historymatters Posted February 18, 2017 Share Posted February 18, 2017 Could I get some experiences of those who have used either/or or both of these resources? I'm interested in strength of feedback amd structures. My young people are finishing a Writeshop I & II class and I am trying to decide what to do next. The Write at Home High School Comp. 1 is tempting because of the basic structure my son needs before moving on. Bravewriter is tempting, but too expensive and unnecessary right now. The Potter School is, too, but maybe too structured? Lastly, the Big River Academy has the formet -I think- Landry, English I -IV, using Micheal C. Thpson, of which I don't know enough about. I just need to know if the price is worth it with the feedback one gets. Thx 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historymatters Posted February 19, 2017 Author Share Posted February 19, 2017 Bumping... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 (edited) I just searched the archives for a thread I started probably in 2009. Alas, it's gone. I asked for feedback on the H2T teacher's feedback to ds's writing assignment. The responses were a hoot. One of the best was: looks like an easy paycheck. It still rankles me that I wasted my money there. My experience is out-of-date, but I would suggest you not waste your money until you get reviews from more current customers. I copied the post below from a 2010 archived post of mine. We used H2T for 3 beginning sessions when my ds was around 7th grade. I was not impressed. I kept wondering if it got better with the upper level classes. The assignments were short. There were short vocabulary and grammar assignments. My son never spent more than 15min a day on it. The teacher feedback was minimal, basically 'great job!' with no constructive criticism. When they wanted ds to repeat a class, I left. Those 3 sessions were a waste of time and money, imo.I know some people have had good experiences with them, but ours was a bust. ETA: We never had Eileen for a teacher. The 3 different teachers we had were all relatively new to H2T. Edited February 20, 2017 by Sue in St Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 I just searched the archives for a thread I started probably in 2009. Alas, it's gone. I asked for feedback on the H2T teacher's feedback to ds's writing assignment. The responses were a hoot. One of the best was: looks like an easy paycheck. I found a few of your threads on Home2Teach, but I think the one you refer to is "May I get some feedback..." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarynB Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 My DS is taking a semester course with WriteAtHome currently. I've been pleased so far. It seems like the writing coach assigned to him for this semester really spends some time thinking about how to guide him and she also strikes a good balance between encouragement and helpful criticism. She points out the strengths but doesn't gush over the writing (like previous teachers have done, which really isn't terribly helpful), and she points out the weaknesses by asking Socratic-style questions, so DS can improve the current paper and also apply it to future writing. There is no live class. New assignments are given and papers are exchanged once per week on Thursdays, although you can send a question to your writing coach anytime. All interaction takes place through the WriteAtHome website (not email). As I understand it, if your student doesn't click with his/her writing coach, you can request a different one. The parent can also request that the writing coach focus on specific areas of concern, in addition to what they would normally cover. Just for reference, DS has taken writing courses with WTMA (WWS1), Bravewriter (KidsWrite Intermediate), CLRC (Intro to Lit and Comp), and Circe Institute (Lost Tools of Writing 1), but has never received as much genuinely helpful feedback as he's getting right now with WriteAtHome. I consider him a strong writer for his grade/age, but there's always room for improvement. If you'd like to see a sample of his writing with feedback, feel free to PM me. We plan to use WriteAtHome again next year for at least three of their workshop classes (Essay 1, Essay 2, and Research Paper). If WriteAtHome wasn't working for us, we'd go back to Bravewriter next year, although BW costs about twice as much per week of instruction, and I think we're getting more valuable, universally applicable feedback from WriteAtHome. DS is also taking a live online lit class from Mr. Wasko, the founder of WriteAtHome, and he loves Mr. Wasko's teaching style, so that - plus other previous positive reviews here on the forum - drew us to trying WriteAtHome in the first place. HTH. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirabillis Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Hi Taryn, Which semester course is your ds taking at WAH this year? And what grade is he in? We're still on the fence for next year (as you saw in one of my previous threads) for writing... whether to continue with WAH or to go back to IEW. Tell me more about the writing workshop classes you plan to take. How long do each take? Also please PM me a sample of your ds's writing with feedback. I would love to see it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 OMG! RootAnn! That's it! You must be a genius. :thumbup1: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 OMG! RootAnn! That's it! You must be a genius. :thumbup1: To misquote Da Vinci in Ever After, "Yes! I shall go down in history as the [wo]man who [located] a [thread]!" 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historymatters Posted February 20, 2017 Author Share Posted February 20, 2017 (edited) Thank you very much! I read through the post link and it was helpful. Although there were some for whom it had benefited, my gut is doubtful. I am not ruling WaH out; only the cost is hard on us. Follow-up question: Does anyone have experience with Homeschool Connections? I like their tiered offer which included recorded classes with feedback and grading. Not to mention, the syllabus looks good, too. Thx! Edited February 20, 2017 by historymatters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 My dd is taking a Homeschool Connections math class this year. Each teacher runs things differently. We haven't done any writing classes with them, so I can't speak of the writing teacher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historymatters Posted February 20, 2017 Author Share Posted February 20, 2017 My dd is taking a Homeschool Connections math class this year. Each teacher runs things differently. We haven't done any writing classes with them, so I can't speak of the writing teacher. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 There are a few people who have taken writing classes with them (or asked about them!). Here are some threads that you can either PM people, start a new thread (or change the title of this one & update your first post), or bump an old one (like Rose Petal's). Homeschool Connections Reviews Please Questions about 10th Grade English (only helpful for the name of the poster since she says she planned on adding a HC English class) Online classes for 7th grade (old review with negative information, possibly the same thing that another thread refers) Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historymatters Posted February 20, 2017 Author Share Posted February 20, 2017 There are a few people who have taken writing classes with them (or asked about them!). Here are some threads that you can either PM people, start a new thread (or change the title of this one & update your first post), or bump an old one (like Rose Petal's). Homeschool Connections Reviews Please Questions about 10th Grade English (only helpful for the name of the poster since she says she planned on adding a HC English class) Online classes for 7th grade (old review with negative information, possibly the same thing that another thread refers) Good luck! Thanks for taking the time to find these. I will read through them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coloradomomof5 Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 We have used H2T. Disappointment. Not live classes. You must sit and read the screen and type for an hour. BORING! The assignments were tiny IMHO and the feedback even less. Since moving on, turns out one of my kids is a talented writer, this NEVER came up. Leads me to wonder about the prompts and if they really help kids learn or have a system they push you through. We hired a tutor. The 8th and 9th graders did a round of Hake grammar and writing (with IEW rubric) in one semester, not a year, and are now working through WTTW(with IEW rubric). The 5th grader got booted back to IEW theme book and is thriving. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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