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Maryam

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Posts posted by Maryam

  1. My daughter and nephew did Computer Science with him. I don’t recommend it. Derek Owens’s teaching videos are fine. However, someone else grades and does homework help and he has a VERY slow response time, which was very frustrating for them both. That said, Derek Owens’s math classes are amazing. All three of my kids loved his teaching. I  just asked my youngest daughter if she’d prefer a live class next year for Algebra 2, and she adamantly refused to do anyone besides Derek Owens. 

  2. 40 minutes ago, Farrar said:

    Not my own kids. I do homeschool and college consulting, so I've had lots of clients take their courses. My experience is that they turn out really high quality writers - especially the kids who go all the way through their sequence. Kids come out really able to craft a sentence and put together an essay. I can't say that for every kid coming out of WTMA... those kids can really write a summary and don't make any grammatical or mechanics errors ever though. I'm familiar with Center for Lit, but I don't have any real experience with them. Of course, my sample size is relatively small. And writing instruction and what works for one kid can be really individual. So take it with a grain of salt.

    Thank you. This was really helpful! 

  3. On 4/6/2022 at 5:25 PM, Farrar said:

    It's not the same. BT has a different approach that I would describe as equally strong, but a little different. BT isn't classical so some of the expectations about writing styles are a little different. They encourage writing that's a little more centered on student voice. But they also have students doing a lot of grammar analysis of their own writing. The other two have a live class. BT does not, but they do have a lot of student interaction in the forum posts. Some people love that and get a lot out of it but others don't. It just depends.

    Thank you! Did you a personal experience with BT? If so, did your child’s writing improve? 

  4. My 8th grader is finishing WTMA Expository 3. For ninth grade, she’ll either take Blue Tent’s Intro. Literature and Composition or take separately WTMA Writing Rhetoric 1 and Center for Lit for literature. I’ve had a positive experience with the latter two for my precious daughter but never tried BT’s English. The advantage seems to be that it combines both literature and writing in one class (which saves both time and money), but is the class content of the same content as  WTMA Rhetoric and Center for Lit? Reviews for any of the above would be much appreciated, especially BT. Thanks! 

     

  5. 6 hours ago, NittanyJen said:

    I am taking over Carole Matheny’s AP Stats class next year— although I have my own take on things, she did actually gift me her wealth of materials, class structure, and I spent the past year shadowing her class while my son took the class with her, so I could watch her teaching in action and interact some with the class. Several of her top students have agreed to TA for me next year as well. 

    I am moving the class to a new environment (new to that class; not new to me); I will be teaching over both Zoom and Canvas, both of which I have used before for other classes.

    If you have any questions about the class, please feel free to ask me directly.

    Best wishes in discovering the option that will suit your and your kiddo best. I of course would love for it to be me, but I honor the fact that families have many factors that they need to weigh when making choices and that there is no one choice that is the best for every family. Good luck with AP Statistics, no matter which way you choose!

     

     

    I just checked the website and I don’t see your name in the choices anymore. Does this mean your group is full? 

  6. We’ve used LL 7 and 8. It’s a very average, open and go curriculum IMHO.  There is a good introduction to literary devices , but it does not provide much in terms of literary analysis;The questions are straightforward, “what happened-type comprehension questions. My dd found some of the  writing assignments fun but there was not much instruction. She does WWS series with WTMA for writing which is writing (and reading) heavy, so LL was more supplemental, to provide a basic guide when she reads these books. 

  7. I’m choosing between Blue Tent and PAH. I’ve read plenty of great reviews about the latter but I know that Carole Matheny will no longer be teaching the latter. If you’ve done Blue Tent, how was your experience? How many hours are expected  weekly and how did your student do on the AP exam? And any other info you can offer would be much appreciated! Thanks! 

  8. Unfortunately, no responses. So I just signed up for Amy Samuelson based on suitable timings. It’s an expensive course and I’m a bit worried to have registered with no teacher reviews, but I’m hoping for the best. There are almost no seats left so if anyone is considering the course, especially as a continuation to Expository Writing 2, I’d encourage them To hurry. 

  9. 23 hours ago, calbear said:

    Would it be possible if reviews could note if the class is live or asynchronous since not everything is at PAH is asynchronous any more?

    Although AP English does not include a live class, it does have A LOT of interaction with both the teacher and students. And assignments have daily and weekly due dates and immediate feedback. Maya’s daily morning messages contain a lot of teaching content. So in a sense it feels to her very much like a live class, or at the very least, I personally don’t feel like the lack of a live class has decreased its benefit or engagement in any way. My daughter, who normally prefers live to asynchronous, loves Maya’s AP English class more than any other. However, it is VERY time consuming. 
     

    My son (now studying software engineering at Penn State) had LOVED Moskakuk’s AP Chemistry class (also not live but equally beneficial IMHO). 
     

    These two teachers have really inspired, motivated, and challenged (in a good way) my kids. 

    • Like 3
  10. Thank you so much for sharing your experience. No, I’ve never tried Foerster’s but alive read some good reviews. My older kids have had different experiences with DO. My son did very well in DO Geometry to Precalculus and is now second year software engineering at Penn State. My daughter did well in DO Algebra 1 and really struggled with DO Geometry and needed live help so switched to MyHomeschoolMathClass for Algebra 2 and did very well. She’ll likely return to DO for Pre-Calculus though because it might not be offered live next year.
     

    However, my question for my youngest dd (who likes math and does well in it) is because I don’t know what the best transition is from MM7 and if there is any advantage to Foerster’s to DO (since MM recommends it). Also, I don’t know how to assess her readiness to transition from me as a teacher to asynchronous online classes as a younger Algebra student, if that makes sense.

  11. My daughter is starting Algebra 1 in 7th, so my concern is that has not had any video or online instruction yet (though her older siblings have). Any experiences (good or bad) with the above after MM7? My three options are:

    I teach her Foerster’s Algebra 1, she does Foerster’s with Math without Borders videos, or Derek Owens? 

    (Note: I did post this both in high school and middle school forums because the question  applies to both groups). 

    Thanks 

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