Pondering Education
Last night, as I was looking over my university transcript, I was reminded of a few facts about my own university education. Keeping in mind I made As, Bs and a very occasional C in high school:
1. I failed American Literature my first semester. Why? I didn't go to my Tuesday/Thursday classes consistently. Prior to this, I had never failed a class or even made lower than a C.
2. I nearly failed College Algebra, one of my best subjects. Why? Same semester, same reason as #1.
3. The second semester, I aced College Algebra. Attending class makes a difference. Go figure. That was the pinnacle of my mathematics training, though.
4. I did NOT enjoy, nor did I excel in my history classes. I consistently made Cs and did just enough work and study to achieve that grade. Now that I'm teaching my own kids, I LOVE history! But these grades reminded me of how much I loathed it.
5. I also did not excel in sciences. I made a D in biology, but remember trying to do well. I made a C in Earth Science.
6. I did excel in and enjoy language, culture, and counseling classes, making mostly As, and a few Bs. I had forgotten how many counseling classes I had taken.
7. Several other classes I remember enjoying, such as American Religious Cults and Sects, Humanities, and Psychology, I made Cs. I don't remember why I didn't perform better. I was never great at taking tests, but likely, it was because I put all my time, efforts, and study into my major classes, which held my devotion.
It helped me as a homeschool mom to see my old transcripts. I'm reminded that each of my kids have different God-given gifts, different struggles, different interests. I'm reminded that my job, as their teacher, especially as my oldest enters high school, is to prepare them to follow those interests, lead them to enjoy learning (and stick with it now and then when it my not be so fun), teach them to develop time-management skills, encourage them to read, read, read, and equip them with the writing skills to organize and communicate their thoughts.
God knew I needed that reminder. I'm glad I happened upon my transcript, which helped me redirect and realign.
1. I failed American Literature my first semester. Why? I didn't go to my Tuesday/Thursday classes consistently. Prior to this, I had never failed a class or even made lower than a C.
2. I nearly failed College Algebra, one of my best subjects. Why? Same semester, same reason as #1.
3. The second semester, I aced College Algebra. Attending class makes a difference. Go figure. That was the pinnacle of my mathematics training, though.
4. I did NOT enjoy, nor did I excel in my history classes. I consistently made Cs and did just enough work and study to achieve that grade. Now that I'm teaching my own kids, I LOVE history! But these grades reminded me of how much I loathed it.
5. I also did not excel in sciences. I made a D in biology, but remember trying to do well. I made a C in Earth Science.
6. I did excel in and enjoy language, culture, and counseling classes, making mostly As, and a few Bs. I had forgotten how many counseling classes I had taken.
7. Several other classes I remember enjoying, such as American Religious Cults and Sects, Humanities, and Psychology, I made Cs. I don't remember why I didn't perform better. I was never great at taking tests, but likely, it was because I put all my time, efforts, and study into my major classes, which held my devotion.
It helped me as a homeschool mom to see my old transcripts. I'm reminded that each of my kids have different God-given gifts, different struggles, different interests. I'm reminded that my job, as their teacher, especially as my oldest enters high school, is to prepare them to follow those interests, lead them to enjoy learning (and stick with it now and then when it my not be so fun), teach them to develop time-management skills, encourage them to read, read, read, and equip them with the writing skills to organize and communicate their thoughts.
God knew I needed that reminder. I'm glad I happened upon my transcript, which helped me redirect and realign.
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