Did you know that I have a boy in grade 8? I KNOW… it’s been an amazing journey that we’ve been on for the past 8-9 years, learning and growing together. As he gets closer to grade nine (gasp) I start to wonder about keeping grades and records and have to admit.. I haven’t a clue. Beyond making tests and marking them, just how does one keep grades?
How does one mark a project? How does one judge if a student has passed a keyboarding class? I don’t know!
I’ve been doing some research (not much at this point to be honest) I still don’t know much.. so why am I even writing this post eh? To share my lack of knowledge?
Well not really.
Reassurance
I just want to talk to moms (or dads) out there who are in the same boat that I am in. My goal is to ease hearts as mine have been.
I was talking to the highschool guidance counsellor two weeks ago and asked her how they handle it when a student comes in when records haven’t been kept well. “Oh, we just figure it out”. To my quizzical look, she continued “We had a student come into grade 10 just this past week, no records for anything up til this point. We talked with her, figured out where she was at and we have the ability to just plug the details in. We can adjust as we see how she does at grade level as well”.
You know what that did? WOW.. it eased my heart. To know that I don’t have to panic if I don’t have it all figured out by next September. And honestly WHY should I panic? Having or not having grades for grade nine is not the end of the world. Colleges/universities aren’t going to hold it against him?
Support is Available
I also know this… there is a HUGE support community out there for homeschoolers. On-line or in person.
In-person, some of my options are:
- One of the curriculum supply places will be doing a “going into highschool seminar” in a few weeks so I can take advantage of that.
- I can go to a spring homeschooling conference and someone there will be doing a highschool workshop. (at least there has always been one every other conference).
- Talk to those who have gone on before
- Talk to the library about resources they might have on hand
On-line I can
- Research how to do it via the world wide web
- Talk to the local homeschooling community
- Go to forums and ask questions
- Talk to people connected with the Homeschool Review Crew
- Talk to individuals I’ve gotten to know in the homeschool community like Kym, Lori, and Carol.
- Reach out on social media.
Please do share, I really do want to know what my options are. Even to learn HOW to grade. My lad is good at letting me know what he does know, but that doesn’t always tell me what he remembers long term you know? I can see how he puts his research skills together, but I can’t always judge how well he sees the bigger picture.
Your turn
How about you? What ways can you learn about grades and record keeping for YOUR highschool student? What have you learned works for keeping good records of your students’ activities? Share, help me out eh? You are part of my community!
This post has been linked with the Homeschool Review Crew Round up. You can find it here.
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