Just when I thought I had science all planned

[readwithem]

My dd really would like to take an online science class with Scholars Online. They alternate Chemistry and Physics, next year Chemistry is on offer, and Physics will be up the following year (which will be dd's senior year). She took Chemistry this year (apologia). So the latest idea is for her to do Adv. Chemistry next year (as a junior) and the online Physics class as a senior. Any and all thoughts, opinions, and ideas are appreciated. I guess my main concern is that she will put off Physics till her senior year. But she has really enjoyed Chemistry this year and will plan to take both SAT and AP for Chem next spring (we have conflicts for the testing dates this year).

 

Thanks :)

[readwithem]

Hmm.... the silence is deafening :)

 

Has anybody done Apologia advanced Chemistry? Has anybody waited till senior year to do Physics?

 

Thanks again :) :)

[LaJuana]

...sophomore year of high school. He had completed BJU's Biology and Apologia Chemistry. I considered having him do Apologia's Advanced Chem, but in the end, he decided to take Dr. Christe McMenomy's Chemistry course with the AP option in his junior year and her Physics course with the AP option in his senior year. That was a perfect choice for him.

 

The chemistry book used in the Scholars Online class is the same one used at my son's college, so he had a full year of challenging college level chemistry during his junior year of high school. While his year in Apologia's Chemistry course helped him 'hit the deck running' in Dr. Christe's class, her course goes so much farther and deeper that the overlap was negligible. Dr. Christe's students do really well on the AP exams from everything that I have heard. My son ended up not taking the AP exam because his year was disrupted by my husband's terrible automobile accident, but I think he would have done well if we would have registered him in time.

 

He took Dr. Christe's Physics course in his senior year, and again it was a very good course which also used the physics book used in the course for non-majors at his college. He elected to take a trip to England in the spring of his senior year, so again he missed the AP exam, but I think that he would have done very well on it, too, simply because he really *knew* beginning Physics after that year in the SO class.

 

Dr. Christe's teaching style is different from many online tutors. She is a brilliant scientist with a strong background in the history of science and with astoundingly precise communication skills. Her teaching style is more like an Oxford don than someone who learned how to teach in the education department of a modern college. Grades and testing and traditional evaluative tools are less important to her than that the student learns chemistry or physics. I think the student has to attend class ready to roll up his sleeves and do/discuss science, not just meet the requirements of a course. My son found that just being in the class was an education in itself. I saw him grow into thinking like a scientist ("Why can't I do [scientific process or problem] this way?") rather than like a student ("What do I have to know for the test?" or "How many points is this worth to my grade?") That made the class so worthwhile.

 

My oldest daughter also saved Physics until senior year because I let her drop science in her junior year in order to add Greek I. She was already doing advanced studies in Latin, and we thought it would be better to skip science that year in order to focus on her language studies. She did Apologia Physics in her senior year, which gave her a good basic introduction to physics, but didn't require as much time, good for her since she continued with Greek II in her senior year. The Apologia course is much more basic than the Scholars Online course, but it did provide an elementary introduction to the subject, which given the constraints of dd's schedule was adequate for her.

 

Hth

[Tina in Ouray]

My daughter took SO Physics during her junior year. It's a challenging course; I see no problem with holding off until the senior year. I think LaJuana's recommendation to go ahead with SO Chemistry next year is a good one, especially if your daughter is wanting to prepare for the AP Chemistry exam.

 

Tina in Ouray, CO

[readwithem]

...sophomore year of high school. He had completed BJU's Biology and Apologia Chemistry. I considered having him do Apologia's Advanced Chem, but in the end, he decided to take Dr. Christe McMenomy's Chemistry course with the AP option in his junior year and her Physics course with the AP option in his senior year. That was a perfect choice for him.

 

The chemistry book used in the Scholars Online class is the same one used at my son's college, so he had a full year of challenging college level chemistry during his junior year of high school. While his year in Apologia's Chemistry course helped him 'hit the deck running' in Dr. Christe's class, her course goes so much farther and deeper that the overlap was negligible. Dr. Christe's students do really well on the AP exams from everything that I have heard. My son ended up not taking the AP exam because his year was disrupted by my husband's terrible automobile accident, but I think he would have done well if we would have registered him in time.

 

He took Dr. Christe's Physics course in his senior year, and again it was a very good course which also used the physics book used in the course for non-majors at his college. He elected to take a trip to England in the spring of his senior year, so again he missed the AP exam, but I think that he would have done very well on it, too, simply because he really *knew* beginning Physics after that year in the SO class.

 

Dr. Christe's teaching style is different from many online tutors. She is a brilliant scientist with a strong background in the history of science and with astoundingly precise communication skills. Her teaching style is more like an Oxford don than someone who learned how to teach in the education department of a modern college. Grades and testing and traditional evaluative tools are less important to her than that the student learns chemistry or physics. I think the student has to attend class ready to roll up his sleeves and do/discuss science, not just meet the requirements of a course. My son found that just being in the class was an education in itself. I saw him grow into thinking like a scientist ("Why can't I do [scientific process or problem] this way?") rather than like a student ("What do I have to know for the test?" or "How many points is this worth to my grade?") That made the class so worthwhile.

 

My oldest daughter also saved Physics until senior year because I let her drop science in her junior year in order to add Greek I. She was already doing advanced studies in Latin, and we thought it would be better to skip science that year in order to focus on her language studies. She did Apologia Physics in her senior year, which gave her a good basic introduction to physics, but didn't require as much time, good for her since she continued with Greek II in her senior year. The Apologia course is much more basic than the Scholars Online course, but it did provide an elementary introduction to the subject, which given the constraints of dd's schedule was adequate for her.

 

Hth

 

Wow this is fabulous LaJuana - just what I wanted to know. We wondered whether Dr. Christe's course would be an overlap of Apologia - but you have definitely given us food for thought.

 

I agree with you about her communication style- we've traded emails with her (and her husband - my dd will take his lit class next year) - they sound really wonderful and genuinely interested in students learning :):)

 

I'm sorry about your dh's accident - but thankful your family could be flexible at that time.

[readwithem]

Thanks Tina - two votes for SO Chem next year :)