Should you homeschool for high school? Historically, this has been an unpopular choice since teenagers’ social needs increase. (This shift is well documented in Kim John Payne’s book The Soul of Discipline.) Consequently, there are few curricular resources available at present for homeschool high schoolers. Yet, I hear more and more parents asking about it all the time. In this article, we will explore critical questions as well as pros and cons to help you make the best decision for your youth.
A Question of Destiny
The first question is, “What is your child’s destiny?” High school is the time when the development of their individuality accelerates, so it’s appropriate to focus their education on their interests. Generally in America, we do a terrible job tracking youth to the right high school education. That’s part of why we see so many behavior problems in the classroom. The fact is, not all students are geared for academics. Each human being is a unique interweaving of thinking, feeling, and willing. All three have their own forms of intelligence, and most people fall most strongly into one or two categories. American education traditionally emphasizes only the thinking and so misses so many students in the process.
Thinking-type people do well as academics, scholars, writers, priests, teachers, researchers, philosophers, engineers, architects, etc. Feeling-type people do well as therapists, coaches, mentors, artists, musicians, actors, instrument-makers, diplomats, etc. Will-type people do well as artisanal carpenters, pilots, sailors, farmers, builders, mechanics, pipe fitters, electricians, businessmen, etc. Firstly, therefore, consider where your child’s talents and aptitudes lay.
How to Provide for High School Homeschoolers
Once you’ve identified your child’s type, interests, and aptitudes, you can think about how best to provide for those. “There are many ways to skin a cat,” so to speak. I have known numerous brilliant students that were homeschooled through 12th grade. You may just have to get creative with how you provide for their needs. As an example, the Great Courses Plus is an exceptional resource that gives your child the ability to learn at home from university professors. Using these lectures, you could hire a tutor to give your student research, writing, and experiment-based projects to help them learn. Increasing numbers of states offer education savings accounts (ESA) offering public funding even for homeschoolers. (Info on this page.)
For those of a feeling-nature, communities often offer options like orchestras, elite dancing schools, and clay studios to name a few. I have a number of students who train more or less full-time in various arts and sports, homeschooling on the side. Not having to go to school 30-40 hours/week can free them up to focus more on what they love. Homeschooling provides freedom for students to continue playing. (Yes, even high schoolers need to play. In fact, play is the most efficient way to learn.) I have 8th graders taking my 8th Grade Physics block, for example, inventing their own devices with materials easily ordered online. One of them is currently making a submarine from scratch!
For those of a will-nature, for example, they can apprentice with a carpenter father or uncle several days a week, even as they complete their homeschool curriculum on the side. Thankfully in America (unlike European nations like Germany, where everything is so official and requires state-mandated qualifications) it is possible for teenagers to learn on the job in many cases. I started taking flying lessons at age 13, and it was the most invigorating, exciting, thrilling activity an adolescent could do. Getting involved in real-world projects keeps them heading in a positive direction during a time when they could easily fall in with the wrong crowd.
Pros of Brick-and-Mortar High School
Before deciding if you should homeschool in high school, consider the options in your area. In-person high schools can offer many benefits, depending on your circumstances including:
- Opportunities for technical training like auto shop.
- Travel/Exchange student programs
- Large social groups to satisfy teens’ social needs
- Established paths to applying for college including SAT testing, transcripts, diplomas, etc.
- Sports teams
My own high school had an exceptional music program with a marching band of nearly 300, a concert band, and jazz band. As a musically inclined youth, I had the time of my life with all that.
Cons of Brick-and-Mortar High School
On the other hand, brick-and-mortar high schools have a number of potential drawbacks.
- Toxic social environments. Modern mainstream education is modeled after industry. Class sizes are large, and many students fall through the cracks. Bullying, drugs, and promiscuity often fly under the radar. Social media and smartphones have put these social challenges on steroids. Some high schools are better than others. I fared well in my own high school, but violent fights were not uncommon, nor were bomb threats. Meanwhile, I don’t think teens are mentally any healthier than 25 years ago when I graduated. These days, modern American schools feel growingly “Teenage Wasteland” somehow to me. By contrast, the most self-confident, centered, and capable young adults I’ve met have all been homeschooled. This puzzling fact is part of what drew me into this path in the first place. These extraordinary young adults did not have the complexes many do. Nor were they unable to relate. I have always found them impressively social. Make of that what you will.
- A materialistic curriculum is the default in the States. We say education should uphold the separation of church and state. The only problem with that thinking is that school IS church for most students. In other words, it determines what they think and believe. It’s unavoidable. Now, I’m not saying students should be taught Creationism as if it were the truth (I definitely think they should NOT be). Nor do I think a school should push a specific religion. However, does that mean students shouldn’t be exposed to a variety of worldviews in experiential ways? Yet, the spiritual has been sterilized from public schools. Concurrently, I see a meaning crisis for youth, and I see their need to be in touch with something bigger and more enduring than the fleeting quality of sense gratification. That “something” doesn’t have to come in any one particular denomination, however, nor should we leave it out of the curriculum. In our zeal not to offend anyone, we are leaving a vital need unfulfilled.
So, What About College?
In further inquiring into the question, “Should you homeschool for high school?” we have to address the college question. Ask yourself, is college necessary for my child? Most Baby Boomers I know would say, “Absolutely.” And yet, is it? Once again, I refer you back to the question of your child’s destiny. College is great for people who want to do research, become a doctor, lawyer, engineer, etc.
On the other hand, there are drawbacks. Most college students graduate with mountains of student debt, finding themselves starting their young adult lives needing to catch up. This is one of the most shameful expressions of American society. Furthermore, I increasingly find that college, once heralded as the bastion of dialogue, debate, and freethinking, has in many cases become synonymous with groupthink. Professors have been fired and students have been harassed just because they question the common narrative. In one case, an envious graduate student even murdered an MIT professor. While such cases are extremely rare, they indicate how unfree university life has actually become.
If you want your child learning to think for themselves, college is not a necessity. These things start much earlier. College can be great for a specific purpose. I, myself, was a philosophy major, and I use it every day. However, college is not a good place “to find yourself.” Rather, students should do other things like apprentice, volunteer, or work for a while to find themselves. Then, if they know exactly what they want to study, where, and with whom, they should go to college. We misuse this institution, today.
Alternatives to College
Community colleges are a very practical alternative to four year universities, depending on your child’s interest. They are cheap and offer courses applicable to daily life. In a “past life” when I thought I wanted to be a web designer, I went to A-B Tech in Asheville. It was amazing, and the practicality of their programming impressed me. It’s a good way to get hands-on training for cheap.
Trade schools offer another suitable alternative for many. It’s a shame American intellectual culture tends to frown on the trades these days. The irony is that tradesmen are often better at business than intellectuals. (Personally, I find business to be much more will-based than thinking-based.)
Finally, and I already mentioned this before, is apprenticing. It’s also a shame we don’t have guilds anymore. The nice thing about America, however, is that many practical arts like carpentry don’t require four year degrees. Some trades require certain licenses and certifications, but even in those cases, four year degrees are often not required. My brother practically failed high school, but he’s incredibly intelligent. He just hated academics and loved working with his hands. His journey started in middle school when my parents hired some guys to finish our basement, and he hung around and helped out where he could. Now, he’s a highly successful artisanal carpenter.
So, Should You Homeschool for High School?
I think it’s a crime when students graduate high school without knowing how to grow a vegetable, nor how the economy functions, nor how to change a tire. Yet, that is an all-too-common story. Meanwhile, I have homeschoolers making furniture, raising livestock, creating compost, and bringing me potatoes from their gardens. So, SHOULD you homeschool for high school? Obviously, what you do is a personal choice based on weighing all the options. Just know that the Boomer Era high school-to-college train is losing steam. Alternatives are emerging. Parents have asked us at Enkindle Academy to create high school courses, and we are currently evaluating our capacity to do so. There is a growing need.
If you do homeschool for high school, check with local and state authorities for reporting requirements. It varies by locale. Furthermore, if you want to keep college as an option, contact colleges to see what sorts of transcripts they would need from homeschoolers. I have heard parents report their homeschoolers getting into college. You may just have to jump through a few more hoops.
Personally, I dream of a future where the guild-apprenticeship-homeschool model becomes a widely practiced phenomenon because I feel the current high school and university system is failing many American youth. It is part of an age old power structure that’s cracking at the seems and needs to evolve. I don’t think it should go away but rather just lose its stranglehold as the ONLY way. I think we can do education better, and I’m here to help usher that in.
How We Can Help
Enkindle Academy offers prerecorded and live lessons for students in grades 5-9. We teach all academic subjects plus fine arts, creative writing and language arts, and empowerment groups for teens.
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