you can't keep up even if you wanted to- which you don't. The teenager who was perfectly content at home suddenly begins to look critically at his own family for not having stuff. Appreciation for sacrifices only comes much later.
Don't worry about academics, the kids are reading all kinds of trashy, politically-correct, and anti-family garbage.

How can we homeschool high school?

Community college classes and the use of their library is a good resource for upper level subjects. Family, not school should get credit for raising learners. Beat the bushes for opportunities for your kids to learn a foreign language (pretty darn easy these days to find a Spanish speaker), sports (local clubs), or theater (community group).

Start at the same early time every day. Teach them to be punctual and hardworking- the number one thing most employers find lacking in employees these days.

Have a plan, be organized, and expect your teen to do a lot of it themselves. Get child to come up with a plan if things go wrong such as emergencies or vacation that cuts into schooltime.

Limit the number of hours doing school. However, they can't spend schooltime helping Mom to the detriment of learning. They need to be serious about their schoolwork. Kids don't want to write, but nothing is more important to future success in career and persuading others about the Faith than writing.

Make your school a school of virtue: teach your teens good habits such as social skills- being able to say sincere things, "I'm so sorry to hear of your mother's death," and writing thank you notes. Encourage close relationships between siblings and to parents. Talk about scandal and the responsibility of giving good example to younger children. They should be taught about modesty and respecting parents. Whether we like it or not the world does judge the entire homeschool community by our kids.

When dealing with teens who want freedoms they are not ready to handle, "You are not an orphan, someone cares about you and wants to know where you are." "I trust you, but I don't trust your judgement." "Don't tell me you will be back later, come to me with a plan."

God offers two crowns: green for fertility and red for martyrdom, we must accept both. Yes, it would be nice to ship them off to school and be free, but this is the self we need to deny. Give our whole self to God, this time to our family, and we will be richly rewarded in the end.

Even though my oldest is only going into 5th grade this fall I still needed this pep talk, You can do it and here is how." Thanks Ginny.