Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Mike Smith:
Rob Spinney, director of distance learning and professor at Patrick Henry College, joins me again today to wrap up this week’s discussion of dual enrollment. Rob, besides investigating how and where their student should pursue dual enrollment courses, what questions might parents want to ask about dual enrollment for their child?

Rob Spinney:
Some high school students are challenged by the highly structured nature of most college courses. Students are expected to follow the syllabus on their own, without the professor’s individualized prompting. So, in other words, there’s no hand-holding in college courses.

This means the kind of homeschooler who we excels in a dual enrollment course is one who meets three criteria, and I’ll point out that these criteria are more about maturity than about brilliance. So, first, he’s conscientious. He’s like a bulldog when it comes to his schoolwork. Second, he’s self-motivated. He doesn’t need someone else to prod him to do his academic work. And third, he’s self-disciplined. He does a good job of time management.

Now if your high school senior is mature academically—and by that I mean he’s conscientious, he’s self-motivated, he’s self-disciplined—then he’s likely to excel in a dual enrollment class.

Mike:
Thanks for sharing that perspective, Rob. Listeners, join us next week as we talk with some students who pursued the classroom option at a local college for their dual enrollment experience. And until then, I’m Mike Smith