Dear Mater: Teaching what I never learned

Ask the mothers who have gone before you.

Dear Mater, 

My oldest starts high school next year, and I am afraid. I barely passed chemistry, and I could not explain a logarithm if my life depended on it. Do I hire tutors, join a co-op, or learn it alongside him? Is it honest to teach what I do not know?

Signed, Humbled in Conroe

Dear Humbled in Conroe,

I understand your fear completely. Half the battle is recognizing what you need assistance in.

You can do any of the options you mentioned above. I personally hired tutors and participated in co-ops. I first did tutorials as classes with people competent in their fields. Sometimes co-ops don’t have competent teachers in the field they are teaching so you want to vet them well.

Another option is dual credit. Usually, colleges want you to start when your child is 16 but there are and have been exceptions to the rule. If you are doing community college, they are usually okay for math and some sciences. I don’t always recommend the humanities in most community colleges, but use your best judgment. Usually, classes at community colleges are free (or minimal, but always reduced) for dual credit.

Another option is to do your dual credit at the University of St Thomas. They have discounted prices for classes that are dual credit. Your child can take 2 classes a semester and if you teach 1 at home you would have done a year of high school. 1 semester class in college is equivalent to a year of high school. 

It is honest to teach what you don’t know if you are a lesson ahead of your child and truly are able teach it well. If not you have options as mentioned above. 

Warmly, Mater

For more information, be sure to check out our highschool page and the plethora of information in our members module.

Dear Mater is a Catholic homeschooling advice column for the questions that keep mothers wondering. With wisdom, warmth, and a little humor, ‘Mater' offers perspective on the everyday joys and challenges of forming a family at home. Join ‘Mater’ Diane Aquila, wife to Dominic, mother of 13 (11 on earth), as she answers those questions and gently reminds us of the joy and gift of the vocation to home educate. Diane homeschooled all of her children until college (though a few attended school here and there as life demanded). She may not be a professional but loves to share her insight as a Catholic parent and home educating mother of many. 

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