Today marks the start of Week 11 of school for us, which means (I think) that we're about 1/3-ish of the way through the school year. But lo, it has been a grind so far, and I'm already plotting ways to make things easier next year.
Finn (who is in 10th grade--we had to decide what grade he was in last year, and decided to say 9th to give us plenty of leeway/room, and we're not in a mad rush to see him off to college anyhow!) is taking Geometry, Chemistry, a combined history + literature + theology class, French 4, advanced conversational Spanish (a substitute for Spanish 4, basically), while also juggling choir, two evenings of work at the local fancy nursing home, and a community theatre performance (in which he has 4-5 roles this production!).
I'm not going to lie. It's a lot. Especially for this perfectionistic, slow-paced, deep-diving, pondering learner.
I have been constantly ruminating over whether to convince him to drop his (confusing, rigorous, massively time-consuming) chemistry class for something with a gentler pace and more practical application, but so far he wants to keep it. I'm praying about it. We'll see. Next semester he's going to drop back to working only one day per week, and maybe even scale back further to not working at all for a few months until summer. That may help. But time management, distractions, and prioritization are all issues that we are facing now. His classes are generally set up like college classes: two days a week, with lots of homework in between. This is great "training" for the independence of college, but challenging for a 16-year-old male. Finn is a brainiac, but like most teenagers, when he logs onto the computer he suddenly finds himself "distracted" by all of his interests*....letting the actual schoolwork move to the back burner. This is an issue that I'm seeing unfold, and that I'm also praying about trying to solve with wisdom.
Annie, who is in 7th-ish grade, is taking two online classes (Language Arts and Physical Science/Intro to Physics and Chemistry). They're pretty good, but I'm going to shake things up next year. The online classes were a great way to "cover the gap" during my dad's illness and death, and during my recovery from it, but I am feeling a bit more like it's time to turn back to analog learning for a while. My Charlotte Mason roots are still there, still strong. :)
Boy! Every stage of parenting involves so many decisions and so many things to navigate and consider. It's a joy to raise a child into adulthood, but it also take a long view and a lot of patience and discernment. It's the biggest investment of time anyone who is a parent can make, and undoubtedly the most worthwhile, too.
I'm all about Galatians 6:9 when considering the realities of raising a teenager!
"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."
Yes! I'm banking on this! I remind myself of this every day!
(*Here are the ways Finn gets totally distracted on the internet: watching past Republican primary debates (nope, not kidding), reading everything he can about various world religions, and learning about composers. Like I said, he's a nerd. I appreciate his passion to learn...but you gotta get that chemistry done, too! He doesn't play video games...but he does like to watch funny Babylon Bee spoof YouTube videos. And I have to admit, they can be really amusing.)
No comments:
Post a Comment