Post by eyeofthestorm on Jul 24, 2024 11:34:15 GMT -6
Last year, when DS2 graduated, we skimmed some drama with the online curriculum provider we were using. They had made a business change which didn't impact us, but I thought it was very unfair to the people it did impact. So I did some looking around, and settled on a new provider. The big draw was that they provided coursework not only in the core subjects, but also in the culinary arts and food service, which is DS3's area of interest.
This past school year, in terms of curriculum, was largely uneventful.
So, for his final year, we settled on:
All six classes were offered last year.
The company had to change their contracts. I supported the reasons they gave. The new courseware was made available last week.
No financial mathematics [The parent company actually has this course; I looked it up. But our direct access, through a subcontractor, does not have access.]
No world geography (they have something like cultural geography)
No ethnic studies at all.
And so far... not CTE course access, under which the culinary and food service courses fall. Now, those are supposed to be coming, but DS wanted to get a head start on his senior year in June. He has plans for next summer so he wants to be SURE he's done on time. But we had no access to courseware/curricula until last week... and only one of the six classes he wanted to take available.
SO.
I've been looking, searching, and investigating. Yesterday I had a great talk with his math tutor.
And after all this time, we are pretty much back to being (totally) independent homeschoolers with the following resources:
In case you noticed - there is no science class listed. He only needs 4 science credits and he earned two in his freshmen year, so he's set there.
I really couldn't believe that here we were, almost finished, to feel like the rug was being pulled out from under us! But I feel good with what we've landed with. He'll still study what interests him and meet the requirements for the type of diploma we've been working toward.
This past school year, in terms of curriculum, was largely uneventful.
So, for his final year, we settled on:
- English (basic 12th grade English)
- Financial Mathematics (a year long course in applying Algebra to real life situations. It's not personal finance, it's broader and, as you might expect, more math focused)
- World Geography (not social or cultural, but physical features of the earth as well as locations of nations, etc).
- Ethnic studies (kind of the cultural side of social sciences, a half credit. Turns out DS3 was coming up short half of a credit in social studies and this interested him)
- Culinary Arts 2, pastry and baking
- Food handling and food service management
All six classes were offered last year.
The company had to change their contracts. I supported the reasons they gave. The new courseware was made available last week.
No financial mathematics [The parent company actually has this course; I looked it up. But our direct access, through a subcontractor, does not have access.]
No world geography (they have something like cultural geography)
No ethnic studies at all.
And so far... not CTE course access, under which the culinary and food service courses fall. Now, those are supposed to be coming, but DS wanted to get a head start on his senior year in June. He has plans for next summer so he wants to be SURE he's done on time. But we had no access to courseware/curricula until last week... and only one of the six classes he wanted to take available.
SO.
I've been looking, searching, and investigating. Yesterday I had a great talk with his math tutor.
And after all this time, we are pretty much back to being (totally) independent homeschoolers with the following resources:
- English (I need to set this up, but I think we'll go with an online self-paced class)
- World Geography (totally offline)
- Ethnic studies (still researching this, but clearly also leaning toward off line)
- Financial Algebra. I've found two comparable courses; one is self-paced online. The other, which I think is closer to the original class he wanted, is in a print book, but his tutor (who he meets with online) put us onto it. The tutor is actually using it with another student, so it's possible DS would be able to meet with them as a group. I know he'd like that.
- Food handling and food service management: We're just going to move forward with the actually certification courses. I'm sure he'll complete them faster.
- Pastry. This one is tricky. Online classes for this can be expensive. But I showed him some options and he seemed really interested.
In case you noticed - there is no science class listed. He only needs 4 science credits and he earned two in his freshmen year, so he's set there.
I really couldn't believe that here we were, almost finished, to feel like the rug was being pulled out from under us! But I feel good with what we've landed with. He'll still study what interests him and meet the requirements for the type of diploma we've been working toward.