Help with homeschooling options for a gifted musician

[dessismama]

My 12 year old has been going to public school all his life. He is an intellectually gifted child and an amazing young musician. It has become clear to us that he needs a lot more time to practice his cello and to compose music (currently at 2.5-3 hours a day, needs to go to 4.5-5 a day for musical activities) than the typical school schedule permits.

So I enrolled him in the K12 curriculum through the Mass Virtual Academy for this coming year. I am not certain if this will work long-term. To give you some background, my son could have skipped several grades in elementary school, but for various reasons we could not do it. He can certainly cover 2-2.5 grades per academic year without difficulty, but the MAVA structure will not allow this. Massachusetts is not a state that offers many opportunities to gifted children in the public schools in terms of acceleration.

DS's cello teacher called last night talking about my son's applying to Curtis or Coburn early--how this should be a priority for us in making educational decisions, since DS will probably be ready in 2-3 years. This of course means we would like him to complete what would be considered a typical high school curriculum before he does this. So I really need your help--what curriculum should we do? What options are there for us that would not cost a lot of money? We are already paying almost a college tuition for our son to attend the Preparatory Division of the New England Conservatory. Also, are there options that lead to a high school diploma or would he have to get a GED?

There are further complication. I am not a stay-at-home mom--I am a full-time college math professor at a comprehensive university who has 3 other children and a DH who works at a very challenging job. This situation has been stopping me from homeschooling up to this point, but I cannot delay any more... Also, quitting my job is not an option at this point, since we need my salary to survive, pay for lessons, etc.

Please help me with some ideas of how this type of homeschooling could be done, especially from moms who have been there and done that...

Thank you so much for reading this novel! And thanks in advance for sharing ideas as to how I should proceed here.

[moominmamma]

I'm not sure what the rules are surrounding this, but I would investigate the early admissions options at Curtis, NEC and such and ask what they would require. I know that they admit highly gifted kids early with some regularity. Could he just write the GED and get in on the strength of his audition? Or is there a lower age limit to write the GED? As a Canadian I don't know much about these standardized US tests.

Barring that, I would ask how they assess homeschooled applicants. We didn't realize this until it was mentioned to my dd last fall that McGill, where she will attend, would have accepted her at 16 on the strength of her audition if she'd had a "homeschool diploma" and portfolio and been declared a homeschool graduate. Which we easily could have done. In our particular case her eligibility for scholarships through our local high school, which will probably cover her tuition in full, would have been significantly compromised by applying as a homeschooler, so she opted not to apply early, but it was a surprisingly uncomplicated option which we hadn't realized. My impression is that places like Curtis are 99% concerned with the audition, and that the academic transcript is more like a small item that just needs to be ticked off to complete the application process.

I'm sure you could put together a self-designed homeschool program, perhaps using an umbrella school like Clonlara, which would allow him to move quickly at his own pace through basic high school academics. He could work through Art of Problem Solving math books, do a couple of levels of 2nd/3rd language study using Rosetta Stone, make use of some DVD lecture courses through The Learning Company for Humanities and Sciences, supplemented by say three research projects per course, use Bravewriter and self-led reading of literature to make up an English course. Basically you could cobble together a program that would allow you to assign credits for 9th and some 10th grade courses (plus "Instrumental Music 100 & 200" and "Music Composition 200", of course) over the course of the next year, continuing as such until he had a full complement of 12th grade courses and a transcript that looks like a complete high school program, probably within 2-3 years. At that point you have a record of his "courses" and the resources used and you declare him a high school graduate.

I agree with you that K12 sounds like it would be deadly for a kid like yours. My dd had two online history courses this past year that were over the top in terms of workload, and yet very much below her level, kind of like I imagine K12 would be for Z. She put in the dozens of hours required and churned out scores of assignments but the stupidity of the curriculum took hours away from her music, for virtually no learning benefit at all, and drove her nuts. And in fact her supervising teacher and I were almost as frustrated by the ridiculous busywork as she was. It took great maturity for her to get through them and there is no way I will ever subject one of my other kids to that kind of drivel again. My ds would be due to take one of those courses next year and we will definitely be finding a different solution for him.

Just some meandering thoughts. Good luck on this adventure!

Miranda

[Roar]

A few thoughts in no particular order:

1. Avoid the GED. It is a test for high school drop outs not for homeschoolers. It generally isn't required and it will not strengthen his application. Also, in many states students are not eligible to take it until they are older so it would not be helpful to your son.

2. K-12. You are right. It is very likely going to be a time wasting hassle. The courses are going to be designed to take a full public school hour and they are not going to be designed to be at his level. The inflexibility of it might drive you nuts and it will take time away from things he values more. Do you have options in your state virtual academy to pick and choose or do you need to go full time? In some states homeschoolers can select individual courses of interest. That might be a help to get some free inexpensive structure for subjects that are more difficult to cover at home.

3. Does Massachusetts offer any PSEO - dual enrollment options that are state funded and accessible to homeschoolers? If you are not already on a state specific emailist - like a yahoogroup - that is for parents of homeschoolers in MA I would encourage you to do this. They would have the best information about options in your area.

4. You can absolutely homeschool independently and have your child graduate early. You can use whatever combination of materials you wish (online classes, self designed readings classes, working through textbooks, self study for AP tests, community college or college courses, video courses, working with mentors and tutors, etc. etc. etc.)  While you can spend a fortune homeschooling high school you can also spend very little. The vast majority of colleges (including high selective colleges) accept transcripts issued by parents. You will want to keep records of descriptions of the courses he completes. He could start high school work right now and you don't have to ask anyone's permission to do so.

If you want outside accreditation there are options such as: Clonara, NARS, Laurel Springs. But, they all cost money and they will all give you less freedom and flexibility than you will have designing your own curriculum. If your son is fairly self motivated, you probably can design your own curriculum without a great deal of expense or time. He could stay at home or some days he could hang out on campus with you. If you have a bit of money available you could consider hiring grad student tutors in a subject or two if there subjects he will have difficulty self studying or you will have difficulty helping him with.

5. If you've not already done so I'd suggest checking the websites of these schools to read what they say about homeschool applicants. Not all, but many schools, have specific information. You can also call admissions and ask for more information.

We have a homeschooler who entered college early - feel free to PM me

[Roar]

Originally Posted by moominmamma My impression is that places like Curtis are 99% concerned with the audition, and that the academic transcript is more like a small item that just needs to be ticked off to complete the application process.

Agree. I'm assuming he has teachers who will advocate on his behalf in the admissions process. It may be worth floating this plan in their direction to see if anyone can make a few calls for you.

And, I'm big time agreeing with Miranda about the "drivel" courses. Not worth the emotional energy. If you sign up for K12 I would encourage you to be open to an exit plan if it feels like torture.

[Greenmama2]

My impression is that places like Curtis are 99% concerned with the audition, and that the academic transcript is more like a small item that just needs to be ticked off to complete the application process.

I'm in Australia so I can't speak to your US undergrad admissions policies but this is my experience with any music programme worth it's salt. Perhaps your best plan would be to find out directly from his preferred schools and work backwards from there.
I know this is the homeschooling board and I am a passionate homeschooler myself but have you actually explored all your brick & mortar school options. Here in Aus most states have one selective music high school that is a feeder school for a tertiary music institution. Graduates of that school still audition but they have lessons with teachers from the conservatory while at the high school and hours of orchestra;/chamber/solo practice is written into the school day. It's not uncommon for 13 year olds serious about a musical career to be boarding in a different city or even state from their families to attend one of these schools.Does the US not have anything similar?

[dessismama]

Thank you all for your thoughtful responses. Your help has been invaluable.

I am leaning towards a cobbled curriculum, with a combination of home courses, online courses, and courses Z can take at my university.

And of course, with homeschooling we can start at the level of a high school curriculum right away. I joined all the local groups and emailed some other music parents (one family in town had their homeschooled daughter going to Boston University in the fall), so I am learning as I go along. Curtis requires younger students to finish high school in some shape or form and take the SATs. This should not really be a problem.

Thanks again! I will keep you posted on how things go.

[dessismama]

Originally Posted by Greenmama2 



\Graduates of that school still audition but they have lessons with teachers from the conservatory while at the high school and hours of orchestra;/chamber/solo practice is written into the school day. It's not uncommon for 13 year olds serious about a musical career to be boarding in a different city or even state from their families to attend one of these schools.Does the US not have anything similar?

We are sort of doing this at NEC's Preparatory Division: lessons with conservatory faculty in cello and composition, chamber music, music theory, orchestra, etc.

There are a couple of Arts high schools in USA, one is down the road from us, but we are not certain this will be a better option than homeschooling. Especially given the price tag...

[tankgirl73]

I don't know if I can offer much wisdom but wanted to chime in anyway -- as a professional musician and homeschooling parent of a gifted musician.  My 13yo son is not nearly so gifted as yours, he has Aperger's and ADHD and was a late bloomer musically, he only really started playing any instruments a couple years ago when he took up the electric guitar, and in the past year alone he's added percussion (not just 'rock drum set' but orchestra/concert band percussion as well) and saxophone and finally started letting me give him piano lessons.  He's playing in the city band, a middle school band program, the city's youth orchestra, his church's handbell choir... He started classical guitar lessons as well and in less than a year was doing grade 2 in the music festival, his teacher says he'll start grade 3 in the fall.  He's a late bloomer, but he's practically a prodigy, you'd never know he's only been playing for a year!!!  

Academically, he's only at grade level in most subjects, though I think he could be at a higher level in some subjects, he has executive function, self-determination, and self-esteem issues... So in that sense he's definitely different than your son.

But anyway, homeschooling definitely gives us the freedom he needs to have the time for all his practicing, as well as focus his academics exactly where he needs them to be.  He also does a lot of composing and transcribing and recording.  A *lot*.  And up until a month ago, he was also a competitive gymnast, training 7-10 hours every week!  (he finally quit this year, saying "it's taking too much time away from my music"!)

Basically, a full high school course load done independently at home will probably take 3-5 hours per day.  Compare that with the likely 7 hours they'd be spending in school, that's already a savings of at LEAST 2 hours a day -- plus, you don't have to follow a 'normal' schedule at all.  If he has a lot of rehearsals on Tuesdays but nothing on Sundays, then you can "do school" on Sunday and just do music on Tuesday.  Or do school in the evenings so he can practice in the mornings.  Or just whatever works for you.

I think you're on the right track to cobble together a curriculum rather than follow something standard.  Most pre-made curriculums are designed for the 'average' kid, which your kid is not.  :)  My suggestion would be to focus primarily on the absolute bare essentials that he'll need for admission and don't worry about other course work, unless it's something he's really really interested in.  For instance, he might not need chemistry if he knows he's going to be a musician.... but perhaps he's fascinated by physics (esp. acoustics).  If entrance requirements are just "science", then choose a science course that's something he enjoys rather than because it's any particular grade level.

Most of our favourite curricula are non-graded, actually.  They'll have an age range suggested, but that's it.  So rather than worrying about 'grade 9 english' then 'grade 10 english' then 'grade 11 english'... just do 'english' and gradually expect more in terms of essay-writing etc over the course of the years.  In other words, unit studies are your friends.  Knowledge is an accumulation of information, not necessarily a specific *sequence* of information.

Also, at this level, there are a LOT of resources out there aimed at self-instruction.  So you don't have to be with him 100% of the time when he's doing his work.  My son, somewhat counter-intuitively, actually works best on his own rather than me 'teaching' him.

My son's schedule for next year ('grade 8') is looking like it will be about 4 hours of 'academic' work (english, math, science, history, french, english, art) and 1.5-2 hours of music theory, history, and practice.  And 90% of it is self-instruction, I just give him the list of what he's supposed to do each day and he goes off and does it.  His math and english are both video-based instruction, for instance.

[Lisa1970]

If you can skip the public charter and do your own thing, I would. My daughter (who is at Interlochen right now) spent a few hrs a day on her music and was so far ahead of everyone academically and musically when she attempted to return to school. I think the lack of busy work and junk helped. The public schools are so full on nonsense work, that I hate to have my child waste the day on that when she already has something else better to be doing.

[Lisa1970]

I will say, I only did the basics with my daughter. I left the rest up to her to pursue as she was interested. She also took science classes and I required a foreign language. She actually chose to read stuff like "History of the Viola" and is more well versed than anyone else in history and science. She will do physics this fall. I know she read some things like Men of Cello in the past and other books that I would find to be torture. But fact is, learning history from a textbook is like...well...not learning history. It just does not work, nothing is retained.