The Subjects of School ~ 10th Grade

Welcome to another miscellaneous post, readers! Because I just completed my school year last Friday, I decided to write an article that will provide insight into my homeschool schedule, and the textbooks I use. I use Abeka Academy as my curriculum for every subject. This school is in Pensacola, Florida, and the materials are all written from a biblical standpoint. I hope to be able to express the reasons why I chose particular topics to write about in my blog.

1. Bible Doctrines

In Bible Doctrines, I studied Bibliology, Theology, Christology, Pneumatology, Anthropology, Ecclesiology, Angelology, and Eschatology. It’s somewhat difficult to remember everything (if you didn’t notice with all of the “–ologies”), but I found this course extremely informative because it was a topical study of the truths of God’s Word. In my opinion, topical studies help organize the facts so that we are able to understand it more easily. This is the first year that I have done a topical study (usually my curriculum does a chronological study of the Bible), but I am sure that it will prepare me for the Bible courses that I will have to take the next two years. I also memorized about three or four verses each week. It’s a lot of work, but these verses tie in with the studies I’m doing.

2. Algebra 2

This is a warning: If you enjoy algebra, trigonometry, and geometry, you might want to know that I absolutely hate and deplore anything that has to do with studying mathematics. I am not saying that I think math has no application to the world; I just don’t like studying or learning algebra or geometry. I am took Algebra 2 this year which happens to include statistics, trigonometry, geometry, and graphing. I happen to dislike all of the subjects (save statistics) I listed in the previous sentence. My curriculum includes math terms alongside formulas which doesn’t help alleviate my lack of interest in this subject. I do believe that God is orderly and mathematics is a principle of the world that shows His orderly design. But I will gladly leave the studies of mathematics to mathematicians and scientists. (:

3. Spanish 1

I had to take Spanish as an elective in order to pass high school, but I ended up enjoying it. I found Spanish surprisingly easy because I watch video lessons (there is no way I could have learned quickly without the aid of the video lessons). The textbooks I used teach us two grammar lessons, twenty to thirty vocabulary words, and one verse per week. It sounds like a lot of work, but I usually work ahead (for the vocabulary at least). The grammar lessons are arranged by difficulty and topic. ¿Aprende usted lenguas extranjeras para su escuela? (Do you learn foreign languages for your school?) If so, comment below on if you like studying that particular language.

4. World History

From the title of my blog, it should be obvious that I love and adore (not hate and deplore) history class. Please don’t accuse me of being unpatriotic, but I enjoy learning about world history rather than specifically American history. I think that world history allows the events to supplement each other. For example, the Cold War only from an American’s perspective doesn’t explain how the conflict started. One must also study a little bit of Russian history and the conditions that led to the Communist takeover of other countries. My favorite eras of history are the World Wars and the Cold War (I am not a warmonger; I just find those eras the most interesting; I will probably explain this thinking in another post). The only assignment I dislike in history class are current events. I do not enjoy writing summaries over recent articles in the news. I know; it sounds like a contradiction especially coming from someone who enjoys history.

5. Biology

Biology, or anything science-related, will never be a favorite subject of mine because I find it extremely difficult. I appreciate science as a living person, but not as a student. I think physics and chemistry are interesting because of the applications of everyday life. Worms and the cell are my least favorite things to learn in Biology class. My favorite thing to learn in every science class is natural history. In those two chapters, I have the opportunity to study the history of science and why evolution is incorrect (which is always delightful). But otherwise, I try to survive science class each year.

6. English 10

This is another favorite class of mine only because I get to read literature. I remember twelve vocabulary words, antonyms, and synonyms; and four roots, prefixes, and suffixes every two weeks. I also have to memorize a poem which I enjoy sometimes (especially “Mark Antony’s Speech from Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare). Grammar includes grammar and essays. I wrote about ten essays this year, and an author project over Agatha Christie (my favorite report ever). In literature, I learned many authors and technical terms. For the last semester of school, we read literature from different eras of history. You’ll be surprised at how much history is revealed just by reading the literature of a culture.

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The verse for this week is 1 John 4:19. This short verse says, “We love him, because he first loved us.” This verse explains that Christ loves us even though we sinned against Him. As Christians, we can be thankful for His gift on the cross. He died for us even before we repented of our sins and began serving Him. And when we remind ourselves of God’s love for us, we are also reminded to love those around us. So take the challenge; obey God by loving others as Christ loved us.