For most students, their homeschool years are going to end when they apply for admission to a selective college or university. When they do, the admission reps will look at their application and ask a few simple questions. As an example, Harvard University asks the following questions:
- Have you reached your maximum academic and personal potential?
- Have you been stretching yourself?
- Have you been working to capacity in your academic pursuits, your full-time or part-time employment, or other areas?
- Do you have reserve power to do more?
- How have you used your time?
- Do you have initiative? Are you a self-starter? What motivates you?
- Do you have a direction yet? What is it? If not, are you exploring many things?
- Where will you be in one, five, or 25 years? Will you contribute something to those around you?
- What sort of human being are you now? What sort of human being will you be in the future?
- Do you care deeply about anything—Intellectual? Extracurricular? Personal?
- What have you learned from your interests? What have you done with your interests? How have you achieved results? With what success or failure? What have you learned as a result?
- In terms of extracurricular, athletic, community, or family commitments, have you taken full advantage of opportunities?
- What is the quality of your activities? Do you appear to have a genuine commitment or leadership role?
- If you have not had much time in high school for extracurricular pursuits due to familial, work, or other obligations, what do you hope to explore at Harvard with your additional free time?
If you read through these questions, you will see a common theme. The university is not looking for any of the requirements most homeschool parents talk about. This is because they are assumed to be true of all students applying for admission. What the university is actually looking for has to do with the character of the student: Does this student work to do all that he/she can? Students and parents often speak of achievements positively, without comparing them to what achievements were possible. This is what most modern students get wrong: What you achieve can only be judged relative to what you could have achieved.
168 Hours Every Week
Every week, the Lord gives us 168 hours to live. We are, therefore, accountable for our use of these 168 hours. Our “potential” work can only be known when we consider what can be done in the time given to us. Print or download a copy of the chart pictured above and give an account for how every hour is spent. What you will find is that many hours are spent on useless, wandering, unprofitable activity, and we have way more available time than we think we do.
Consequences of Wasting Time & Opportunity
When we realize how much time we waste, or use poorly, we can see that we are not living up to our potential. We can roll our eyes and say, “Oh well, I like doing things the way I do them.”, and that’s fine–as long as we’re willing to accept the consequences. If we are dependent on the approval of others for education, employment, promotions, etc., and that in a competitive modern society, our failure to live up to our potential will eventually cost us something we desire.
As we saw above, the people making admission decisions at the best universities are looking for people who make the most of their opportunities, people who “stretch themselves”. If we choose to stay “relaxed”, it will be noticed.
The Dangers of Low Standards
When homeschool students do not set their standards as they should, but allow low standards to be their aim, there are many negative consequences. Setting the bar low lets students get their necessary work done in a brief amount of time, with minimal effort, and they then pretend that the rest of their day is “free”. Students can get away with this during times when there is no accountability, but at some point, a bridge will need to be crossed that can’t be crossed.
Even worse, there are negative moral consequences of setting standards too low. The idleness that results when standards are low is a breeding ground for bad habits and trouble. One old proverb warned that “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” When our goals are set rightly, we should feel challenged and “stretched”. If we don’t, we’re not aiming high enough. In the end, we get what we chose to aim for.
William C. Michael, Headmaster
Classical Liberal Arts Academy
