My 9th grader was homeschooled from grades 2-8, and she entered a charter school this year. It is a fairly new school, and they seem to be going overboard in their attempt to be rigorous and college-preparatory. My daughter's day is 7.25 hours, not the typical 6.5 many of us grew up with; She has only 15 minutes for lunch, plus a 5-minute passing period, and she has no study halls. When she comes home, she usually has several hours of homework waiting for her. It has been so overwhelming for her that I had to complain about it at parent-teacher conferences. Whereas for 7 years I saw my daughter for most of her days and she had balance between school, play, and chores, now we hardly see her at all and she has no balance. Her life is now little more than school, homework, and Sunday church. The main reason we'll keep her there is that she wants to stay, mainly because of all her new friends. She also likes her teachers and is getting a good education, so I'm just learning to accept the change, though I don't think I'll ever really be fully on board with it. The school is working to improve the problem, because many parents have complained, but I don't think the school will ever bring the intensity down enough to allow her to restore her previous balance. That said, I think this school is unusual in its rigor, even for college-prep schools (I went to one and never had this amount of homework). Probably the previous posts about kids who only have an hour or two per night are more normal.

Well, I find it interesting that instead of really looking at the issues that have concerned and hurt people in regards to CLAA, you chose to make personal criticisms instead. CLAA conversations never go well--never. Maybe it is because members have invested so much of their trust in Mr. Michael and the program, as well as so much of themselves. It is difficult to think something might be really wrong in the way CLAA operates. And maybe it is because those who are disturbed and hurt by it are unwilling to back down from the problems they see. The latter would describe me, but I know better to get any deeper with conversation about it. Blessings and have a wonderful school year in CLAA.

Excellent. Very well said. I had to run the other direction as fast as I could go, too. I paid a price for my experience that is still affecting me today. For example, even now, I find myself making decisions and wondering if they are "okay" according to CLAA. Then I kick myself, because I can see how it's all affected my mind. I could sort of see it before I left, but not until I left did I realize what a bad influence it was on me. Now, if I could have done the program and ignored the forum, I might have been just fine and still be there today. I've heard there are positive changes happening and lots of growth. On the other hand, CLAA promotes a lifestyle more than just a curriculum. I'm not sure anybody can make it very far with it without adopting that mindset, even without being on the forum, but maybe I'm wrong. It's just that my efforts with CLAA naturally began to slide toward changing my whole family's lifestyle, which would have been partly healthy and partly not.

No, nobody is forming a cult. You are twisting my words. I am saying that some people who peruse the forum are finding it to be very disturbing because of the way posts remind them of cult behavior. Someone posted the signals a few posts ago. People are seeing some of those signals in the forum, as well as conversations that are unChristlike in the way they treat others. It turns some people off very much, and I concur.

The teachers aren't the problem, the forum is. It is the most un-Christlike Christian group I've ever encountered. With a few cult-like characteristics added into the mix, it is more than a little disturbing.

I know CLAA very well and know it is not a cult. However, I have heard several people--who do not know each other--mention to me that things about the forum feel cult-like to them. I didn't come up with the idea, but I see exactly what they mean. I've also heard that it is a standing joke amongst members and think it is telling that such observations do not make them stop and think. Perhaps there is something about the way things are run there that needs another look. Actually, now that I think about it, there is no perhaps about it.

I am a writing tutor-teacher, as well, working via email from MN. I work mostly with junior high school students, but I have had a few high school students, as well. I would be happy to discuss it with you, if you would like. Cheri

I recently read it, myself, and found it sickeningly sweet most of the way through. That doesn't mean kids won't like it, though; they aren't as observant about that kind of thing, usually. Still, I wouldn't recommend it for every kid. If your child really enjoys old stories with old vocabulary, then it may be a good fit.

I grew up an evangelical, conservative Protestant who was taught that Catholics are basically pseudo-Christians; that if some of them are saved, it is in spite of the Church (not because of it); that they worship Mary and saints; that their rituals are empty, meaningless tripe, and so on. Today I am Catholic (by active choice, not marriage), and sometimes I run into people who have the same opinions I used to hold. I encourage the original poster who was shocked at the "bashing" to try not to let it upset her. Those who don't regard Catholics as Christian brethren do not do so out of spite but out of genuine belief, based on information they have been given about the Catholic Church--some true, some twisted--just as I was. They aren't intending to bash so much as teach what they believe to be true, and...well, aren't we all? Now that I am on the other side of the line, I feel it is more productive to simply understand their point of view, accept it for what it is, and try to correct misconceptions about the Church, one discussion at a time. And I usually make sure I choose curricula that is not known to be anti-Catholic, so that I do not support such companies. It may not feel good to be regarded by other Christians in this way, but Catholics have their views about them in return--and I guess it is just one of those things that will not go away until Jesus stitches everything back together--Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox, all as one. Maybe it will be on earth or maybe in heaven--but someday, we will be one.

I have Write Source, grade 4, and WriteSource 2000 (or something like that), which is for junior high in handbook (as opposed to textbook form). We have not used this program a lot, yet, but I do think it is pretty nice. Maybe not the BEST but nice. There is quite a lot of grammar in the back of the book with some exercises--not a lot. The editing workbook is also quite good, I think, with exercises and application assignments. Personally, I think it is sufficient and would recommend it. I would suggest that sometime before high school your student do one year of a systematic grammar study, but I think WriteSource is good overall as both a composition and grammar practice course.

It may be old-fashioned, but I love the John Thompson series. We tried Noona, which is modern and cartoony and upbeat, but the exercises/music in John Thompson sounds more like real music to me than the Noona ones. They have a loveliness to them. It may be a great fit level-wise, too, because it is not super-simple, if you begin with level 1. There is a primer that is easier, but it sounds like your child could begin with level 1. I'd advise against trying to start at level 2. It gets harder pretty fast.

We have been slooowly moving through CW--Homer for OB and CW--Poetry for Beginners, and I think I will have to give up on Homer. I am a writing teacher, and I still concur that it is just way too complicated. Like others here, I love the philosophy and really wanted it to work, but it is so heavy and unappealing when I put it into practice. I just feel like it is so rich and well-done, yet so un-user-friendly, although I know they tried. Sometimes I think about how I would implement it in a classroom and wonder if I could even explain it to students in a way that would click with them. Poetry is okay with good selections, but again, just too complicated and dry. I don't feel writing has to be fun in the learning stage, but it shouldn't feel like a heavy burden, either. We will finish poetry and then decide whether or not to finish Homer or just do writing the way I would normally teach it, using resources I already have. If so, I hope to incorporate some of their methodology, because I really do think it's superior to what I and a lot of other writing teachers do.

I have not used Angelicum, but this year we are trying MP's guides using King Arthur. I like it pretty well, and they do have enough penetrating questions in it to suit me for a 7th grader. I may continue with MP, but what I've found I really like is Total Language Plus. My 3rd grader did the guide for Pippi Longstocking this year, and I thought it was a rich study, covering grammar, spelling, vocabulary, writing, and comprehension. They weren't done in a way that felt like fluff to me, either. It has been challenging and appropriately indepth for her. My only beef with it is that they don't do anything with really classical works, like the Odyssey, but a lot of the selections are good, anyway. I am interested to see what the junior high and high school guides are like. My one experience with Kolbe has been indirectly. My daughter took a class this year that used Kolbe book lists and guides. I liked a lot of the materials fine, but I felt the books were generally poor choices for junior high. For example, The Screwtape Letters, I felt, was way over her head. I would much rather her go indepth with something more age-appropriate. There's plenty of good stuff out there. I want her to read the adult books, but they can wait.

I'm a writing teacher who has been searching high and low for an antidote to the ineffective writing instruction going on in schools these days--the methodology I was taught to use myself. I think Classical Writing--and we're only in the first half of Homer, so it's still a little early for a final report--is the richest, most thorough writing program I've ever seen. I'm very impressed. I, however, advocate doing more original writing than it teaches, so I will be combining it with Bravewriter, which approaches writing the way an author approaches it. Together, I think they will make an unbeatable writing program.

I suggest Supercharged Science. My 6th-grade daughter, who is NOT a science kid, started it just recently and really likes it. It is all online. You really have to study the website to get a feel for it. My description would be insufficient. I especially like the fact that its foundation is physics and chemistry, which are the root sciences of all the sciences. Here is the link: http://www.superchargedscience.com/ Scroll down to click on the eScience online learning program; that's where you'll get the best information about this program.