Homeschooling Options for Resourceful Teenagers
This morning my eyes were drawn to an ominous headline: Home-school students need to be monitored. Gritting my teeth I clicked on the link only to find it was written by a person who used to be homeschooled. Weigellia G. Trook wrote: “For me, home schooling was no schooling.”
For teens with Weigellia’s problem, I offer ten ideas for teens who think they’re not getting enough education during homeschool hours.
1. Take charge of your own education. Make your own goals, decide on what curriculum will help you reach those goals, and while you’re at it, take responsibility for everything that happens to you. Don’t expect your parents to do for you what you can but won’t do for yourself. If you think you need to learn algebra, find resources on the internet that will help you learn. You might need to ask your parents for the money to buy books, or videos. If they don’t have funds, then think up some fund raising ideas – selling crafts, for example. A homeschooled young lady in our town made beaded hair accessories and sold them for ten dollars each. I’ll let you in on a secret from the parents’ point of view. When a teenager is unmotivated and finds fault with you and all your homeschool efforts, it is discouraging for the parent and they eventually get tired of trying. But when a teen takes delight in learning new things and is able to make decisions about what he or she wants to learn, education happens.
2. There’s no doubt that during the teen years life can get depressing, especially if you think that your parents are doing the wrong things for you. Make a list of one hundred things you could do that would make you happier. Then set your mind on doing those things, one way or another. You might start with things that are easily accomplished and not illegal.
3. Have you considered taking a literature-based approach to homeschooling? One of the writers in my critique group is a young formerly-homeschooled man who had his first book published at the age of twenty-four. He started writing novels for children as a teenager. Want to see his first book? Have a look: Lost in the Fog. He wrote down a memoir for one of his much-older neighbors. What a great project for a homeschooling teenager!
4. Great books are fun to read. Why not start a TBR list? A TBR list is a list of books “to be read”. When you think of something you want to learn about, look it up on the Amazon
5. Start an online business, or any kind of business for that matter. I mention online business first because that’s where I make my money. No matter what your primary hobby is you can bet there are others wanting to find information about it on the internet. You can write an e-book and sell it, or write a blog about it and place advertising on your blog for extra cash. If writing isn’t your thing, maybe sketching or photography are. Blogs with artwork are popular. If you start your blog at blogger.com you can put AdSense on it. You might need your parents’ help with the AdSense but it does provide a good revenue. There are lots of high school students bringing in fifty to several hundred dollars monthly just by blogging on a topic of interest to others. One sample is my Bigfoot blog… not by an actual teenager – but I do make a bit of money from the AdSense! Hey, if I can do that, so can you! On the other hand, your hobby might lend itself to some other type of income opportunity. My son is a BMX bike enthusiast and has helped many people needing bike parts and repairs.
6. Suppose writing or reading isn’t your thing. That’s okay. My son isn’t much of a reader either, due to dyslexia. You could start a sketch journal instead. Sketch whatever you see. Collect your sketches and you will see the progress you make. Yes, this is educational. Who said education has to be limited to things you can read in a textbook?
7. Start a nature study of the area you live in. Identify plants and learn more about animals. When you go out the door, do you know the names of all the weeds you see? How about the trees nearby? What kind are they? I don’t know about you, but it bugs me terribly not to know the names of plants I see. You might be able to get a plant identification guide from the library. I have one that helps me identify any tree I see. What kinds of animals live in your vicinity? Once when I lived in urban North Oakland, California, I found an oppossum in my backyard. Now that I live in the forest in Northern California, I get more exciting animal visitations. I’ve seen a mountain lion on my front porch and a bear through my kitchen window! Do you know how to protect yourself from local wildlife? That would be a great research project and perhaps you could write something about it to help others needing the information.
8. Do you need to learn more about math? You might be able to convince your parents to buy you some math software. Most homeschool parents would be thrilled if their teenager took an interest in learning math. There are also plenty of websites that offer mathematics information. You don’t need your parents to push and prod you on this endeavor. Education happens more readily when you take a delight-motivated approach to your own learning, no matter what the topic is.
9. Imagine yourself as the person you would like to be. Get to know this vision of the ideal you. What steps would you need to take to become that person? Write a list of things you need to do, then do them.
10. Meditate. I know, some may say this sounds boring, but there’s nothing like inner space to give you new ideas about what direction your life should take. You are the one that needs the enlightenment and motivation to find areas of study that appeal to you. Nobody else can do this for you. Don’t look to your parents to dish out assignments when the true assignment is to make your own discoveries and direct your own life.
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