HS win + AP encouragement
Today was AP score release day, which I was as eagerly and nervously anticipating as my rising junior…both of us were pumped to see three 5’s (European History, Latin, and Chem) to add to last year’s 5 in Human Geography.
Why is this such a special win? Because we did all of these AP’s (minus Latin, which he did as an online course) at home. I taught Euro and Human Geography and my best friend taught Chem. She’s a nurse, I am ABD in an unrelated field (undergrad in history a million years ago).
I hear people being apprehensive about homeschooling HS (or assume they will have to farm out any advanced courses to DE or online programs), but it *is* possible to teach AP as a homeschooler! My state does not give grants for DE until 11th grade, and now my son is going into 11th with 4 college classes already (and will be taking 3 more AP’s next year and self-studying another). My rising 9th grader will take 2 and self study one as well. My friend may tap out after AP Calc and Stats, so we may end up in DE for math one day, but I love having an advanced option available before 11th.
A college course for the price of the AP exam ($99) is a bargain, but even better is getting to teach those classes (which are fascinating to learn) and help my students develop the study skills, close reading skills, and writing skills they will need to be successful in college.
So if you’re thinking about homeschooling HS with advanced students /want to work on college credit, you have a lot of options! Teach AP, self-study AP, take online AP courses, or do DE.