teaching company . . .

[Guest Barb B]

So, which ones do you have that are good for the middle school years. I have the 2 on the louve and met. museum of art (haven't watched yet), the 2 history ones with the guy that dresses up. I am soooo tempted by their sale. What ones have you all used that were not over the head of your middle schoolers?

 

Barb

[Corraleno]

Is there a particular period of history or area of science you're studying now? Or do your kids have any special interests they'd like to explore?

 

My DS12 is currently obsessed with ancient warfare, especially Greek, so we have pretty much every TC course on Greece or warfare. For the Middle Ages, I think Dorsey Armstrong's Medieval World course is great, and quite accessible to middle schoolers. It focuses a lot on everyday life in the Middle Ages, not just kings & queens & battles. A couple of short courses we really enjoyed are Bob Brier's course on Great Pharaohs, and Neil DeGrasse Tyson's My Favorite Universe. I think either of those are a great introduction to TC courses for younger kids, because the lecturers are very animated and enthusiastic. Physics in Your Life is another course with a very engaging professor, albeit much longer.

 

Some of the other lecturers can be a bit stiff or formal in their delivery, even though the content is excellent, so they may not be the best intro to TC courses for younger kids. (I tried to start my DS on the Western Civ I course, and he was really turned off. Now that he's used to the format, he can sit through some of the snoozier presentations and still get the info.) For example, Dorsey Armstrong seems to read her lectures from a teleprompter, and Garrett Fagan, who teaches Great Battles of the Ancient World, is also somewhat formal and rehearsed, but in both cases the information is fascinating and very comprehensive (not a lot of asides, no hemming & hawing, no repetition, etc.). Fagan's course is by far DS's favorite, even though Brier is his favorite lecturer, because he says Brier is more fun to watch but he's learning more from Fagan.

 

Jackie

[lauracolumbus]

Jackie,

Thanks for your reply. I've wondered this myself as some appear to be real snoozers. My kids did really enjoy the early American history dvd w/the teacher who dressed up.

 

Laura