The Ron Paul Homeschool Curriculum is an academically rigorous college prep homeschool program, but it is also a practical program.

There are two parts to the Ron Paul Homeschool Curriculum:

–The academic
–The practical

Elsewhere we have discussed the academic part of the RPC. Today we will discuss the practical courses. These courses make up a supplemental program of hands-on, real-world courses that are not available in any other homeschool curriculum. All of the courses in the RPC offer the first five lessons for free. This shows parents and students what to expect from a course.

Here are the practical courses:

1. Personal Finance

This course teaches children the basics of money management. It teaches them why they need to save, how they need to save, and the best ways to save. To teach this course, Ron Paul hired Prof. Timothy Terrell, who teaches economics at the college level. This is a hands-on course relating to all aspects of setting goals, budgeting, and avoiding consumer debt. You know the lure of the credit card industry: “But you can have it now!” Your children will have the correct answer: “No, thanks. I’ll invest my money until I have enough to pay cash.” Maybe you have already begun to teach your children about money management. I hope you have. But I doubt that you will spend one hour a day, five days a week, for 36 weeks going through every aspect of money management. If you sign up your children for this course, you won’t have to. Because parents can take any courses that they buy for their children, you might want to take the course. This would be a great way to discuss money management with your children. I will tell you this: if your children take this course and follow its advice, they will never be in a desperate situation of massive debt of their own making. Take a look at the course here.

2. Business I — Introduction to Business. It is designed as a ninth-grade course. But any high school student can benefit from it.

Students who use this course have a unique opportunity to learn the basics of business: goal-setting, time-management, salesmanship, business ethics, business theory, direct-response copywriting — the key skill that almost no business owners possess — and how to set up a business for $100. This course is crucial for the Business II course, which takes students through the business-launch process. By the end of the 10th grade, a student who has taken both courses ought to have a profitable business — one that should generate a middle-class income by the time the student is 21. There is nothing remotely like these two courses in any high school curriculum.

3. Business II — Launch Your Business. This course is designed for tenth-graders yet any high school student can benefit from it. This course complements the lessons taught in the Business I course. If you’re a senior in high school I recommend you take both courses this year. There are three main objectives of the Business II course. You will…

–Learn about the world of business and online business opportunities.
–Develop valuable business skills including website development, graphic design, copywriting and eBook publishing.
–Plan and launch an online business which can generate a middle class income in 5 years.

4. Public Speaking
Students learn how to use rhetoric and logic to persuade people in a public setting. This skill pays off for a lifetime. There is a problem if your present curriculum is exclusively textbook-based. It is not possible to learn public speaking from a textbook. This is why some video-based courses are crucial for teaching public speaking. Think about what this would mean for your children. For the rest of their lives, they will not be afraid of standing in front of a group and presenting a position. They will think on their feet. There are so few people who can do this, that having this skill gives anyone an edge in his field, no matter what field this is. Most people are terrified of public speaking. This is a major barrier to advancement in every profession.

P.S. In addition to the above practical courses, Dr. Gary North teaches a free sample 46-lesson course on academic skills. Your children can take his course here.

Choose four Trivium Pursuit books if you order the Ron Paul Homeschool Curriculum.

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