Are We Done Homeschooling Yet?

Q. I have been homeschooling my son who I feel is an 11th grade equivalent. He has recently decided that he wants to graduate this year, and move on to perusing his dreams. I was not ready to end so abruptly and am not actually sure we are done. However, he will be 18 in a few months and I can't make him continue homeschooling. How can I justify graduating him?

A. It sounds as if you agree that your son might be ready to fly the coop a year earlier than you expected and you want to justify giving him a homeschool diploma. As a homeschooler, he only has to homeschool until the age of 16 or 17 (in most states) and at that point, you can graduate him. But as a parent, I can understand your need to give him a diploma that means he has completed his studies. These tips should help you determine if he is academically ready to graduate or if he needs a little more time.

Math: Determine math textbooks or programs has your homeschooler completed. A typical course of study in math would be to have studied Algebra, Geometry, and either Algebra, Trigonometry, or Statistics at least. An advanced student may also study physics. If your student has covered 3 or 4 of these subjects then they have enough math under their belt to graduate.

Language Arts: Review what he has learned in language arts. A typical course of study in language arts would include, a good understanding of grammar (parts of sentences, spelling, and vocabulary), good writing skills from essays to research papers, and knowledge of a good sampling of both American (or your country if not American) and World Literature. If your student is proficient in grammar and writing and has a sizable reading list, then he has studied enough language arts to graduate.

History: Your homeschool should be aware of the world around them, and the history of the world. They should definately know the history of their country, and world history. In addition to that, they should understand the workings of their government and politics surrounding that government. Other History and social studies related courses they can take include geography, or they can dig deeper into a specific region or time period such as the Civil War, or African History. If they know at least areas of history, then they have satisfied the History requirements to graduate.

Science: Look at the science your homeschooler has studied. This may be tricky, because homeschoolers tend to absorb more science than what is presented to them in textbooks. At a minimum, your homeschooler should have an understanding of biology (human, plant, and animal), and environmental science (weather, earth, geology). They can also choose from among physics, physical science, chemistry, anatomy, astronomy, computer science, or anything else science related. If you can count 2-3 types of science your homeschooler is intimately familiar with, then they have enough science requirements to graduate.

Electives: It is important to be familiar with at least 1 foreign language (2 years worth), but it is not mandatory unless your child is going to college. Still, they should have explored a subject or two outside of their basic academics, be it the arts, public speaking, athletics, any thing that they found joy in that also had educational value.

So, by looking over the last year years of your homeschoolers education, you should be able to create a transcript of what he has accomplished, and be able to tell at a glance if he has completed the minimum requirements, or if something is missing. If something is missing, like writing skills, or he has only covered 2 years of math, perhaps you can delay graduation a few more months until he can get those subjects under his belt at which time you can proudly graduate him. If you can't get him to give you a few more months to fill in these important gaps, you can request he take classes at the local community college and when he has covered these skills, you will gladly consider him graduated.