BJU Science

[Love2Smile]

Is it too difficult to do without the DVD's?? Im thinking 9th grade and up

[Jan P.]

Is it too difficult to do without the DVD's?? Im thinking 9th grade and up

 

Hi,

 

I guess it would depend on your science background. I tried teaching BJU Biology to my son. I do have the science background to teach this book, but he just did not get it. He did poorly on the tests, so I quit with it and did Apologia with him. My ds isn't that great with memorization. I think if the student takes the time to make flash cards or keep a notebook of bold-faced words, studies them daily, and answers all the questions, then he should do well on the tests. I also encourage you, the teacher, to give the little pop quizes to help the student study. Try to read ahead of your student. I do think you can do this without the dvd, but you need to stay on top of things. Unless you have a science whiz of a child, I do think that you would need to regularly (daily) go over the textbook with your student. Mine wasn't able to read the book by himself. I think if I had my ds read the text first, and then I went back over it, then the concepts would have been cemented in his brain. I really didn't have to do this with Apologia. It was more self-teaching. I would say the dvd would make your life easier, but it is doable without it -- at least the biology book.

 

HTH,

Jan

[Lorna in the boonies]

We tried it last year (8th grade) without the DVDs. I gave up after chapter 3 (maybe 4?) and figured we would hold off until she was older. She was just not getting any of it and we were wasting our time and effort.

 

This year, we're using HomeSat, and she is enrolled in the live Biology class. She absolutely *loves* this class. She is acing it and is constantly sharing her new-found knowledge with us.

 

I'm not trying to sway you toward the DVDs, but my experience is that it is much, *much* easier with them (same teacher as my daughter currently has with the live class). I know that part of it is just that my daughter's a year older now -- but, truthfully, most of the difference is due to the DVDs.

 

Having tried it both ways, I can't imagine ever attempting it without the DVDs again in the future -- certainly not ever again for an 8th grader. As Jan said, for a high schooler I think it would be doable if you were willing to put forth a lot of effort -- but if you're looking for something independent, I'd have to say it's probably not what you're looking for.

 

JMHO --

[LaJuana]

...I do have a degree in Biology from long, long ago, so that's my disclaimer. Nevertheless:

 

One thing that I think is important for the student and the parent to realize is that the first unit of BJU's Biology course covers very challenging unfamiliar material--basic chemistry (which most biology students will not have studied previously), cellular processes including the biochemistry of metabolism and protein synthesis, and genetics, including the biochemistry of inheritance. These few chapters are VERY tough for the beginner, and I always take them at a slow pace with my 9th or 10th grade students. It is so easy for the students to become so discouraged with these few chapters at the beginning of the book that they decide the course is too hard for them. However, once you get past those early chapters, BJU's course is, like most biology, largely about memorizing terms. Memorizing so many terms requires a good plan for studying and reviewing, but that is the perfect habit for the 9th or 10th grade student to cultivate. It is only those early chapters that seem overwhelmingly difficult to understand. I tell my children that the book will make their brain hurt with new information at first, but to persevere, and it will become much easier after a month or two.

 

Once the student moves into the classification and biology of organisms, the course becomes a lot easier, although it still requires a lot of time and discipline to learn all the terms.

 

I think that recognizing that the first few chapters will be very difficult will help you to get through them without despairing or deciding that you need to have videos to help. If you don't think you have the background to understand the biochemistry in those first few chapters to help your student understand them, another alternative would be to seek help from someone who does while you work through those early chapters. Once you get into the study of whole organisms, you will probably be able to manage on your own.

 

BJU's Biology course really is a good one, and I think it prepares students for the challenges of college courses of all kinds. In addition, it gives even the future liberal arts student a foundational understanding of his or her own body and of biological systems all around us in the world. I think that is really important...and worth the 'brain-pain' of making it through those first few chapters.

 

Hth