Homeschooling Past 12th Grade.

[edf203]

One can take correspondence courses or online courses and gain college credit, and even a degree, from home.

Of course, the option is also there to attend a Christian college or if for some strange reason they want to, they can go to a secular college.

I would HIGHLY recommend going to a real school for college. I don't know of any respectable, well-paying job that requires a home or online degree. Such degrees are usually not given much credibility unless you want to sit in a cubicle and push papers for the next 40 years.

Also, about the question of whether to go to a Christian school or a regular one, I would say it again depends on the quality of degree you want. If you want a degree in Arabic in order to be a translator, than sure, go to Liberty or Pensacola. However, if you want something like aeronautical engineering or software writing, I would recommend something like Embry Riddle or MIT. After all, the "Christian school" label doesn't mean the student will study with Christian students or be taught by Christian professors.

Really, there is no advantage to homeschooling past 12th grade, unless you have a horrific medical problem that prevents you from living on your own at a university.

[Seth Doty]

As I see it the primary purpose for Christians homeschooling is to provide a decent education while insulating immature children from the full force of the wickedness of the world. That is all well and good, but it is a fact of life that they are going to have to deal with it one way or another eventually. Therefore children should be insulated, but not isolated from the world. They should have a general idea what is out there, have some exposure to it, and be taught why it is wrong. In my opinion if by the time a child is old enough to go to college they can't stand on their own against the world then there was either a failure in training somewhere along the line leading to immaturity or they simply have no desire to do right and wish to follow the world. If the latter situation is the case they will do so no matter where they are, be it at a Christian college, a secular college, or no college at all and there is nothing the parents can do about it. Now given that one must weigh the benefits of a Christian college vs. a secular one. Theoretically(though not always true in practice) a Christian college will provide a more Godly atmosphere than a secular college. On the other hand unless the individual intends to go into some type of paid "full time Christian service" they are most likely going to end up in some sort of rather ungodly work environment eventually no matter if they want to or not. Just a reality. Therefore even in the best case scenario and in the best Christian college your child is most likely only going delay their exposure to the world for a few years. From my point of view that probably doesn't make a lot of difference one way or another. The main plus for a secular college is that they can be cheaper(depending on where you go of course) and that a degree from a secular college looks better on most resumes than a degree from a bible college. About the only real plus, if you want to call it that, to "bible colleges" is that a lot of people seem to unofficially use them as a place to go to find someone to marry, and I suppose the odds are better there than at a secular college for that sort of thing. Still, I don't consider that a particularly worthwhile reason to go to college. Obviously though many people choose, or are sent by their parents, to a Christian college, and for good or ill that is a personal choice. Myself I do not trust Christian colleges at all and see little or nothing to recommend them in the vast majority of situations, but obviously not everyone agrees.

Edited April 5, 2011 by Seth-Doty

[Anon]

This is an older thread....but I just wanted to say I think home-college sounds ridiculous. You can't home-job them too! haha. Unless you have a farm you want them to inherit!

[John81]

This is an older thread....but I just wanted to say I think home-college sounds ridiculous. You can't home-job them too! haha. Unless you have a farm you want them to inherit!

Correspondence or on-line college isn't like it once was, the realm of diploma mills. Most of the "better" colleges today offer such courses and many offer degrees. I took three Master's level courses like this after I graduated with my Bachelor's (I attended university for that). At the time I was working and couldn't relocate to take the courses. Taking the courses via distance enabled me to continue my education without pause. Two of the courses I took were through the University of Iowa, and all three courses I took were as demanding as thorough as the on campus classes.

This isn't to say that taking such courses or getting a degree in this way (NOTE: degrees earned from a reputable college through distance education are equal to a degree earned on campus...both degrees look the same and transcripts are equal) is always the best, but it is an option.

[DennisD]

Correspondence or on-line college isn't like it once was, the realm of diploma mills. Most of the "better" colleges today offer such courses and many offer degrees. I took three Master's level courses like this after I graduated with my Bachelor's (I attended university for that). At the time I was working and couldn't relocate to take the courses. Taking the courses via distance enabled me to continue my education without pause. Two of the courses I took were through the University of Iowa, and all three courses I took were as demanding as thorough as the on campus classes.

This isn't to say that taking such courses or getting a degree in this way (NOTE: degrees earned from a reputable college through distance education are equal to a degree earned on campus...both degrees look the same and transcripts are equal) is always the best, but it is an option.

John is right, there is no online diploma...the classes are the same if not HARDER due to the shorter time limit and more work involved (self-discipline to sit down and read because there is no set time to be in class hurts a lot of people). There is no distinction between getting a diploma through online courses or not...it's ran by the same school. This is how most military get their college courses done. I guess they'll just be pushing papers for 40 years when they get out of the military... :blink: Edited April 5, 2011 by DennisD

[Salyan]

It depends what you want to do, too. I was able to do a complete Library & Information Technology program via distance ed online. The college was located half a continent away - but it worked! :)

[farouk]

The purpose of education must include broadening the mind. At university age level, it's hard to try to get a broad view of the world that folk will be working in if students are determined only to be around church folk who think like they do. A college should be more a place where the mind is broadened and trained in using critical faculties, than a sort of matrimonial agency for families who go to similar churches. There was a book years ago called 'The closing of the American mind'; well, a college education should be about broadening the mind, rather than closing it. It's the local church, with its Biblical teaching, which is the real pillar and ground of the truth.

Edited July 21, 2011 by farouk