Is College Still Worth It?
As you probably know if you’ve read very far in my blog, I love to learn. I love reading, writing, and learning, and have spent many years of my life doing just that. Homeschooling my boys was an extension of...
Category: High School, College, and Alternatives
High school topics such as testing, college, and more.
Why Freshmen Fail: A Review
I picked up Professor Carol‘s new book, Why Freshmen Fail, at the Great Homeschool Convention in Fort Worth, thinking it might be a resource I could recommend to parents of high-school and almost-high-school age students. I didn’t expect to find...
The Madness of Multiple Choice, A Guest Post by Andrew Pudewa
If you’ve ever wondered whether Excellence in Literature needed a few multiple choice questions to make it “better,” this delightful essay by my friend and publisher Andrew Pudewa will make our position clear. Like comprehension questions, another pernicious evil, multiple-choice...
College Alternatives, Part 2: Entrepreneurship, Apprenticeships, and Guilds
The last College Alternatives post focused on the skilled trades, such as machinist, electrician, arborist, and others. Since college has been pushed as a primary option for most students, there has been a labor shortage in many of the trades,...
College Alternatives, Part 1: Skilled Trades
After the last two posts on financial aid, there were a few private comments about how hard it can be for a student to qualify for some types of aid. Honestly, it is easier now than it has ever been. There...
What Kinds of Financial Aid Are Available?
Financial aid is available in several forms to homeschoolers, as well as the traditionally schooled. The U.S. Department of Education (the courteous provider of most of this information) awards about $150 billion every year to help millions of students pay...
Financial Aid: You Won’t Get it Unless You Apply
Do you have a teen who is filling out college applications? If so, there’s one more application to add to the list. It’s the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, informally known as the FAFSA, and if your teen wants...
The 350th Carnival of Homeschooling: Ideas You Can Use
Join us for a great Carnival of Homeschooling, featuring articles on time and what to do with it, words, nature, celebrations, and more.
Gatto’s 7 Lessons of Compulsory Schooling
Here are seven horrifying lessons John Taylor Gatto wrote about teaching during his 26 years as a schoolteacher. Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling is adapted from a speech given at a ceremony in which Gatto was named the New York State Teacher of the Year for 1991.
Blog Carnival: Summer Isn’t Over Yet
The Blog Carnival offers inspiration and encouragement as summer winds down and school begins. Enjoy!
![Adams' Illustrated Panorama of History. By Sebastian C. Adams [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://i0.wp.com/doingwhatmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/1878_Adams_Monumental_Illustrated_Panorama_of_History_-_Geographicus_-_WorldHistory-adams-1871-sm-pd.jpeg?fit=520%2C220&ssl=1)
Should You Teach Literature and History in Chronological Order?
How important it is to study history and literature in chronological order? Here’s what we did, and why a timeline makes whatever you do work better.
College From Home? Sure . . . At Least a Few Classes
The internet has changed a lot of things. Some for the better, and some not. One good thing is the proliferation of ways to learn online for free or nearly free. College has become insanely expensive, so getting a head...
New Transcripts Made Easy Review
Cindy from Curriculum Choice (a delightful blog) has posted a very nice review of Transcripts Made Easy. I’m grateful for it, and happy to know that it’s still helping to calm those homeschool-through-high-school fears. High school transcripts and records really...
How to Calculate +/- on a High School Transcript
How to calculate quality points for plus and minus grades on the high school transcript- here’s a list.
College Choices – Homeschoolers Have Options!
Visit the convention season sale through July 12! Now that homeschoolers have proven to be high achievers in both academic and social realms, they are being actively courted by many colleges. However, just as many homeschool parents paused before placing...
College Admissions: Knowledge Is Power!
Getting in to a college isn’t terribly difficult if you have decent grades, a professional-looking transcript, and a reasonable work ethic (if all else fails, most community colleges admit anyone who is willing to pay for classes). However, if you...
Questions about using Excellence In Literature in a co-op
I received an e-mail this morning from a co-op leader, inquiring about the Excellence in Literature (EIL) curriculum. When I receive detailed questions like these, I know that others are probably wondering some of the same of the same things,...
High School: A Four-Year Plan for Homeschoolers
Here is an academically-oriented four-year plan for homeschooling through high school, with an emphasis on preparing for life after high school. It’s excerpted from Transcripts Made Easy: The Homeschooler’s Guide to High School Paperwork, which is, of course, my favorite resource...
Add a Microbusiness to Your Teen’s Curriculum!
Consider a micro-business for your teen Once your students hit the teen years, chances are that they are looking forward to relevant, real-world applications for what they are learning. Many of them will have a hobby that they can, with...
High School Scheduling — Some Non-Traditional Options
When was the last time you thought about the best way to schedule your school days? Six subjects, one hour each per day, five days a week — ho hum. Maybe it’s time to ask some questions about scheduling! High school scheduling...
High School Requirements: The Wrong Question?
As you consider whether or how to homeschool through high school, there are a few major questions that may crop up. One of the first questions I often hear is about “high school requirements.” Parents wonder how many years of...
High School Transcripts — Frequently Asked Questions
Creating a high school transcript is easier than it looks, but there are a few transcript questions that tend to recur like dandelions in springtime. The beginning of the spring semester seems a good time to review a couple of...
