How to Prepare Your Teen for College or Career
Help your teen develop the practical life skills that he or she needs in order to thrive as a young adult.
As homeschool parents we work hard to make sure our kids are prepared for college or a career after graduation. We teach all the required subjects and make sure they have all the credits they need.
But meeting all the requirements for graduation doesn’t necessarily prepare a teen for the future.
Yes, those high school credits represent a lot of knowledge and experience. But all the advanced math or AP biology credits in the world can’t truly prepare our kids for real life in the adult world.
So what do our teens REALLY need to succeed in the future?
Life skills.
Sometimes we think of life skills as knowing how to do laundry or cook something a little more nutritious than boxed mac-n-cheese. But really, it goes beyond the practical skills that we teach in everyday life.
Thankfully Mr. D Math offers an online class that covers many of the important life skills that our teens need for their future.
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College and Career Readiness Online Class
Mr. D Math’s College and Career Readiness course is a live online class taught by Mr. Dennis DiNoia. This is a one-semester class that is worth 1/2 a credit in Leadership Development (or something similar).
The College and Career Readiness class meets weekly via Zoom, a video conferencing program. Mr. D teaches through live video, so students can actually view him teaching in real time.
All student communication happens in the chat area. When Mr. D asks a question, students type their replies in the chat box so he can discuss their answers immediately in the live video.
How Mr. D Helps Your Teen Develop Life Skills
Practical Lessons
The College and Career Readiness course helps your teen develop a variety of personal and financial skills, including:
- Time management
- Goal setting
- Resume writing
- College application writing
- Check writing, credit cards, and bank accounts
- Creating a long-term savings plan
- Saving money and paying taxes
- Investment strategies
- Entrepreneurial skills
These are the practical skills that our kids need in order to thrive as independent young adults.
Real-Life Application
I’ve been so impressed with the emphasis Mr. D places on application of the lessons. Students don’t just get head knowledge; they get real life experience, too.
For example, in the lesson on goal setting, students are required to set a goal that they would like to accomplish before the end of the course. Then, in a later lesson, they discuss with their classmates what they have accomplished toward their goal.
In another lesson, students learn about the stock market. Then they participate in a virtual stock market game, “buying” and “selling” stocks over a period of several weeks.
These opportunities for real-life application are excellent ways to help teens “practice” the skills that they will need as capable young adults.
Student Discussion
I love that class discussion is such an integral part of this course! After most lessons, students are assigned a discussion question that they answer in the student portal. Then they are required to comment on others’ posts as well.
It’s so inspiring to see the students actively participating in thought-provoking discussions. And the interaction between students is a great way to build interpersonal skills, too!
Does your teen need help with life skills? Check out the College and Career Readiness course from Mr. D Math!