ABQmom Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 I get that they sell lectures, but why do people like them so much? How do you use them to homeschool your high schooler? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 They are just great quality lectures. This semester we have used the Iliad, the Odyssey, Greek Tragedy (all by Vandiver) to supplement our history studies. You can get audio or video, some only video if there are lots of visuals. Some people have their students take notes while watching the lectures (we don't). The guidebooks contain lecture outlines and discussion questions. We loved listening to the lectures in the car; the professor had a great way of lecturing, it was very informative but not dry. We tried Italian Renaissance, but video does not work so well for us, we have just exchanged it for audio CDs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belacqua Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 They are just great quality lectures. This semester we have used the Iliad, the Odyssey, Greek Tragedy (all by Vandiver) to supplement our history studies.You can get audio or video, some only video if there are lots of visuals. Some people have their students take notes while watching the lectures (we don't). The guidebooks contain lecture outlines and discussion questions. I agree entirely with regentrude. We've also used Prof. Vandiver's audio lectures to supplement our Ancient Literature class. She doesn't just tell students what happens in, say, The Odyssey. She explains things that Homer's audiences would have understood but that we might not be familiar with. Makes the works so much more enjoyable. We've used other Teaching Company lectures more or less for fun, independent of any particular class. Professors Benjamin and Burger present wonderful math lectures. We also have Paul Zeitz's Problem Solving dvds; my son is learning some strategies for math competitions and I get to just listen to Prof. Zeitz's mellifluous, hypnotic voice. Mmmmm. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 Most of the lectures are by college professors who are not only experts in their fields but have also won teaching awards, so it's like taking a highly-rated college course — except it's much cheaper, and the professor comes to your house and lectures whenever you want while you sit on your sofa. :D Jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 They are so much more interesting than a textbook! They are also a nice break from a reading-heavy courseload, if you're doing lots of classics and/or if your child learns well from listening to lectures; both these things apply to us. We are watching The Tudors to the Stuarts at the moment, interspersing lectures with looking up various personalities, reading biographies (Bill Bryson's biography of Shakespeare), looking up and discussing portraits of the royals and pictures of country houses that were replacing castles, and watching movies like The Six Wives of Henry VIII and Elizabeth (with Helen Mirren). We're also going to go up to the Huntington Library in LA in the next couple of months to look at the actual portraits and at early printed books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 It isn't just for supplementing a course. I used Biology: The Science of Life as the "spine" for a biology course last year. Just as in college you attend lectures 2 or 3 times a week, then read the text and do the labs, that is what we did with the Teaching Company course. i arranged the readings from the text book (of my choice) to match the subject matter covered in the lectures. It was a terrific course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belacqua Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 It isn't just for supplementing a course. I used Biology: The Science of Life as the "spine" for a biology course last year. Just as in college you attend lectures 2 or 3 times a week, then read the text and do the labs, that is what we did with the Teaching Company course. i arranged the readings from the text book (of my choice) to match the subject matter covered in the lectures. It was a terrific course. That does sound like a great course. Which textbook did you use to accompany the lectures? And was it difficult to match the reading to the lectures? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABQmom Posted December 31, 2010 Author Share Posted December 31, 2010 Thanks everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 I agree entirely with regentrude. We've also used Prof. Vandiver's audio lectures to supplement our Ancient Literature class. She doesn't just tell students what happens in, say, The Odyssey. She explains things that Homer's audiences would have understood but that we might not be familiar with. Makes the works so much more enjoyable. We've used other Teaching Company lectures more or less for fun, independent of any particular class. Professors Benjamin and Burger present wonderful math lectures. We also have Paul Zeitz's Problem Solving dvds; my son is learning some strategies for math competitions and I get to just listen to Prof. Zeitz's mellifluous, hypnotic voice. Mmmmm. :) This is at the top of my wish list and I think it is currently on sale. You have provided an encouraging review. Thanks!;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Library...Check your local library for Teaching Company DVDs. Many have them, and you can get an idea of the quality before investing your dollars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Library...Check your local library for Teaching Company DVDs. Many have them, and you can get an idea of the quality before investing your dollars. How are they cataloged at your library? I'd love to see if we have them, but looking under Teaching Company, nothing's coming up. There are so many titles, I don't want to spend much time checking... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belacqua Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 How are they cataloged at your library?I'd love to see if we have them, but looking under Teaching Company, nothing's coming up. There are so many titles, I don't want to spend much time checking... In our library system, I have to search by the teacher's name. So for the ancient literature lectures, for example, I search "Vandiver." I've had to request many from interlibrary loan, as our system has only some of what I've wanted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 In our library system, I have to search by the teacher's name. So for the ancient literature lectures, for example, I search "Vandiver." I've had to request many from interlibrary loan, as our system has only some of what I've wanted. Aha! We've got them! Thanks so much. I'll have to take a closer look! (Love these boards!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Our library (it's really great) apparently has them cataloged under professor name and also using Teaching Company as author name. We've got a ton! I'm excited. Just requested one on Mark Twain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABQmom Posted January 3, 2011 Author Share Posted January 3, 2011 :party: I am SO glad you asked that question Dana! I had looked at my library's catalog and typed in Teaching Company too and came up with nothing. When I typed in Vandiver (after reading your post), the catalog pulled up about 8 titles! I just put the one on the Iliad on hold. I should get it soon. Thanks! These boards are fabulous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Sounds good:). That's how our library catalogs them too. Inter-library loans are another option for some titles. I've used my Teaching Company catalog as a guide. But each year during the December sale...I buy my own;). Our library (it's really great) apparently has them cataloged under professor name and also using Teaching Company as author name. We've got a ton! I'm excited. Just requested one on Mark Twain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Our library (it's really great) apparently has them cataloged under professor name and also using Teaching Company as author name. We've got a ton! I'm excited. Just requested one on Mark Twain. OMG I'm so glad you posted this! My library has them listed with Teaching Company as the author. I had searched for individual titles, by instructor as author and by Teaching Company as publisher - all with no luck. Now I found a big list!:party::party: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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