I was behind in my science and math compared to my peers so I spent some of my year with the ninth grade Biology class and some with the ninth/tenth grade Geometry class. This included Bible right before Geometry and short Bible/Math classes one day a week because of Physical Education. In addition I took American History and American Literature, music, and Health (an eleventh grade requirement in Pennsylvania) with my peers. I also had a special Chemistry class with other students in eleventh and twelfth grades. We were the ones who missed out on Chemistry in tenth grade for whatever reason and needed it before we graduated. I also participated in the Choir and for part of the year the Worship Band which led the student worship during Chapel. My favorite class? American History. I took American History several times during my 12 years of formal schooling and the year at Dayspring was different in an inspiring way.
The highlights of my week included lunch with my Mom on Mondays in her second grade classroom on the top floor. (I don’t think I ever went up two flights of stairs so fast!) It reminded me of when we were homeschooling! I loved Wednesdays because that was pizza day and we didn’t have to pack a lunch. Well, I loved it until the end of the year when after eating it for nine months straight I didn’t ever want to see a cheese pizza ever again! Occasionally I bought my hot lunch on Thursdays, but I used my own money for that and didn’t do it often.
Besides learning the coursework in these classes I learned how to learn. I learned how to research, I learned how to write, I learned how to reason, and I learned how to take the most difficult kind of test–the essay test. I don’t think I ever wrote so much in my whole life! In fact, that eleventh grade year was more difficult than any of the classes I took a few years later in community college to get my Associate’s Degree! At Dayspring most of the tests were essay tests and multiple choice did not exist. In community college it was the opposite. I also learned something about myself. My home school education wasn’t at all faulty. I was able to keep up with my classmates fairly easily and when I worked really hard I was able to acquire A’s and B’s to make one of the honor rolls every trimester.
In spite of a large learning curve, stress like I’d never experienced, and poor health (I was sick several times that year which included weeks out of the classroom) the community at the school made it one of the best years that I still look back at with fondness. The students formed a bond and encouraged you if you were feeling sad or sick or happy! The teacher’s were no different and cheered you on until you grasped that difficult concept. The teacher’s were excited about the topics they taught in a way that I have rarely encountered anywhere else and it was contagious– if you wanted it to be. I often wonder what would have happened if we had not moved and I had graduated from Dayspring Christian Academy.
How about you? What was your most memorable year at school? Did you have a favorite teacher?