Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Mike Smith
Mary, your new book, The High School Handbook, helps parents effectively plan when they homeschool through high school. What's your advice regarding scheduling and lesson planning?

Mary Schofield:
Well, the number-one thing, Mike, that parents forget when they're teaching high school is that they absolutely have to plan for a regular time to do lesson planning and to assess their student's progress.

The parents' job is to make sure that the student is focusing his time wisely—not just learning, but learning the things that are most important. And often, teens will do the same thing we adults do-that is, spend time on the subjects that are the most interesting or the most fun, and put off some other important jobs because they just aren't as appealing. And while we want our older teens to be able to learn independently, we really need to remember that as parents and teachers, we are the ones who have to guide that learning process. This means that we have to find the time to regularly assess what they're learning and to direct their studies.

Mike:
Mary, that's very helpful—I know reassuring—for many families out there. Listeners, please join us tomorrow when we're going to address that very important topic, how do we evaluate the academic progress of our students? And until next time, I'm Mike Smith.