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Setting Goals
Your student may soon be heading to high
school, if so, curriculum content will become more complex, and
record keeping will intensify. Student’s will become involved
with more activities, advanced studies, mission trips, testing,
volunteer
Philippians 3:14 “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” The benefits of setting goals are recognized throughout the entire home school community. Parents who establish goals before their child is in school are more likely to benefit than those who wait until after their child is in school. As the child approaches high school, they begin to prepare for college. Goals set in place will help in this process, making it a more enjoyable experience. If you haven't already, now is a good time to begin setting goals, especially educational goals. Today, most businesses train their employees in setting goals, and then track the results using databases and charts. Goals are shared between entities such as government, work force, and the public educational system. As a home school parent we will replace most resources available through the public school system. We will become the principals, guidance counselors, teachers, school nurses, coaches, and the sole advisor on the curriculum board. Providing our children with the information and assistance needed to set and achieve various goals becomes our responsibility. Researching the Internet, reading books, speaking to veteran home school parents, and support groups will be helpful. Preparing for the school year in advance can allow you to set educational goals in place, and can give you the opportunity to thoroughly research curriculum, and possibly find it at a lower cost. Basic goals are essential to the training and teaching of our children. These may be goals necessary to allow for our children to attend college. As early as first grade we should consider; will this child attend college? What will I need to teach my child to achieve this? What do I want my child to leave home with after high school? Basic goals may be broken down into two categories, long-term and short-term goals. Setting goals for the teacher is as important as setting goals for your children. Basic educational guidelines for each grade level are already in place and can be viewed at the South Carolina Department of Education web site. These educational guidelines are for the public school system and by no means have to be followed by the home school. However, they serve as a model. Home schoolers use many different curriculums that do not teach the same content at the same grade level. It is up to you to make sure that your child will complete the elementary years with the foundation they need to move on to middle school and high school. Palmetto Independent Educators has chosen the South Carolina Department of Educations “Curriculum Standards” and “High School Graduation Requirements” as a set of basic educational guidelines for the home school student. Colleges and universities usually accept these standards as well. There is nothing in the state laws and regulations that indicate these basic educational guidelines are a requirement to be met by SC home schools. South Carolina Department of Educations Curriculum and Standards An alternative to the South Carolina Public High School Curriculum Standards would be following the scope and sequence issued by your curriculum provider. You might compare your curriculum provider’s scope and sequence against the states curriculum standards to see how they compare. You could compare scope and sequences from a variety of curriculum providers as well. http://ed.sc.gov/topics/curriculumstds/ South Carolina Department of Educations High School Graduation Requirements An alternative to the South Carolina Department of Educations High School Graduation Requirements would be requesting a copy of the high school course prerequisites from each college to which the student intends to apply. Select the college with the most requirements as your basic or minimum goals. See Credits, Credits, and more Credits for more information. http://ed.sc.gov/features/backtoschool/gradreq.html Short-term goals are goals that can be implemented when necessary, and fulfilled in a short period of time. If your child needs more attention in a particular subject, you will need to set some short-term goals that will help him master the subject. For instance you might consider teaching the subject through the summer months to allow time to review and work in problem areas. Short-term goals may change many times over the course of the school year. They may be as simple as setting down a schedule in order to finish a science project on time, establish a study habit, or to master typing. A long-term goal is a goal that will be achieved over a long period of time, such as preparing for college, learning a vocational skill, or mastering an art. Establish a set of long-term goals for each child. As we know, all children are unique and will need their own individual set of long-term goals. Take time before the beginning of the school year to establish a list of goals to be accomplished for each child. Consider goals for the year, five years and even longer. For our home school, we complete our children’s educational goal list for the following school year when we finish our present school year. This is when our perception of what was, or was not, accomplished is fresh in our mind. Each year we monitor our child’s progress by evaluating their past and current school records to make necessary adjustments. Test results are another tool we use as a means of assessment. “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, This man began to build and was not able to finish." Luke 14:27-30 Visit the following related links:
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programs,
work, and preparing for college. Your involvement will help them
maintain focus and a clear perspective of the
student's/teacher's goals. Your student should be participating
in all aspects of record keeping. They should be prepared to
keep track of their own activities. Depending on your student,
he/she could be assigned a portion of their records to maintain,
and be graded on that as well. 
