................... Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 My dd will be in 8th grade and although she is not extremely focused, she has really grown tremendously this year in her ability to sit still, focus and engage. Currently two of the online classes I have her enrolled in are back to back with a 15 minute break, and each class is 1.5 hours. We can buy her a bluetooth headset with mic in case she needs to walk around a little, stretch, get stuff from the other room etc. Still, that is a LONG time to engage. With only a short break. What says the hive? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 My kids (14, 15) couldn't do it. They like interaction, and while they like their online classes, two in a row would be an utter fail here. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 My 8th grade ds did back to back classes this year but they were only an hour long. He also had one day with two back to back, an hour break, and then another hour long class. It was absolutely fine for him but he would not have done three back to back. He said he really needed the break. And his classes were probably only 50-55 minutes. I agree that 90 minute classes are alot and back to back might be too much. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 I think a lot would depend on the content of the courses and the format of the online class. Do you have any idea of how interactive the classes will be? Will it be sitting and listening to a lecture for an hour and a half? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 Is one of the classes one that she is interested in? I think my kids could have done it. As you say, with online, you can walk around, stretch your legs, fiddle a bit. I wonder if with 1.5 hours, the teacher even has a break in the middle of the class. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 1. If the content for the second class is something your child is strongly interested and 2. If your child can move around periodically, get a snack, drink some water and 3. The format/presentation does not require tons and tons and tons of note taking through both classes (or possibly if a recording is available so the student can rewatch and take notes later if they get too fatigued to keep writing) 4. And the student is fairly motivated to take both of these classes 5. And your student is pretty good at staying focused with an on-line class format then yes I could see it working out. However, attention may start to drift by the middle of the second class. Do you know how assignments will be given? Verbal during class? Emailed? Posted on the website? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted March 22, 2017 Author Share Posted March 22, 2017 OK, yes I will see if we can figure something out with the schedule, but for now I dropped the seat. Both classes are highly interactive with students expected to use thier mic and pitch in when called upon and a fairly low student to teacher ratio for an online class, so they are usually going to get called on in class. This makes them pretty interesting, and she could walk around and stretch... BUT she's NOT highly motivated for the first class, so I think she would go into the second class already drained mentally... And it's at lunch time so that 15 minutes would be spent snarfing down her lunch, or she'd end up eating during a class. Lunch is one of her favorite times of the whole day so I know she'd find this very annoying. She herself thought she could do it and thought the benefit of hte second class might be worth it but I better err on the side of caution. I want to set her up for success, not failure... Even my older son who has done online classes for several years now, said there's no way he would want back to back classes if there's any way I could possibly help it, and he strongly suggested I don't do this for sister. :) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdj2027 Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 My kids could not do it, in fact one of them has opted for classes to be on different days even though for him that means he has classes M-T starting at 3:30 a.m. My other barely make it through an hour class, they tend to drift off quite a bit. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 My dd will be in 8th grade and although she is not extremely focused, she has really grown tremendously this year in her ability to sit still, focus and engage. Currently two of the online classes I have her enrolled in are back to back with a 15 minute break, and each class is 1.5 hours. We can buy her a bluetooth headset with mic in case she needs to walk around a little, stretch, get stuff from the other room etc. Still, that is a LONG time to engage. With only a short break. What says the hive? I probably wouldn't. That is over 3 hours, probably closer to 4 (time getting ready, class running a little over). With my kids in 8th grade, there wouldn't have been much else getting done that day. Has she already done online classes before? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 My current 7th grader can but he is used to eating dinner while attending his aops class for the past few years since that is at 4:30pm pacific time. He is also used to doing 4hrs or more of continuous. My current 6th grader would be exhausted after 2hrs and would need a 30mins break. However if the 2nd online class is something like computer animation or physics, he would be able to do it with a 5 mins break. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 (edited) No way. *I* would not want to do three hours of online class in one stretch either. I find it much harder to remain engaged than in a presence class, and even a 90 minute presence class would be long for many 8th graders. Many college students would have trouble remaining focused. Does she really want to take those classes? I would let her if she was passionate about the classes and a driven, ambitious student. Otherwise, I would not do 90 minute online classes at all at this age. Edited March 22, 2017 by regentrude 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 OP I would not suggest trying that. Possibly one (1) course, but not 2 courses, and not one immediately after the other. The longer the class, the harder it is for someone to try to stay focused and pay attention. 30 minutes, OK. 60 minutes, maybe. 90 minutes is a long stretch. 180 minutes with a 15 minute break between classes, NO NO NO NO NO. GL with your decision. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 Stick with your instinct - you already know this is a poor decision for her. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 My dd#1 did two 90 min classes back to back this year on one day of the week and it is really draining on her. She has a total of three online classes that one day of the week and it is, by far, her worst day in terms of attitude and lack of physical activity. The first class offers a break half way through and the second class is really lively, but it is still difficult. I wouldn't do anything different because they have been worth it. If it would have been two days per week, I wouldn't have done it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted March 22, 2017 Author Share Posted March 22, 2017 Ok, thanks so much for all Of your input ! I dropped the class and it's good to know I did the right thing. (Reg, my dd likes her independence and really thrives, to the extreme, with outside accountability so she is very excited to do classes -online or in person- rather than just have me teach her and/or work with just her books :) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 My 17yo is taking 3 uni classes this semester in areas of very high interest. On Thursdays she has the classes back-to-back-to-back from 9:30 to 1:30. She is exhausted, cranky, and famished when I pick her up. I'm glad you cancelled the other class! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourisenough Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 My 13 year old will have back-to-back classes M-Th next year. But she is super zen and bizarrely focused/motivated for a kid her age: to improve concentration she'll color, draw, knit, and stretch (she's a ballet dancer and can spend two hours a day stretching on her floor) during her class, all while participating heavily in the discussion. Now my younger daughter? Would never in a million years be able to do this. Sounds like you made the right choice for your child. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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