Laurie4b Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 The instructor is Tom Shaheen. I'm about to sign my boys up for it. Any pros and cons you'd care to share? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Ds1 took this class last year. He enjoyed it enormously and the class did a good job of preparing him for the AP exam -- he got a 5. If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted May 20, 2009 Author Share Posted May 20, 2009 (edited) Ds1 took this class last year. He enjoyed it enormously and the class did a good job of preparing him for the AP exam -- he got a 5. If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them. It's great to have someone who actually took it to ask! Thank you so much! There were only a couple reviews on the site. Did the class meet at a specific time, or did students use message boards, etc. as they were able? How demanding was the course in terms of approximate hours per week? What means were used for grading? Research papers? Tests? Homework? I'm very excited about the class. It will fit so well with what we're planning to do this next year. Edited May 20, 2009 by Laurie4b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 The class was asynchronous -- it had no specific meeting time and discussions / assignments were handled on a message board. The grade was based on homework, essays, one or two research papers, and tests. My son found the class fairly easy; he spent an hour or so per day on it. However, I think his background helped him enormously -- he was a senior, he had taken AP US Govt the year before, and he had done debate for several years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Laurie, Do you happen to be a member of the Yahoo group hs2coll? There are several posts there that pertain to Mr. Shaheen. (I refer to posts 20919, 20922, and 20923.) One poster, whose child took the class last year, mentions having mixed feelings about the class. Apparently Mr. Shaheen is very conservative which may or may not be a concern for you. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyinNNV Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 The instructor is Tom Shaheen. I'm about to sign my boys up for it. Any pros and cons you'd care to share? Thanks! We are talking a PA AP class next year. Have you looked at the student comments, yet? They are at the bottom of each class description. It helped us to look at what the students said about each class. (we're doing Euro) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asta Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Holy Crimeny! I've never looked at those courses before - they are REALLY expensive! a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValRN Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Next year will be my first venture into home schooling high school, so I'm ignorant of a lot of things regarding hsing high school. I'm wondering.........what is the purpose of taking an AP exam? Val Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyinNNV Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Holy Crimeny! I've never looked at those courses before - they are REALLY expensive! a They are a year long. A community college class in my area is the same price if you spread it out over a year. It is also my understanding that many of the teachers give more input (on writing for example) than the typical community college professor. Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Holy Crimeny! I've never looked at those courses before - they are REALLY expensive! They are not cheap...BUT -- 1) It takes time to give really helpful feedback on papers and essays. The PAH teachers take that time, and I am quite happy to pay them commensurately. 2) Our older two kids took a bunch of these classes, and we give the classes credit for helping our kids end up with some amazing scholarship offers. We figure for every $ spent in high school, we are saving at least about $15 in college tuition/room&board costs. That makes these courses look like quite a bargain! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted May 20, 2009 Author Share Posted May 20, 2009 We are talking a PA AP class next year. Have you looked at the student comments, yet? They are at the bottom of each class description. It helped us to look at what the students said about each class. (we're doing Euro) Yes, I did, but there were only two, maybe three. That's why I also asked here. There were many more for other courses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted May 20, 2009 Author Share Posted May 20, 2009 Holy Crimeny! I've never looked at those courses before - they are REALLY expensive! a They are in the ballpark of the going rate around here for outside classes. Community college classes are free...until you buy the textbooks. ouch. I find homeschooling in high school to be quite expensive compared to homeschooling in elementary or middle school. On the other hand, it's much cheaper than private school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asta Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 They are not cheap...BUT -- 1) It takes time to give really helpful feedback on papers and essays. The PAH teachers take that time, and I am quite happy to pay them commensurately. 2) Our older two kids took a bunch of these classes, and we give the classes credit for helping our kids end up with some amazing scholarship offers. We figure for every $ spent in high school, we are saving at least about $15 in college tuition/room&board costs. That makes these courses look like quite a bargain! It is good to know that it is an "active" class (feedback, etc.). So many internet courses aren't, that I made a poor assumption there. It is also good to know that these courses appear to have an educational "payoff" so to speak. I think all of us homeschooling high school worry that we're giving "enough" in that department. They are a year long. A community college class in my area is the same price if you spread it out over a year. It is also my understanding that many of the teachers give more input (on writing for example) than the typical community college professor. Holly I also didn't realize (for some silly reason) that they were a year long. I thought that was "per semester". I'm sorry that I don't know the going rate for community colleges - they don't exist where I live. I wish they did... a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted May 21, 2009 Author Share Posted May 21, 2009 Next year will be my first venture into home schooling high school, so I'm ignorant of a lot of things regarding hsing high school. I'm wondering.........what is the purpose of taking an AP exam? Val There are two purposes: 1) Many colleges want to see validation for homeschooler's grades/education. They need more than "Mom's word for it." So outside test grades such as SAT II's and AP tests give them confidence. 2) If a student scores high enough on the AP test, most colleges accept that as a college credit. So it helps you get into college and it saves you money because you don't have to pay for that credit in college (unless the college is on the inexpensive end of the list) in which case, it gives the student the freedom either to take other courses in college that he's more interested in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Join the yahoogroups email list hs2coll. There has been a lot of discussion about PA online classes recently and I think that course was specifically mentioned. I don't remember whether that was one of the ones that was specifically mentioned as good or bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted May 23, 2009 Author Share Posted May 23, 2009 Thanks. Someone sent me the quotes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS in MD Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 I don't mean to hijack the OP, but if dc took an AP course thru' PA homeschoolers do you give 1 credit for the class or 1/2 credit? The reason I ask is in our public hs, some AP classes are one semester (like AP Stat or Econ - my friend's dd is taking these this semester at local hs). So, are public school AP classes that are one semester compared equally to PA Homeschoolers classes that are year long? Hope this makes sense! Otherwise, I'm totally confused... Thanks! Sangita dd(14),dd(12),dd(9),ds(6!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.