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What is interest led learing - 9/17/2008 4:41:49 PM
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drumplayersmom
Posts: 26
Joined: 1/23/2006
From: Eastern NC
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What is it and how does it work? I have a 10th grader and we are struggling in a couple of subjects. especially History. We are using Notgrass american history and I like it alot but Cam is not so excited about it. Really truth be told Cameron is really struggling with caring about school right now period and I just do not know what to do. I am really sad about it. He is such a smart child and used to love to learn. Part of me thinks it is his age and normal to go thru this but part of me just feels like I have failed. I really need some encouragement and advise from homeschooling parents of teenage boys!!!
Thanks
Heidi
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RE: What is interest led learing - 9/17/2008 5:16:13 PM
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shadowspring
Posts: 1626
Joined: 5/27/2006
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On the second point, home schooling encouragement for a mom of a teen boy, I have a little to say. Love him and listen to him! I try to keep it simple if it is not an area that interests them much.
For example, I have several CD-ROMs from Ohio Distinctive Software that I rely on for must have credits that my former student was not interested in. He did US Government and Chemistry that way (since he got his lab requirements out of the way in Biology and Integrated Science and didn't have to have lab in chemistry).
On the first point, interest-directed learning, you can probably find books that do a good job of explaining it. For a teen, I think it is time to map out a couple of potential future career choices, and decide what a person needs to do to fulfill those requirements.
Let him pick which two interest him the most, and then plan your school accordingly.
Does he want to be an airplane mechanic in the Air Force? He needs a high school diploma and to score well on the ASVAB. Math, reading comprehension, and an overall understanding of the big events of US History and basic principles of Civics should get him there.
Does he want to be a pharmacist? He needs a high school diploma with the minimum college admissions requirements checked off, good SAT/ACT scores, ability to study and to write clearly, perseverance of character to make it through a minimum of four years of college and maybe grad school.
Does he want to work in retail? Then to study business at community college, he needs at least a GED, decent SAT/ACT scores, study skills and perseverance to get an two year associates degree. If he can work in retail at the same time, all the better.
Does he want to be an auto mechanic? Tech school usually only requires a GED.
Maybe he has other possibilities that don't require any extra education, but the only way to reach a goal is to set it for yourself in the first place. So perhaps some research into career possibilities is the place to start?
_____________________________
"Blessed is the man...whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law meditates day and night. He will be like a tree planted by rivers of water..." from Psalm 1
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RE: What is interest led learing - 9/17/2008 10:27:26 PM
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sen10tious
Posts: 349
Joined: 4/11/2005
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Interest led learning is pretty much what it sounds like—you learn about what you are interested in and then in theory (and pretty generally true even in reality) the research and study skills you pick up while learning something enjoyable will carry over so that if/when you are faced with having to know something, you will be able to find that out too.
Mostly, interest led learning is about choosing a subject you are interested in; but you can adapt the principle to areas of a less-than-exciting required subject too. Attempting interest-led learning for a subject you find to be dull is taking the Mary Poppins approach – a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. You end up with sweet medicine, but never fully conquer that medicinal aftertaste. Still, it is usually better than the plain stuff.
By any chance is Cam your drum player? And may I assume he finds drum playing interesting and enjoyable? If you apply this interest to American history he might research the purpose of a drum & bugle corps. How did the invention of the radio change the need for bugles on the battlefield? How did they differ from drum & fife bands? What were drum heads made of before the invention of mylar? What were the duties performed by military drummers during the War for Independence? How did it differ from more recent wars? What about Native American tom-toms—were they used as war cries, for religious observances, or for a tribe's political ceremonies? Go to History.com and type "drum" into the search-within-the-site box and see what pops up. (History.com is fairly "safe" for a high school kid.) Read some biographies of famous drum players. This kind of history study ditches the text book and uses "real life" sources for finding information. That is an earmark characteristic of interest-led learning.
With teenage boys, (with anyone, really,) planning for an interest-led learning history curriculum becomes a three-way balancing act. They need to 1. gain enough basic history to function as a good citizen; they need to 2. meet requirements for career goals; and they need to 3. develop their life-long learning process (this is the part where the "caring about school" is supposed to be coaxed along by the "interesting" topic).
_____________________________
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RE: What is interest led learing - 9/18/2008 1:02:36 AM
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drumplayersmom
Posts: 26
Joined: 1/23/2006
From: Eastern NC
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Thank you both so much for your help. I will be investigating the information you provided. Yes Cam is a drummer and your suggestions about researching the drums is awesome!!!
Thanks again
Heidi
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RE: What is interest led learing - 9/18/2008 1:25:31 AM
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cindybode
Posts: 1546
Joined: 4/11/2005
From: Northwest PA
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Sen10 pretty much nailed it. You will find lots of info and ideas at Ignite the Fire.
You might also want to check out a copy of The Teenage Liberation Handbook from the library. Warning - this is NOT written from a Christian perspective and there are ideas you won't agree with, but unless your son is totally unable to take the ideas that will help him and leave the rest, he will probably find some inspiration in the book. It's all about teens taking responsibility for their own education - which, in the end, HAS to happen. At some point, your son has to own his life, because there is only so much you can make him do.
Shadow has great ideas about making a plan if your son has some idea about what he wants to do when he finishes high school. Reality, though, is that many kids don't. That's ok - it doesn't mean he'll still be living in your basement when he's 35.  It might not be a bad idea to ask him to start narrowing down his interests, though, because a large part of finding the right career is eliminating the choices that are obviously wrong.
I have done interest-led education with all my kids, and when left to their own devices they have actually ended up with a pretty well rounded education. I have been know to order a couple of DVDs from Netflix that I wanted to watch , and lo and behold they sparked an interest that some kid didn't know he had, but hey, all's fair in love and homeschooling.  I do the same with things they really need to know but aren't particularly interested in - try to find a video that covers the basics and call it good.
_____________________________
If you lock in any creature, from rats to chickens to pigs to people, 10 to 30 or more in a box and force feed them you'll create little monsters. Confinement Education School Operations (CESOs) just don't compare to naturally pastured free-ranged kids.
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RE: What is interest led learing - 9/22/2008 11:51:57 AM
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goodnsimple
Posts: 44
Joined: 7/28/2008
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So I think I had a bit of a control spasm.
We are winding up with plants for science.
Next is insects...
ds says wistfully "I wish we could find out how electricity works."
(little voice in my head...NO! insects is next! it is on the lesson plan, I checked the INSECT videos out!!!)
So this weekend I have researched electricity sites. It is a challenge because of reading level issues, but I think we found some good info.
surely I can squash whatever intrest he may have had in electricity by planning a too in depth lesson and forcing him to start at the beginning....
I am trying really I am, but I need it to be in ORDER...no its ok, we can look up what he doesn't understand, right.
HIS interest right. right.
Pray for me.
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