Anyone have experience with Blue Tent Advanced Senior English? Or something similar?

[JeanM]

I'm trying to think about options for my ds who took AP English language last year, and is taking AP English literature this year, both through the public school. He took a Blue Tent English class several years ago, and thought the feedback was very helpful, but the way the class was set up seemed difficult. It took clicking in multiple places to figure out what needed to be done, and it was not always obvious what was due.

 

He'll be a senior next year, and dual enrollment options are very limited where we live. It's possible that he could find a college level class, especially if he's willing to drive a ways (and if we're willing to let him drive that much), but an online class would save a lot of time!

 

[RootAnn]

Cindy Lange teaches high level classes. She's off on her own this year, but it is worth seeing what she'll offer next year.

I've heard great things about By the Onion Sea Lit/Writing classes.

[Lilaclady]

Cindy Lange teaches high level classes. She's off on her own this year, but it is worth seeing what she'll offer next year.

I've heard great things about By the Onion Sea Lit/Writing classes.

Wow Cindy Lange's class seems crazy expensive.

I think Ron speed at http://hscollegebound.com might have some classes

[RootAnn]

Wow Cindy Lange's class seems crazy expensive.

I think Ron speed at http://hscollegebound.com might have some classes

They are crazy expensive. I can't say they are worth that much because we didn't pay that much, but she is an amazing teacher and her class sizes are small. She gives detailed feedback on papers geared toward getting your kid writing at the next level.

[Roadrunner]

They are crazy expensive. I can't say they are worth that much because we didn't pay that much, but she is an amazing teacher and her class sizes are small. She gives detailed feedback on papers geared toward getting your kid writing at the next level.

We have had such a difficult time finding writing instruction with real feedback, I am starting to wonder if we should try her classes despite the $$$

 

 

Do you know if she lets kids join at mid year?

Edited October 12, 2017 by Roadrunner

[madteaparty]

We have had such a difficult time finding writing instruction with real feedback, I am starting to wonder if we should try her classes despite the $$$

 

 

Do you know if she lets kids join at mid year?

Please see my email

[OnMyOwn]

I was really drawn to CLRC's Great Books class as a follow-up to AP Lang, but we didn't get to try it because my dd wanted to resume the local GB class series she had been taking. I liked that CLRC seems to really put an emphasis on writing in their GB program. My dd was also interested in the Russian lit class mentioned above, and might have chosen that over the local one if we had heard about it earlier.

[crazyforlatin]

I find that Bravewriter teachers, at least the two we had in the summer, were more detailed or at least just as detailed than Lange. But I think Lange mentioned during the beginning that she wouldn't focus too much on correcting grammar since the purpose of the class was writing, not grammar. RootAnn, do you remember something like that?

 

I need to think about writing for next year even though this year just started.

[madteaparty]

I find that Bravewriter teachers, at least the two we had in the summer, were more detailed or at least just as detailed than Lange.

 

This is not our experience with the bravewriter class DS took. He got an A+ in that class for absolute crap of two essays (and he would agree with my assessment). I'm baffled by the bravewriter love and wonder what we do wrong, because clearly, it's just us.

 

I might as well repeat here that by far the best writing feedback we've received is in Sue Tursack's CLRC GB class. And that's not a writing class.

 

Issue I think is when one moves from writing according to a pattern (like the GB 1 papers were) to writing thematically across various works (which what DS has to do now in his dual enrollment class). There is no writing class that I've found that will teach you this.

Edited October 13, 2017 by madteaparty

[Nicholas_mom]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

 

I need a class that is writing according to a pattern to writing thematically across various works!

[Roadrunner]

And I want to add that transition from WWS style writing to thesis based writing hasn't been smooth. While my kid can knock out WWS assignments with ease, writing a good thesis for thematic based essay has been an increadible difficult task.

[crazyforlatin]

This is not our experience with the bravewriter class DS took. He got an A+ in that class for absolute crap of two essays (and he would agree with my assessment). I'm baffled by the bravewriter love and wonder what we do wrong, because clearly, it's just us.

 

I might as well repeat here that by far the best writing feedback we've received is in Sue Tursack's CLRC GB class. And that's not a writing class.

 

Issue I think is when one moves from writing according to a pattern (like the GB 1 papers were) to writing thematically across various works (which what DS has to do now in his dual enrollment class). There is no writing class that I've found that will teach you this.

I remember you mentioning about BW on another post. Just for reference, and you don’t have to tell us which class your DS took, DD enrolled in fan fiction and SAT essay, so not exactly mainstream high school writing. I haven't checked to see if their instructors teach across various topics. I forgot their names, but I'll look it up and edit later, if I remember. I'm definitely considering CLRC for next year. We couldn’t do it this year because Latin is requiring a few essays each semester.

[Roadrunner]

Has anybody tried Write at Home 8 week seminars? How good is the feedback in those classes?

[yvonne]

Hands-down best, most extensive, most useful, most formative writing feedback we've gotten in high school English courses was with TPS. Of Linnea Geno's Eng 3: Lit Survey course I still sing the praises. :)   I know TPS will not work for everyone because it is Christian. Just putting it out there for those for whom it might work.

 

(Cindy Lange provided similar writing feedback when my students were in her middle school classes. We haven't been able, schedule-wise, to use her high school classes yet.)

[madteaparty]

I remember you mentioning about BW on another post. Just for reference, and you don’t have to tell us which class your DS took, DD enrolled in fan fiction and SAT essay, so not exactly mainstream high school writing. I haven't checked to see if their instructors teach across various topics. I forgot their names, but I'll look it up and edit later, if I remember. I'm definitely considering CLRC for next year. We couldn’t do it this year because Latin is requiring a few essays each semester.

 

I'm uncomfortable calling out the specific class/instructor because clearly it is just us and this program works beautifully for everyone else.  It was supposed to be an upper level high school sort of class.

[Lilaclady]

Hands-down best, most extensive, most useful, most formative writing feedback we've gotten in high school English courses was with TPS. Of Linnea Geno's Eng 3: Lit Survey course I still sing the praises. :) I know TPS will not work for everyone because it is Christian. Just putting it out there for those for whom it might work.

 

(Cindy Lange provided similar writing feedback when my students were in her middle school classes. We haven't been able, schedule-wise, to use her high school classes yet.)

But the English 3 seems to be geared towards 9th and 10th grade. OP is looking for post AP lit Class

[RootAnn]

But the English 3 seems to be geared towards 9th and 10th grade. OP is looking for post AP lit Class

 

Looks like yvonne's kids are taking TPS English 6 this year. I think TPS goes one level higher than that? So, if the feedback is good & her kids keep taking TPS English classes on up the ladder, I think the recommendation is appropriate. The general discussion in this thread has certainly included going from a formulaic writing to thematic writing - which is more of a pre-AP level skill, isn't it?

 

Mrs. Lange, of whom I mentioned, was best known for an 8th grade class at WHA. She also taught a Junior/Senior level class there, but it was not as well-known.

 

My dd#1 isn't at post-AP level writing. ( :smilielol5:Total understatement here.) She's taking a Lukeion writing class this semester that is their new pre-Advanced Research Writing (Composition & Research) class. She has done surprisingly well with the different types of essays that have been assigned so far (Descriptive, Narrative, Exemplification, Process Analysis, and Extended Definition). They still have a Classification, Compare and Contrast, and a Research Paper before the end of the semester. At least one of the last two involves some sort of literary analysis, I think. The feedback hasn't been detailed at all and honestly, not that helpful either. The jury is still out on the merits of the class. I will say that the one thing I like about the class is that it has made her write. (She also found out that she can crank out a paper in an hour - which is a useful skill in certain situations that she never-before exhibited. It was annoying, though, since she had an entire week to work on it. :thumbdown: ) 

[yvonne]

Yes, my oldest took Eng 3:Lit Survey in 9th, AP Eng Lit last year in 11th, and are TPS’s Eng 6: College Brit Lit this year in 12th. I’m not as on top of it this year bec of college apps, so I can’t say w certainty that there’s as much writing or feedback on writing as in their first class. Will find out and update when I have time.

 

Sorry, thought someone upthread was looking for any high school level Eng class w writing!

[Woodland Mist Academy]

Bumping... Anyone have further comments or insights now that a few more months have passed?