All Things Educational

[Jonsey]

When I was in school I was slow in math and English to start out and just started catching up toward the end of highschool when I started feeling really rebelious to the strong liberal push. I felt history was not well presented, and civics was very weak. I now have a certificate in horse racing from a trade school and an AA degree. I used the horse racing certificate for several years and really enjoyed working in that industry, but it didn't make enough money and was a little health hazardous at times. College was a lot more interesting than highschool for me and I was able to catch up a little in my weaker subjects. I sort of feel that I wasted years of my life in an institution when I could have been running around outside or reading or earning money.
I home schooled both my kids. I focused on the things I felt were lacking in school. It turned out not to matter that I suck at those subjects. My kids learned them pretty well anyway. The one thing I learned as my kids got older is that middle school is a waste of three years. They use it to let kids catch up who aren't ready for highschool yet. So I just put my kids into highschool level math and science around the 7th grade mark. That worked out really well. My 16 year old just finished his first year of community college. It is being funded through a charter school who is more than happy to claim him as a student for his test results. They count his college credits toward highschool and at the end of next year he should have earned his highschool diploma and will still need two classes to finish his AS. We found it really hard to settle on a degree since my son has a lot of different interests. It was really tempting for him to take machining but he decided to take the pre engineering degree. I bet he won't go right into a four year university though. I think he needs to work a little first and find out more about himself before he continues in school. Also, now days it's hard to find a place that will hire you unless you are 18.
I should add that I have noticed the public schools are doing this thing called AP classes which is sort of the same thing as early college or dual enrollment. I am sure it is about the same, although I am releived to let my kid skip out on actually having to attend highschool. You are treated as an adult at college and I think that has been good for my son.