[Latin killed the Romans and now Lukeion is killing me?]

Latin 2 study methods at my house:

 

Mon: read chapter, work through self-tutorial exercises & flag hard sentences, write paradigm of the week on board in kitchen, start working on vocab

Tue: review vocab, class, type up notes

Wed: review vocab, first half of homework

Thurs: second half of homework, submit, review for mistakes, flag hardest sentences 

Fri/weekend: read "Latin is fun and useful," glance over any sentences that were especially hard, take quiz

 

Most helpful are reading the grammar before class and doing the self-tutorial. Kiddo also checks work specifically for verb TENSE and VOICE before submitting. 

[15 y.o. dd wants to switch from AOPS to something else, need suggestions]

What about Jacobs?

[AoPS Algebra online class - A or B?]

For ds, the hardest part of starting aops was learning to write up a satisfactory proof (full paragraphs, justifying steps, etc.), and it was helpful to him to start with Algebra a so he could practice those skills before diving into difficult quadratics. He had done aops prealgebra and intro counting and probability at home, and was comfortable with the math approach, but proof writing was hard.

[Is there a stigma to testing out of a-g? (UC)]

Would it be fair to say that testing out of, say, a science a-g class with the appropriate subject SAT is comparable to taking an AP test without a formal AP class (which I feel absolutely fine doing)? I don't mean that the difficulty level is the same; I know that the AP classes are a higher level. But, in terms of a test validating rigor when the class name doesn't, is that a fair comparison?

[Is there a stigma to testing out of a-g? (UC)]

Thank you all!

 

The charter money is really helpful, unfortunately. Or, fortunately, I guess. And it goes up once DS is officially in hs.   

 

I'd rather not rule out UC right now, if I can help it--but if I have to choose between peace and depth on one hand and a-g on the other, I sure hope I will pick the former.  

 

[Is there a stigma to testing out of a-g? (UC)]

I have a rising 8th grader, and am starting to navigate CA high school planning. It looks like our charter will be a bit finicky about giving a-g credit for Mom classes. I am talking about classes where the rigor is clearly above what is required, but the course does not match the charter's recommended syllabus for books read or organization of units. Is there any benefit there would be to pushing the charter to give a-g credit, rather than just testing out of the requirement? (It looks like the process to get approved is pretty tedious. Apparently, even courses the College Board has approved for AP need a second pass through the UC board.)

 

For UC admissions, is there a stigma to testing out of English with a high SAT verbal score instead of a-g courses? 

 

Also, do other colleges care about the a-g listings? I mean, outside CA is it seen as a hoop? Or does a homeschool transcript without a-g look like the child has taken an easier path?

 

DS will have AoPS classes and probably SAT subject and AP exams to validate some but not all courses. 

 

Thanks.

[Can you tell me what you used for American History for 2 years?]

We are just finishing up a year of US history reads. DS really liked both great courses we did, and all but the first book.

 

Great courses:

 

The Great Debate: Advocates and Opponents of the American Constitution

 

The Civil War

 

Books:

 

Before Columbus

1776

Alexander Hamilton (Chernow)

Washington: A Life (Chernow)

Undaunted Courage

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (a shorter version)

I'm also hoping to fit a Lincoln biography into the year.

[Does 3 credit DE semester "count" as a HS year?]

I notice that MIT asks for just two years of history but four of English, and mentions that excellent writing skills are a priority. I wonder if something that looks like light English might be a bit of a concern, not because of missing out on literature but because of the writing piece.

 

I'd guess that strong AP English scores would validate nontraditional English classroom time, though?

 

Am following this with interest. My big kid is a rising 8th grader, interested in stem, and it does seem tricky to balance a well rounded hs program with going deep.

[the charter gave DS a different (higher) grade than AoPS]

I just received DS's fall report card, and our charter teacher gave DS a higher grade than his online AoPS teacher gave him. My instinct is to ask the charter to change the report card to reflect the AoPS assessment, for several reasons:

 

The lower grade is probably a better assessment of his work.

 

It seems a bit sketchy for the charter to be inflating grades, especially since it was done on the strength of a handful of work samples.

 

I also don't want to set a precedent of agreeing to the charter changing grades: I could also see them lowering grades because of not understanding how AoPS deliberately assigns hard problems and wants kids to struggle.

 

 

DS is in 7th grade, but is getting high school credit, so colleges will see these grades.

 

Does anyone have been-there-done-that advice for me?

[PSA for those interested in Univ of CAs]

I thought UC allowed validation of geometry through a higher-level course for which geometry is a prerequisite, but it looks like that is no longer the case:

 

Geometry: The omission of a yearlong geometry course cannot be validated by advanced-level math courses (e.g., Algebra II/ Trigonometry, Trigonometry, Math Analysis, Precalculus or Calculus). However, validation applies in the following cases:

 

• The omission of the first semester of geometry can be validated by successful completion of the second semester of geometry with a letter grade of C or better.

 

• The omission of a yearlong integrated course with sufficient geometry content (e.g., Math II) can be validated by a higher level integrated course (e.g., Math III) with a letter grade of C or better, provided that the higher-level course shows clear evidence of geometry content.

 

• The omission of the first semester of an integrated course with sufficient geometry content (e.g., Math II) can be validated by successful completion of the second semester of an integrated course with sufficient geometry content with a letter grade of C or better.

 

Please note: Standardized exams (SAT, ACT, SAT Subject Test, AP, IB, etc.) cannot validate the omission. However, we will accept a “challenge†examination, administered by the high school (e.g., the school geometry course final exam), to demonstrate proficiency to validate the course omission if the high school awards both grades and units for the successful completion of such an exam.

 

http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/files/quick-reference-2016.pdf

[Latin--what next after SYRWTLL 3?]

I'm hoping to finish up SY Latin book 3 this fall, and am thinking over what to do once we finish. My first instinct is Wheelock's. Or would it make sense to work through Wheelock's alongside SY? Gosh, I am so ready to be done with SY, though!  I'm teaching a pair of bright and analytical boys, one in sixth and one in ninth grade, who like Latin and expect to continue on to a formal class of some kind next fall. They are both strong on grammar; I'd like to work harder on more translations and practice reading this year.

 

Thanks!