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What do you think about The Teaching Company courses?  

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  1. 1. What do you think about The Teaching Company courses?

    • So interesting and we looked forward to each new segment.
      28
    • Too boring for words. zzzzzz
      9
    • Excellent resource. We wish we'd found it sooner!
      27
    • Too rigorous for my high school students.
      0
    • Too pricey to even try out.
      5
    • Mixed feelings...
      30


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Some are fantastic (Elizabeth Vandiver for classics- we listened to all her sets; Robert Greenberg for music).

Some are really good (Daileader for Middle ages)

Some are good, but not great (Bartlett for Italian Renaissance)

 

Very very rarely one is terrible (Highschool chemistry with Cardulla was the only one so far that we will return.)

 

ETA: We always buy them when they are deeply discounted. We use audio and listen to them in the car.

Edited by regentrude
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Very very rarely one is terrible (Highschool chemistry with Cardulla was the only one so far that we will return.)

 

We didn't buy this one but tried it out from our county library. My daughter hated it.

 

We've never used one of their courses all the way through, but have listened to or watched an episode here or there. I love the idea of them. But, to be honest, we haven't loved any of them.

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We like them, we have many of them, we learn a lot, and we listen to the entire video and sets with interest BUT sometimes I want to throw something at the TV and yell, just get to the point already, just give me some facts and information.

 

I think they spend way too much time introducing and telegraphing what they are going to be teaching. Just start teaching please.

 

Other than that we are good with them. :)

 

I never pay full price and usually buy the deeply discounted ones with some kind of coupon code that they send me when I haven't bought anything for a while.

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Thanks for the information. I have bought some at the deep discounts and they were so boring.

 

I almost bought the Chemistry last month so I am glad I did not. I just kept thinking I would rather have a lab even if it is small and do hands on Chemistry.

 

We may have a co-op for it, but we may not. I couldn't teach Physics so we may do Chemistry and then see about a Physics online or Apologia with Red Wagon Tutorials.

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I put that we look forward to them. My son's favorites were probably the physics lectures (Physics In Your Life, Physics Beyond the Edge) and the Vandiver Iliad.

 

That doesn't mean that there aren't many I would never use with a high schooler, and many I would never want to listen to, myself. But I try to weed all that out during the summer, so it doesn't really affect the ones we actually use. Well, sometimes I'm wrong :) I found the Shakespeare one added a lot to my understanding of his skill, but ds could not take seriously a drama-type guy :tongue_smilie:

 

Julie

Edited by Julie in MN
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I wish there were little three to four minute clips of every course on the website, so you could get an idea of whether or not the speaking style drives you and/or your child crazy before you buy, even on sale!

 

Now THAT would be great! Especially if they seriously expect you to fork over $600 for one course.

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I checked out the American History (not the high school) from the library to see if we could use it. Frankly, I thought my kids would be bored to death with it. I didn't think it was bad and I'm sure they are a great resource, but my kids aren't ready to sit and listen to a college professor stand and lecture for an hour every day. If they were, I'd send them to college :).

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We love them. Love them.

 

Yes, I have returned a few courses (4?). So we don't love 'em all. But I have lots and lots of sets. I use them whenever I can. They are fabulous for commuting (or quiet afternoons when we need a boost); we pause and discuss. Sometimes we talk about the content, sometimes we analyze the argument, sometimes we evaluate it, sometimes we rebuttal it. We never just listen to it. (I'm trying to build habits. When my kids read, I'm trying to train them to bark back at the text. TC lectures offer an easy practice playground - there is so much to interact with. If you let one ball fly by, no worries. There will be another one along in a minute.)

 

I'm a curriculum junkie. I've owned and used a TON of stuff. I suspect the TC has done the most to help me understand the content and the why/how of education. Nearly everything that I see explained in TWTM (at the rhetoric level) is modeled in those lectures. And I've noticed something else: put my kids in the company of a guy like Thomas Noble (and others) for 30 minutes a day, and their words, their sentences, and their arguments grow. It's automatic.

 

The TC courses have been a crucial ingredient in our homeschool. A short distance between two points.

 

Peace,

Janice

 

Enjoy your little people

Enjoy your journey

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What do you think about The Teaching Company courses?

 

Rome and the Barbarians and Ancient Greek Civilization were great. DH has listened to and enjoyed several other history sets. He's listening to a Civil War set to prep for our studies this summer.

 

We're using How the Earth Works for geology and it is pretty good.

 

I wasn't much of a fan of the Colonial America set we borrowed. We didn't finish it and I tended to argue with the conclusions the author was drawing.

 

I borrowed an old (VHS) version of SuperStar Student and was underwhelmed.

 

I don't buy many direct at the moment, but I pick them up when I find them used.

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I do feel that I should explain my 'mixed' vote.

 

My dc have really like the Human Body, Van Diver (ancient history/literature), and now dd likes Argumentation: the Study of Effective Reasoning...They also like music appreciation - forgetting for the moment the exact name there...

 

I was underwhelmed by Super Star Student - though dc didn't mind.

 

Some of the science ones were too advanced when they were younger (Jr. Hi/9th grade) and when ds3 was older, studying physics for example, he didn't have the time to watch them.

 

I would have put 'excellent resource' except that not 'all' of them are - so I don't want to promote rushing out there and buying anything just because it is TC.

 

Also, to me they are a resource but not the 'core' of a course...Especially for science, where you are counting on a certain body of knowledge...just watching videos doesn't get the material into their brain as much as doing problems, discussing, etc....They do 'filling the bucket' which is not 'education' really...

 

The end of the year sale last year was really good BUT you had to make sure to add the extra code that Eliana provided otherwise it was labelled as 'sale' prices, but you weren't automatically getting the lowest prices (that you would with the code).

 

Joan

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I guess just like college classes, some professors are a lot better than others. We love the Robert Greenberg music courses. Edward Burger math courses are also funny and enjoyable to listen to as well.

 

One thing to keep in mind is that the Teaching Company does have a very good return policy - cut and pasted below. We returned one course and their customer service guarantee was just as good as they promised.

Are The Great Courses Guaranteed?

 

Every single Great Course you order comes with a Lifetime Satisfaction Guarantee.

If a course is ever less than completely satisfying, you may exchange it for another or we will refund your money promptly. If a disc ever breaks, warps, or gets damaged, we’ll replace it as long as the course is in print. Absolutely free.

Most publishers don’t guarantee your satisfaction with their books or recordings, but we do. Why? Because we want you to be our customer for a lifetime of learning.

This guarantee, which we’ve honored every day since we were established in 1990, not only protects your investment in learning, it also compels us to produce only great courses—and nothing less.

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We love them. Love them.

 

Yes, I have returned a few courses (4?). So we don't love 'em all. But I have lots and lots of sets. I use them whenever I can. They are fabulous for commuting (or quiet afternoons when we need a boost); we pause and discuss. Sometimes we talk about the content, sometimes we analyze the argument, sometimes we evaluate it, sometimes we rebuttal it. We never just listen to it. (I'm trying to build habits. When my kids read, I'm trying to train them to bark back at the text. TC lectures offer an easy practice playground - there is so much to interact with. If you let one ball fly by, no worries. There will be another one along in a minute.)

 

I'm a curriculum junkie. I've owned and used a TON of stuff. I suspect the TC has done the most to help me understand the content and the why/how of education. Nearly everything that I see explained in TWTM (at the rhetoric level) is modeled in those lectures. And I've noticed something else: put my kids in the company of a guy like Thomas Noble (and others) for 30 minutes a day, and their words, their sentences, and their arguments grow. It's automatic.

 

The TC courses have been a crucial ingredient in our homeschool. A short distance between two points.

:iagree: with ALL of this.

 

We have a whole bookcase full of TC courses, in pretty much every subject, and DS13 watches multiple lectures almost every day. He even asks for TC courses for Christmas & birthdays! He's watched over 200 lectures on ancient history alone (and he's still in middle school); he's currently working his way through all the linguistics courses. He doesn't mind the format at all — even the duller lecturers aren't much more boring than a textbook, and many of them are quite dynamic and passionate about their subjects.

 

In addition to the content, we also use them as Janice does: modeling how to present and analyze information, how to construct and dissect an argument, how to keep an audience interested and engaged, etc. — all of which are crucial academic skills, especially WRT writing. Yes, we can do the same thing with texts and articles, but that means either buying two copies of everything, or reading them separately and then discussing them later. I like being able to watch the TC lectures together, so we can immediately pause and discuss things. Leads to lots of lively and spontaneous discussions!

 

Jackie

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I only have a few science courses (astronomy, biology, human body, chemistry, physics, earth), but I feel like I have a treasure chest. Oh, and a kind friend sent me a history course, too, that she found in a thrift store!! Anyway, I love what I've watched so far. I was kind of surprised to see people posting "mixed feelings," but I'm thinking that's because I didn't have a great science background, so I'm very pleased with the courses I have. It's just nice for me to be learning things from people who are so enthusiastic about their subject.

 

Sometime I'd also like to buy the big music and art appreciation courses.

 

Very very rarely one is terrible (Highschool chemistry with Cardulla was the only one so far that we will return.)

 

Do you mind sharing why? I've watched several of these so far, and they're not terrible to me; they're very helpful to this girl who really struggled in high school chemistry to get a C grade.

 

Now THAT would be great! Especially if they seriously expect you to fork over $600 for one course.

 

These courses go on sale all year round. The very best sale seems to occur at the end of December. One year I bought the $800 (?) 96-lecture astronomy course for $129 (as well as a bunch of other science courses for deep discounts).

 

Nearly everything that I see explained in TWTM (at the rhetoric level) is modeled in those lectures. And I've noticed something else: put my kids in the company of a guy like Thomas Noble (and others) for 30 minutes a day, and their words, their sentences, and their arguments grow. It's automatic.

 

That's interesting - I never thought about this!

 

:iagree: with ALL of this.

 

OP, Corraleno (Jackie) is the one to go to for those December sales - she helped me figure out how to get the very BEST of the BEST deal, in all my confusion about the discount codes, and the website not working the way I thought it was supposed to. She helped me buy all those science courses at once - something I wouldn't have been able to afford at regular price or even the common 70% off prices.

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Do you mind sharing why? I've watched several of these so far, and they're not terrible to me; they're very helpful to this girl who really struggled in high school chemistry to get a C grade.

 

The are probably a good resource for a student like you describe - but I have a strong science student, and that is probably why I dislike the course so much. The course very light on content. The first three lectures have no content whatsoever, just pep talk that chemistry is not hard; the following few lectures contained material that was rather trivial and DD was constantly skipping. When it got to stoichiometry, the repetition drove us crazy; we did not need him to tell us "convert to moles" ten times, once would have been sufficient.

 

I am glad it works for your student; I believe it can be a valuable remedial tool for a struggling student. But for a student who is good at science it is a waste of time and money, especially considering that it covers nowhere near the content of a complete chemistry course, but just selected topics.

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The are probably a good resource for a student like you describe - but I have a strong science student, and that is probably why I dislike the course so much. The course very light on content. The first three lectures have no content whatsoever, just pep talk that chemistry is not hard; the following few lectures contained material that was rather trivial and DD was constantly skipping. When it got to stoichiometry, the repetition drove us crazy; we did not need him to tell us "convert to moles" ten times, once would have been sufficient.

 

I am glad it works for your student; I believe it can be a valuable remedial tool for a struggling student. But for a student who is good at science it is a waste of time and money, especially considering that it covers nowhere near the content of a complete chemistry course, but just selected topics.

 

So it just might not be suitable for someone who has a good background in chemistry already, or for someone who is being taught by someone with a solid background.

 

The student I was talking about was I. And I found that the first few lectures were very helpful in understanding some concepts and how the math was going to work in solving chemistry problems.

 

My understanding is that this TTC chemistry course is meant to be an introduction or a supplement to a content/reading/problem-solving/experiment-rich high school course, and that it wasn't to be used as a stand-alone chemistry course.

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OP,

 

I will add that I think the overall idea of TTC courses is a great one - they are a chance to sit and listen to professors talk about their beloved subjects and bring them to life. Because of that, different people are going to enjoy different courses. I would rather read about certain topics, but with other topics, I enjoy watching someone talk about them and seeing some concepts/pictures/diagrams/experiments demonstrated.

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So it just might not be suitable for someone who has a good background in chemistry already, or for someone who is being taught by someone with a solid background.

 

Neither is the case in our family. It is DD's first exposure to chemistry. She does not have anybody teaching her (I do not teach chem because I hate chemistry), she just reads a text.

I think the issue is more math mastery. My main problem with Cardulla was that there was hardly any chemistry in the course - he was talking about algebraic problem solving most of the time. Which was unnecessary for us since DD has thoroughly mastered algebra and had not trouble applying it to chemistry problems.

 

I had hoped for more actual chemistry content - maybe a few demonstrations to illustrate concepts. Instead of this (which we would really have appreciated) he just went on and on about math.

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We've thoroughly enjoyed the history and literature courses we've used - my high schooler loves both subjects and asks to use the TC lectures often. We always choose the audio version so we are free to do other things while listening, such as driving, eating, cleaning, etc. We do prefer the more detailed courses rather than the ones which provide more of an overview (the three sets of courses on the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages by Daileader, for example, instead of the one Medieval World set by Armstrong). That said, sometimes the shorter ones are better for listening with an elementary student present - my youngest enjoyed Great Pharoahs of Ancient Egypt, but would not have enjoyed the History of Ancient Egypt nearly as much. If you make use of the outline or transcript book prior to listening, you can usually avoid topics that you might prefer not to hear with young children present.

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We have quite a few. I think they're an addiction for me. All that education in one little box. Unfortunately, they don't sell the time that I need to watch them.

 

DS really enjoys most of the history ones. We're near the end of the American history (non-high school course-although that was fun and our first intro). We've paired that with AAH, and it's been an educational American history year.

 

Sometimes I use the math dvds as review or to approach problems differently.

 

I'm listening to the Am. literature classics disk in the car, and it's a bit of a snore, but I'm still learning a lot.

 

I have a couple of the Vandiver's, but haven't gotten to them yet.

 

Laura

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TTC is a GREAT resource for ME, but I would never used it with my dc for middle school or high school.

 

I was wondering about that.

Some of the courses look like something I might enjoy learning about. Usually I will pick up a book to learn something but a DVD class has some appeal.

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We have quite a few. I think they're an addiction for me. All that education in one little box. Unfortunately, they don't sell the time that I need to watch them.

Laura

 

Same here, except I tend to have the time to listen/watch more so than Dd. Thus, I often select particular lectures within a course for her to use.

 

One very useful aspect is the opportunity to learn to take notes from a lecture. Dd's skills in this area have greatly advanced along the way.

 

I use the courses to plan Dd's courses. The bibliographies in the guide book are rich sources of additional information. Often the professors will suggest a text to accompany the course. Listening to a course and reviewing a text helps me feel more comfortable dealing with scope, sequence and pacing.

 

We also love that the courses allow us to engage areas of curiosity we might otherwise not jump into independently. An example would be Meteorology or Astronomy. Having a course all neatly presented allows us to explore more areas.

 

It is an expensive addiction. However, given the price of going out for dinner and a movie it is not so bad. We often opt for microwave popcorn and a lecture.

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