I am sooo overwhelmed!!!!

[Mumkins]

I'm in unit 6 of WG. I DO NOT understand how to grade. If I can't open a teachers manual with the answers right there, I'm lost. So, I'm doing OK with math, grammar and science. Everything else is a disaster for me. I feel like just enrolling her with the online public school. Though I DO NOT really want to do that. I am just so over whelmed. Yes, Ive read the TM and the thread on grading WG. I still don't know what to check as complete and what to assign grades to and how to arrive at those grades.

I need help.

[snadig]

I am praying for peace and Gods wisdom. This caused me great stress for a couple of years. I finally just gave it over to the Lord. He has given me peace and some direction. I still get stressed and have to remember the Lord has all under control.

One thing that has helped me is keeping things very simple. I use an app on the iPad, ( I can pm you to give the name), but it has made things easier. I would really make things work for you and what your state requires.

What is the hardest thing to grade? With my high schoolers I seem to do well with math, grammar, science anything that has a TM. Some of the subjective ( Notebooking, electives, etc) areas are harder for me, but what I have been doing is grading there work on following directions, quality, attitude, etc. I look at the TM (guide) for some guidance, but every child is different. For example: I am doing RevtoRev a second time, but have to make changes as my second dd (highschool) learns differently.

I hope I am helping. Feel free to "pm" if you gave some more questions or want to bounce ideas. It will look different for everyone. You are going to do just fine!
Blessings,
Stacey

[Mumkins]

All the note booking stuff. Making sure each little bit of instruction was completed. Written narrations. Composition. I have nothing to compare it to to see if it's done well or poorly. I would appreciate it if you PM me:)

[LynnH]

For the compositions I use the checklist in EIW. If say there are 14 items and your student missed one of the items I give them a 13/14. Technically written narrations aren't graded. You look to see if it follows the directions and makes sense. If it doesn't, work with them to rewrite it, and then once they do call it good and give them full credit. I think we can put way too much emphasis on grades. I know here in the states the grades don't matter near as much as ACT/SAT scores. Do they take the same tests in Canada or something similar?

[countrymom]

I just helped a friend set up grading for the Geography guide and we made a couple of rubrics. We looked at:
- directions were followed
- student was prepared for the assignment
- student had appropriate knowledge of the content
- effort
There was one more that I can't remember. Basically she is going to use the rubric to grade many of the assignments that don't have particular grading instructions. We had 5 elements and for every element the student didn't succeed at one point would be taken off and a percentage calculated (out of 5 points possible). She put it in a Word table and set it up to record all assignments on a separate sheet for each subject for each unit. Then she was just going to transfer the scores to an overall grading sheet that could be used to calculate the grade at the end of the year. It is a little daunting when you first look at it, but once we got it going the rubric makes it simple. I'll be praying for you.

[snadig]

I sent you a pm.

Stacey

[my3sons]

Hi Mumkins! I am sorry you are feeling this way! I remember starting high school with Wyatt and feeling like I needed to really 'toughen up.' I was sort of looking for errors at first and jumping on them like "HA! I caught you!" I don't know why. I think I got cold feet or something. I think I felt I needed to become 'strict mean teacher' to really demand his best, or maybe he wouldn't do his best.

Well, it made us both sad. It was not the answer. What I realized is I needed to really give him time to learn the guide under my tutelage, which meant me underlining the guidelines laid out in the WG daily plans at first to draw his attention to them. I also realized I needed to look at the weighted percentages for coursework in the WG Introduction more carefully. I also realized I needed to take time to correct things daily. Finally, I realized I had to decide if I still had faith in the CM way of doing things or not. That's what it really came down to for me. I had answer keys for LOTS of things and tons of helps in the WG "Introduction" as well as clear guidelines in the WG plans, so what it came down to was the CM things, and the assignments that planned for students to respond creatively, personally, and individually to subject matter. There has never been an answer key for CM oral or written narrations, and there is a reason for that, a reason that CM intended for all time: there is not one right oral narration or written narration. There cannot be an answer key because doing narration the way CM intended means there is not one right way to do it. It is creative, personal, and individual. That is the point - sharing what struck you personally the most... sharing in your own words... sharing your heart... sharing what got you all worked up... sharing what you'll remember about whatever you read 10 years down the road. That can't have an answer key, for if it did, we'd drill it, demand it, make our dc 'fix' it to match it (or at least I know I would). Does that sound special? No. Definitely not CM.

In WG, there are extremely detailed answer keys for "Getting Started with Spanish" for teaching Spanish, "The Fallacy Detective" and "The Art of Argument" for teaching Logic, "Fundamentals of Literature" for teaching Literature, Rod and Staff English for teaching grammar as well as writing lessons, "Rooted and Grounded" for teaching Bible Study, detailed rubrics in "Essentials in Writing" for teaching composition, "Foerster's Algebra 1" for teaching math, 180 Activity Book sections in IPC for science - along with labs and reports, the entire mapping of the world with "Mapping the World with Art" showing exactly what must be done, and I am sure I am forgetting some, as it is late at night here. Of course there are also the obvious 'you got it right things' that simply don't require an answer key - i.e. did they memorize their Bible memory work? Well, I had him say it for me. Did they write their Common Place Book entries for Literature classic novels? Check the Common Place Book. Prayer journal notes? Flash it, so I can see you did it, but keep it private. Annotating Practical Happiness or Stepping Heavenward? Well, I paged through it and checked. These things are just natural ways to check work that I know you know, but I'm sharing just to give the bigger picture here for everyone.

So, the things that are left are more CM-like, more creative, more personal. Take the Living Library, which is all history-related, but which is NOT necessary for WG credit. So, the sentence summary, the oral narration, all the cherry on top of learning, but not the 'have to' for credit. My goal here became, as CM would say, 'not to get between the student and the book.'

But how about World Geography then, you say? Well, let's look at that together - really look at ALL of it together rather than just 1 part of it. Let's take the CM style WG oral narrations, for example. Yes, they are more open-ended. There is no specific answer key, which is totally as CM would have intended. But, there are precise clear guidelines that make assessment pretty easy, as far as oral narrations go (i.e. Key Word oral narration has key words provided in the WG plans for parent to listen for - I checked them off as they were said and asked Wyatt to include about half as they are extensive, Summary oral narration must be 7-10 sentences and I held the short reading following along as he gave it holding up a finger for each sentence, Detailed oral narration - set the timer for 5-7 minutes, Topic oral narration - narrate on the topics provided in the plans, Key word typed oral narration - use the provided key words in the plans in narration). These oral narrations are 15% of the WG grade. The Book of Centuries entries (totally easy to grade) are 10% of the WG grade. The completion of the Map Drawings from Mapping the World of Art, obviously easy to grade, are 25% of the WG grade. The geography projects and review maps -easy to grade- are 15% of the WG grade. The Final Project: Create a World Map, easy to grade, is 5% of the WG grade. The Seven Wonders of the World project, easy to grade, very specific guidelines provided, is 5% of the WG grade. So, we get to the Expedition Journal. It involves some things that are obvious for grading, i.e. map reading, sketching, map making, reading primary source documents. It involves some CM things, like written narrations, but even these have guidelines that must be followed (i.e. 3-4 paragraphs and editing using the list in the Appendix), and the Book of Centuries entries, which can easily be checked by looking at the guide. It involved baking, making, creating some things - usually obvious if things turned out. It involved watching the DVD Must See Places of the World, and pondering this or that or responding to this or that, usually in an informal way as the watching of it was the point. It involves comparing of maps in Book of Discovery, etc., which I just had him do or I did it with him. It involves Socratic discussions, which have extremely detailed prep questions in the WG guide, often with provided Scripture verses to look up, with specific page numbers of the WG book read that day, usually spanning only 5 to 10 pages, which I skimmed before we met. It involves outlining. The directions are very clear on this in the guide. Each paragraph of reading has its own Roman numeral in the outline, and each Roman numeral requires 1 sentence. Usually there are about 9-10 paragraphs. I just looked at his one sentence to be sure it matched the 1 paragraph it represented to correct this. For note-taking, there are guided questions with the page numbers that link to them from the reading which is usually not more than 10 pages, so I just checked the notes according the the provided pages. I think I covered most of the Expedition Journal in this - so sorry- exhaustive paragraph! Keep in mind these activities rotate. So, ALL of this that I just described in this paragraph, amounts to 25% of the WG grade. AND, if your student did the Living Library? That adds 10% extra credit to the WG grade. So, we are talking about potentially 15% of the WG grade here, and over half of it or more is quite easily gradable.

The other journal is for the 1/2 credit in World Religion and Culture. I could go through the percentages, but they are in the WG Introduction, and I think it is important to remember that this is an elective - which means an "optional" course of study. Much about this awesome study is personal response, deepening faith in God, and compassion and empathy for those who grew up in a different religion and had the courage to become a Christian against all odds. Yes, hard to grade, but easy to see.

So, in sharing all of this, I am trying to show you the path my thoughts took that first year of high school! I came to the realization that I was sweating the minimal parts of the guide that didn't have exact answer keys and were more CM-like, more personal, more creative, more elective - yet THOSE WERE THE VERY THINGS I WANTED TO BE A PART OF OUR CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE! I am putting in caps because it was a big light bulb moment for me. These were the things I promised myself I'd NOT give up. I promised myself I would invest my HEART and SOUL in my son in high school - not just the cookie cutter public school head only academics stuff - but the stuff of a LIFETIME! And I did. Just by breathing in, calming down, and doing the WG guide without sweating the heart and soul stuff that couldn't be tagged with an exact percentage. You know what happened? I enjoyed seeing my son grow, mature, and become a strong Christian young man. You know what else happened? He enjoyed his high school year with ME as his teacher.

Oh my, my, my, Mumkins? Are you willing to give all that up so someone else can tell you how your daughter is 'doing' in high school? My heart aches. It is not worth the quarterly graded report card and 15 minute conferences you would receive. I promise you - no matter what you may be wondering about how your daughter is doing right now in a few areas of high school, you'd be wondering how she was 'doing' in virtually every area of high school if you never saw her for the day. Much is at stake. You can do this high school thing! And so can she. And the rewards will be manifested forever! I hope something here has helped, and I hope you take this as intended encouragement and as coming from me having gotten to know you and care for your and your family the years you have been on this board. I don't get personal like this with everyone, but I know you, and I care about you, and I feel like this might be one of those important moments. So, I have stayed up very late typing this, even though I'll be up in 6 hours homeschooling. May the Lord help you with this and make clear your path!

Love in Christ,
Julie

Oh, and here is the link I was originally going to post as well...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=15348

[daybreaking]

I'm not Mumkins, but I just had to share ...

Wow, Julie, you are amazing!!!

My son is only in 7th, but I'm going to cut and paste your post in my "great HOD posts" file for future reference, so I can read it again when he nears high school. Thank you for sharing your heart!

[sahervey]

Am I Mumkins, because I feel like this was written to me...haha... Thanks, Julie, this response was amazing, encouraging, gave me hope and resolve. I don't know why we stress over this whole grading issue, but your post will stick with me.

[Mumkins]

Thank you Julie!! I have tears in my eyes:) That is exactly the encouragement I needed. So much practical advice. I will certainly refer to this thread over and over. I know you've helped many others too. I've just felt like I'd be cheating my child if i didn't know how to grade well. I signed up for a trial of a christian online program. It's so not what I want! I want my kids to interact with depth. I want them to read great literature. I want them to be drawn closer to Christ. I've always loved HOD since my 9th grader did Beyond in grade 2. I just need to take a deep breath and not panic. Thanks so much Julie!

[LynnH]

Julie,
Your answer is what so many of us that are homeschooling high school need to hear. Thank you so much for taking the time to post it!

[annaz]

I agree. Thanks for the inspiring reply, Julie!

[snadig]

Thank you Julie!

I was just having some doubting in what I was doing as well. I have to keep reminding myself academics is good, but it isn't the most important thing we teach. It is the stuff that can't be graded, seeking the Lord, growing in a deeper relationship with Him, and having a firm foundation in life.
Blessings,
Stacey

[my3sons]

Thank you so much, ladies! Your responses here have lifted me up as I continue on this high school homeschool journey too! May we draw our strength from the Lord, as we commit to going the distance teaching our dc. This IS a God-given purpose that we've been given, and it IS a worthy one that has a harvest. I am keeping my eye on the prize, pressing toward the goal, and the sacrifice is worth it - I know that, but it helps to remind myself. Sharing the journey with other Christian ladies like you makes it easier.

In Christ,
Julie

[Tiffini]

I was just able to read through this post. I completely understand the fear of grading high school and the confusion that goes with not knowing how to grade the "abstract" parts of the guide. I now have a senior in high school. And guess what? I've been able to give her grades on a transcript. Great.

BUT...now that we are nearing the end of high school...I have realized that the grades have VERY LITTLE to do with anything. I give her an A for growing in Christ. I give her an A for growing in compassion and empathy. I give her an A in Christian worldview. I give her an A for persevering and enduring incredibly hard lessons that go along with being a homeschooled high schooler when everyone you know has gone to Christian or public high school. Unfortunately, I have seen many friends whose kids may be getting great grades in high school, but are no longer walking with the Lord or are questioning their faith. I'm not saying homeschooling guarantees our kids will walk with the Lord, for that is something that only each student can decide as they grow older. But, I am saying, that keeping them home and teaching their hearts daily and nurturing our personal relationships has produced a very rare fruit that I don't see in many other homes. I am eternally grateful to my Lord for this gift of homeschooling in high school. I wouldn't trade it for all the grading systems in the world!

And ditto to all that Julie said as well. Thank you, Julie, for sharing your heart so eloquently. You are always an inspiration to me!