Now that the internet has put a vast library at our fingertips, homeschooling high school students may be easier than ever. But taking in information is only one part of learning. The importance of continually inspiring teenagers and engaging them to work with and transform ideas is overlooked in many schools, which is why some parents choose to homeschool. And with all of the "newness" that has flooded the web, students need help to find those age-old treasures that have guided humanity through its gradual awakening.

One of these treasures is a 2500 year old book, “The History of the Peloponnesian War.” It was written by a Greek man named Thucydides, who wrote it as a lesson to future generations. He saw that war was inevitable and set out to document it before it started! He foresaw that the forces in play would continue to work far into the future, and he wanted people to have “an exact knowledge of the past as an aid to the understanding of the future.”

When I used this book as a text with a class of 10th grade students at Austin Waldorf School, they were amazed at how the dynamics between various powers and the perspectives presented in speeches, could, with a few changes, have been taken from current events. (I have turned my notes from this class into a homeschooling course.)

Or how many students have studied geometry without learning how to use a compass and straight-edge to accurately divide a circle into four, five, six and seven equal parts? This is a skill that cannot be learned at the computer screen. Even if the instructions are read online, the hands must take up these other tools and practice. And why is this relevant? Because every healthy teenager is aware that she or he is a mystery, and to learn about other mysteries both honors the mystery of their individuality and provides assurance that they can, with study and practice, master the mysteries of their own existence.

These and many other treasures are available to students today, either to supplement traditional education or to replace it with a homeschooling option. I invite adults and students to contact me to learn about other inspiring resources or to inform me of resources that you have found valuable.