The Situation/Focus

In this session, the focus was on a new program we are developing to get our students in the same room with folks they admire or that have careers or experiences they are interested in learning about.

Key Insights or Distinctions

1. 1. Harnessing student enthusiasm: By involving students in the creation and implementation of a program designed to explore various career fields, their excitement, and engagement were utilized effectively.
   2. Leveraging technology: The use of Discord as a virtual communication platform demonstrated the potential of technology to facilitate meaningful interactions and learning experiences with professionals from diverse fields.
      Ensuring safety and privacy: The students provided valuable input on maintaining a safe and secure environment for both the virtual discussions and private coaching sessions, showcasing their familiarity with the platform and their awareness of online safety.
   3. Collaborative learning: This session underscored the importance of involving students in shaping programs and tapping into their knowledge and expertise. By doing so, the program became more meaningful and effective, providing a valuable educational experience for all involved.
   4. Empowering students: The session demonstrated that when students are given the opportunity to take an active role in their education, they can contribute valuable insights and ideas, ultimately enhancing the learning experience for themselves and their peers.

Session Notes

In this session, the focus was on a new program that the students were excited about. The program involved generating interest in different career fields and experiences by hosting a series of virtual discussions with professionals from various fields. These talks will be designed to spark curiosity and answer questions on different career fields or experiences and will be offered free and open to the entire homeschool community.

The students had already generated a rather large list of career fields/interests from youth and we are now working on setting everything up to collect potential speaker information. During the session, they discussed Discord and how best to use it for this guest scenario.

The students provided a helpful overview of some of the features of Discord and helped to set up a space on the server to host these talks, as well as a methodology for keeping themselves and private coaching sessions safe. The student’s knowledge and experience with Discord proved to be invaluable in ensuring the success and safety of these virtual discussions.

Overall, this session highlighted the importance of tapping into the knowledge and expertise of our students to help shape and execute programs that are meaningful and effective. It also showcased the power of virtual communication tools like Discord to connect with professionals from various fields and provide valuable learning experiences for students.

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If you want to join a discussion about this or any other high school education topic, we have a group on Facebook called “Alternatives to High School” and invite you to join. The goal of the group is to give parents a place to discuss options to public/private school and standardized curriculum as well as share resources for educating teens.