As my first post to this site, I would like to talk about our education on this trip. We decided to not take a full set of 7 classes like we do in regular school, as we would not be able to spend any time enjoying our trip. Instead we decided to each take 3 classes of our choosing which we will be taking during 9 months of our year-long trip. Before the trip I was in Sophomore year, and I will be taking a gap year so that I come back into Junior year. This is because Junior year is important for the college application process so it wouldn’t be wise to miss it. My sister was in 7th grade in middle school, so she will be coming back into 9th grade, as it is not too impactful to miss 8th grade.
My sister Erin choose to take Algebra 1, Japanese, and Comparative Religion. She is taking Algebra 1 to keep up with math. She chose Japanese and Comparative Religion, as they are both interests of hers.
I chose to take French 3, Video Game Design and Filmmaking. I am taking French 3 because I would like to open up another elective when I return to high school (my high school’s advanced diploma requires 3 years of a language). I am also taking self-directed Filmmaking and self-directed Video Game Design as they have both been interests of mine for a time now. Both of them will allow me to have more experience in making finished products in both fields. It will also allow me to decide which I prefer more, as there are no college courses that I know of that cover both subjects. It will be good to decide which one I have more interest in before I have to start applying to colleges.
My French 3 course and my sister’s Algebra 1 and Comparative Religion courses are through an accredited distance learning high school called Oak Meadow. We choose Oak Meadow after looking at a bunch of schools because it allows us to take our courses away from land while also having limited access to the internet.
The reason that I decided to have my Video Game Design and Filmmaking classes be self-directed is because I have some experience in both fields and I have inconsistent access to internet. I felt that none of the classes or curriculums that I found online would work for me because of this.
In creating my curriculums, I decided that I should make them challenging while also ramping up the intensity of the courses as time went on. For this reason I structured my Video Game Design course so that I will create one game every 2 months, going from a simpler mobile game to more complex PC games, spending the last 2 months refining one of the games that I made during the year for public release. For Filmmaking, I decided that I would make a short film every month of just a few minutes, with the final 2 to 3 months spent making a film in the 30-minute range.
My sister and I are excited for school on our boat this year, and we will post an update in the future on how it is going.
Sounds pretty interesting to me. I would have liked to have had the freedom during my schooling to take courses that held a particular interest to me. You and Erin are very fortunate to be able to branch out.
Andy
Keep enjoying learning for learning’s sake. With my professional hat on, perhaps develop a website portfolio for all your games and films. Consider joining Zeemee and uploading updates, and think about designing a board game, a possible entrance requirement for game design.
Most of all, have fun and give everyone hearty hellos from us.
Cathy Ganley
You have a well thought out plan.There is more to education than schooling.
Way to go both of you! Stay diligent and you’ll ease back into regular school with no issues.
Congratulations on a successful voyage to Antigua. I am courious about the interesting deviation from the rhumb line 3 days or so out of Bermuda.
Jack C