I’m in the final few months of my fifth year of homeschooling, and it feels like a good time to reflect on the many different approaches to classes I’ve taken. (Especially since it’s time to think about classes for next year.)

Online Learning (live classes): French 3, World Geography

Online learning is easy to take anywhere, and there are so many subjects available.  Unfortunately, those are some of the only pros. 

The challenges of live online learning are that it’s more difficult to have discussions. French 3 is currently the only online class I’m taking, and while it doesn’t have as much discussion, it’s always difficult on Zoom to have everyone contributing or talking. On the flip side, people can talk over each other due to Zoom’s lag. 

Next year, though, I’m planning to take a Film Studies class online, and I’m hoping that the online discussions will be more lively because the people taking the class will be interested and engaged. 

Online Learning (asynchronous): Bravewriter (English) and Denison (Math)

For the past two years I’ve enrolled in Brave Writer writing classes, and it’s great that I can do the work anywhere. There’s no video to watch or class to attend, simply instructions and a mini-lesson on that day’s topic. Assignments are usually responses to the day’s reading that accumulate later in the course to form the basis of either an essay or research paper.  Brave Writer also has an online discussion space.

The math curriculum I’m using doesn’t have any class discussion spaces, it’s just the videos and assignments. But that approach works really well for me, as opposed to a classroom setting, because math isn’t a class that I could answer questions quickly in. And I’d also feel uncomfortable asking questions in a class when I don’t quite grasp the concept. This kind of asynchronous learning is a great solution.

Working with Family: History of Music, English (novel studies)

I do love getting to study school subjects with my parents, because it lets me discover things about them. During our History of Music course, my mom introduced me to a bunch of bands that she listened to growing up, and now I listen to (some of) that music all the time. My mom is an English teacher, and a great one. I really enjoyed reading The Odyssey with her recently, even if we were almost bored to tears by the end of it. Twenty-four books is a lot, though we both really liked comparing our different translations (she read Wilson, I read Fagles). 

The challenges of working with my family are mostly that it’s my family, and we have a slight tendency to get distracted and go on tangents while discussing subjects. 

In-person Learning: Environmental Science, Homeschool in the Wild , Broadway & Beyond, Creative Writing

Of all the class types I’ve taken this year, in-person is my favorite. You can have lively discussions while also not staring at a screen for two hours. Environmental Science is a particularly interesting class, because there’s a lot of discussion balanced with lectures and labs.  

The main downside to this method, in my experience, is that it doesn’t work for every class. An in-person math class sounds like my own personal hell. But an in-person writing class is perfect. I love sharing my creative writing and receiving feedback on it, but to do that with math would be torture. 

Self-Study: Jewelry, Music

While I’m an incredibly outgoing person, I’m also a person who loves doing things alone, and I’ve been doing my own research on different topics for years. I taught myself to make wire jewelry when I was twelve and right now, I’m learning how to use the software on my laptop to record and make music. 

Each of the styles of learning I’ve tried over the past five years has taught me something about myself and how I learn. For example: I love class discussions, and going forward, I am planning to prioritize this style of learning in the classes that are most important to me.