Copyright 2006 Julie Shepherd Knapp |
Copyright 2006 Julie Shepherd Knapp. All rights reserved. |
about the book |
The Homeschool Diner's Guide to Science Resources What about high school science requirements for Homeschoolers? Do they need Biology, Chemistry, and Physics? by Julie Shepherd Knapp, copyright 2006, 2007 Homeschool graduation requirements vary by state. Read your state's homeschool regulations to see if there are any particular science courses that your teen needs to have taken to legally graduate from homeschool high school. Be sure to speak with other homeschoolers in your area, too-- to be sure you have understood the state requirements, and to find out about any opportunities to take science classes as a group. To help students be well-rounded and knowledgeable citizens, most US states require public school students to take 1- 2 full-year science classes in high school. In states where homeschoolers do not need to follow public school guidelines, the choice of how much science to take will be up to you and your student, based on his or her educational goals. Students who plan to go on to college will need to take 2 - 4 years of science, including biology and chemistry, with labs. Be sure to check with your local community college and each 4-year college or university that your child might apply to-- every school has their own admissions requirements! Some college-bound students may want to take more challenging Honors or Advance Placement science courses. Students not planning to go on to college or trade school might choose to take high school-level general science and life science courses, instead of Biology, Chemistry and/or Physics -- especially if they are not planning to take Algebra 1 (many high school science courses assume a knowledge of basic algebra). But, teens are famous for changing their minds! If your student *does* decide to apply to a community college sometime down the road... having a biology and/or chemistry class on their homeschool transcript will be helpful to them. (And it will save them money, because they won't have to pay to take these courses at the community college.) Many students actually find Biology to be interesting and very relevant to their everyday lives. Typical high school Biology courses assume that students have a working knowledge of Algebra 1 concepts. Advanced Placement Biology courses assume students have already taken high school Biology and Chemistry (and Algebra 2 may be helpful). See the Diner section on High School Biology for resources. Chemistry is a challenging science, but many students find the labs to be very interesting. High school Chemistry courses require a knowledge of Algebra 1. Advanced Placement Chemistry courses assume students have taken regular high school Chemistry and Algebra 2. Students who have mechanical ability and interests find Physics interesting and relevant. For students who will not be taking any advanced math in high school, look for a conceptual (non-mathematical) physics curriculum, such as this textbook -- Conceptual Physics by Benjamin Crowell -- available free online or by free download. Typical high school Physics courses assume a working knowledge of Algebra 1. Advance Placement Physics courses come in two levels -- AP Physics-B and AP Physics-C. Level B requires knowledge of Algebra 2 and Trigonometry. Level C requires a knowledge of Calculus. What if parents aren't comfortable teaching lab science classes? There are some options available to homeschoolers. Many homeschool organizations get parents together and hire a teacher to give group homeschool classes in biology, chemistry, and physics. Some homeschoolers enroll as part-time public school students to take their lab sciences. Others enroll part-time in private schools to take their science courses. Some homeschoolers take advantage of state-funded dual enrollment programs that allow high school juniors and seniors to take courses at a nearby community college-- earning credit for high school and college at the same time. (Google your state's name and "dual enrollment" to find more info.) Where dual enrollment is not available, some homeschoolers just take a few courses at community colleges or local universities. Other homeschoolers choose to enroll in online distance learning courses which include virtual labs or use multi-media to guide students in doing labs at home. But, really -- teaching high school science at home isn't as hard as it might sound. Take a look at a few of the available homeschool curriculum options. Curriculum usually includes enough leson information, lists of resources, and support forums that the typical homeschool parent can manage just fine. Look thru the Homeschooling by Subject Science section of the Homeschool Diner to find many options for homeschooling high school level science. |
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