Yes, it is pre-reading. The idea is for the child to formulate some questions, some ideas before reading. That way, the child will be more curious as he reads it, increasing the comprehension level. You ask the child some questions just based upon the title or the cover of the book. For example, if there is a picture of a train on the cover, you ask if the child has ever seen a train, or been on a train and what it what like for him. Or you ask the child where he thinks the train might be going. Or who might be in the train. Part of the concept is to bring up some prior experiences so that the child will tie the material to something he already knows, making connections so he is more likely to retain the information he reads. The research says that people don't just put information into blank spaces in their brains, but they tie it to information they already have in their brains. So, you need to access that information first, so the child has something to tie the new information to. I'm a former teacher. Teachers are trained to use some questions before reading to the children. I've tried this with my dd before reading a book, and she usually tells me, "just read". She gets impatient. I'm not sure if it's because she doesn't get it and thinks it's just a waste of time, or if it's because the technique is actually working and making her even more curious and therefore impatient to hear the book. I have dropped it in my reading to my daughter now. She is naturally curious and has excellent comprehension. So, it's not necessary. But there is some reading research that backs these pre-reading strategies. That's why the schools of education teach it. And also the boy may have forgotten some of the class discussion about it. Much of what teachers say goes in one ear and out the other. Kids get so bored in school, they tune it out to a large degree. It may be useful for children who are in school or who don't have much curiosity or don't listen well. But it is interesting to me that homeschool moms don't do all the tricks like this that teachers do and yet the homeschooled kids do much better on standardized tests. I think it is because the homeschooled kids haven't lost their natural curiosity and love for learning, so they don't need all the tricks and crutches to try to get them to learn. They already want to learn.

My dd (13) does lots of extra-curricular activities, especially music lessons. She does flute, piano, violin, orchestra, performs in musicals, and does gymnastics. If she were in school, we wouldn't be doing most of these extra activities. She would have the school musicals and PE class in school and she wouldn't play as many instruments. She would probably just do violin lessons and the youth orchestra if she were in school. So, unlike some of the other posters, I do consider the extra-curriculars to be mostly homeschooling expenses. Because if she were in school, she would be doing the school extra-curricular activities instead of the private activities she is currently doing. There is no way she could keep up the schedule she currently has if she were in school and also had to do all the homework and school activities. We do them partly because she is homeschooled and an only child and just staying at home all day all the time with mom is boring. Doing an activity or two per day makes the day much more interesting for her. So, we spend about $500/month on extra-curricular activities. The homeschool books cost practically nothing in comparison. We probably spend about $200/year. Except we got Rosetta Stone, which cost $500, but we can do 3 levels on it, so the cost over 3 years of use isn't that great.

My dd just turned 13. No dating as of now. I have told her no dating til 18. Groups are ok though. In Europe, that's what many parents say. No one-on-one dating, but going out in groups is ok. I think going out in groups is inherently safer and sets up a completely different atmosphere. Relationships are more about having fun and less about physical relationships before children are ready for that. I just don't want some guy I don't know coming and taking her out one-on-one. A group of friends- ok. One guy- no. I do have a seemingly bizarre exception though to the no one-on-one dating til 18 rule. If she runs a marathon, she could date at 16. That way, I'm not preventing her from dating at 16, I'm just setting a precondition. I've run a couple of marathons. To me, a running a marathon shows that the person is dedicated and can think long-term, not short-term. It is a serious endeavor that takes perserverance and isn't just done on a whim. Marathons are also a metaphor for marriage. It isn't a sprint- it takes time and work. But if you persevere, the satisfaction is great.

CLE (Christian Light Education) is spiral, but perhaps gentler than Saxon. We have used it all along and it works great. Take the placement test (available on their website) to find the right placement. Go ahead and place him at the appropriate level for him, even if it means going back 2 or 3 grades. Then, you can work forward from there. But starting him at the wrong place means he will be frustrated. I also encourage you to spend some time doing math games. Use the Family Math book, play games that involve buying and spending money, math calculations, Mathmania magazine, etc. It makes math more fun and more real. Best wishes.

"the most important part of practice is the quality, not the quantity." :iagree: I would also add that focus is important in your practice, but that is sort of understood in the concept of quality. I think it's important not to over-practice if you lose the focus. You could actually be training yourself in bad habits if you practice after you have lost your ability to focus. I find it easier to stay focused if you keep practice sessions short. But, you can do multiple practice sessions in a day. Practice 2 or 3 times a day, but keep your sessions shorter- 30 minutes or so, but focused- high quality. I think you will find you make more progress with this sort of practice schedule, rather than practicing for 2-3 hours straight. Anyhow, I think you asked the wrong question. It's not about how long you practice- it's about how well you practice. It's not "practice makes perfect". It's perfect practice that makes perfect. That's my $.02. Best wishes.

My dd has been homeschooled all along. She is 13 now. We are considering putting her in a very good private school. But now I am having 2nd thoughts about that. My reasons are perhaps unusual, but very important to me. I work full-time and only get to see my dd in the evenings and weekends. If she went to school, she would have to do homework and practice her instrument in the evenings, so we would lose a lot of the time together we have right now. This is a very special time when we can play games, watch a video, talk, etc. and I read to her every night. I would lose a lot of that connection for what? For some extra busy work? Also, right now, she can sleep in. She doesn't have to get up at a certain hour. I am concerned that she won't get enough sleep if she goes to school. I've read some of the sleep research and feel that sleep is very important for physical and mental health and for learning. What is more important than her physical and mental health and her learning? Seems like those things should be a priority and the school schedule should take a back seat, as it does in our homeschooling. And, I am concerned about excessive peer influence. Somehow in school, there is the unwritten "code of the kids". It makes it so you aren't free to be yourself. You have to change yourself to conform to the norm. You have to like the right kinds of music, wear the right clothes, speak in a certain way, etc. If you violate the "code of the kids" you are punished by being socially ostracized, teased, etc. My dd is a great, fun, happy, positive child. I don't want her peers to change her, tease her, bully her, and force her to conform to their idea of how she is supposed to think and act. So, the reasons are: 1. my relationship with my dd 2. sleep and the negative health affects 3. my dd's loss of herself due to peer influence.

Yes, you can go from CLE 700 to Algebra. However, we decided to do the 800 series first and I am glad we did. The 800 series is very good- lots of practical applications of math- percentages, pre-algebra, compound interest, etc. We just like CLE and decided to stay with it as long as we could. Next year we'll go to some Algebra program, but right now, the 800 series is very solid, important math that I am glad my dd is learning. :001_smile:

My dd is in 7th and it's the extra-curriculars that are costing us big bucks! She plays violin, flute, piano, & plays in an ensemble & orchestra. She has gotten into doing musicals and has parts in plays that cost $$ also. Then, she does gymnastics twice a week. So, it's somewhere around $500-$600/month. That's before any books. Books are nothing. We just do a couple of subjects and use CLE for math (cheap) and Saxon (Hake) for grammar and writing and Sequential Spelling (cheap) then we use library books and borrow books from the school system for other subjects. Then, there is summer camp and music camp.

Just when you felt that you had a good answer, someone has to chime in with a different idea. I read the post and have a concern about going with the pre-packaged curriculum. You wrote, "writing is very difficult and painful." I have known homeschoolers who use the pre-packaged curriculums and either end up quitting and sending their kids back to school because the parent and the children were burnt-out or they go the other route and end up becoming unschoolers and forget any curriculums. And this is for children who don't have Asbergers and won't don't find writing very difficult and painful. Sitting through 5-6 workbooks every day is a recipe for burn-out, even for "normal" children. I would think that a child with Asbergers would have even more difficulty with this approach. I'd suggest a more varied approach, rather than sticking with any one approach. For example, do a workbook, then do a read-aloud, then take a break. Then, do another computer-based curriculum, do a science experiment and take another break. Eat lunch. Then, have a silent reading period when he can research and learn on his own. If you vary the types of activities, rather than just sticking with one, it is more interesting and less boring. If the student goes from workbook to computer to playing a musical instrument to hands-on science to playing a sport to reading on his own to writing a report to taking a course somewhere to doing community service work, it seems varied and interesting. Yet, it still covers everything necessary. I would think that this would be especially important for the type of child you described. I would think that this child would lose interest quickly if faced with a stack of workbooks to do. That's my $.02. Best wishes.

I am a lawyer at a public defender's office, so I don't make a lot of money. Never did and never will. But it's enough to live on, which is all I need, and there are good benefits for my family. And it is meaningful work. But the caseload is enormous. We sometimes have 500 clients at a time. No time to talk to clients or to do much on their cases. You just do the best you can. Anyway, I had the choice of going to a state school for free essentially or going to a private law school with a better reputation but paying a lot more for it. I opted for the state school, but still took out some student loans for living expenses during law school. I am still paying on those loans 10 years later. Unless you are going to one of the top ten schools and plan to work for one of the big firms, it is a mistake to pay for a private law school. The big firms pay the big bucks but if you don't go to one of the top ten schools, it will be tough to get one of the big firm jobs unless you are at the top of your class and on law review at a state school. Because the big firms are very concerned about their reputations and are very interested in credentials. Credentials = big name school, top 10% of your class, law review, clerking for an appellate judge, and working for a big firm. I didn't want to play the whole prestige game- it was a big turn-off for me. So, I just went and practiced law instead. And that is what I am still doing.

It is a good, secular, no-frills language arts program. No pictures. Nothing flashy. It's like Saxon math but with language arts. You have the continuous review of prior material so that your child doesn't forget it. So, standardized test scores are good because your child can recall it later. We are using the level 7 book for my 12 yr. old dd. She is ok with it. Not real excited but doesn't hate it either. It's not really high-interest material. If they had a theme a la Wordsmith, I think it would capture chidren's imaginations a little better. But it works. It is thorough. Covers everything you need to cover and reviews it also. I don't think it's expensive. If you don't write in the book you can reuse it. The books are paperback with no color, no pictures, so prices are low. I hope this is helpful.

We are in a similar boat. My dd is doing the 800 series and will be ready to start Algebra next fall. We have done CLE all the way through. It has worked well for us, but it's time to do something new now. The CLE Algebra won't be out by then. So, we are looking at various Algebra texts. We like Life of Fred and might do that. With the workbook, I think it is a full program. We looked at Saxon since that is similar to CLE. However, in my research, I found that while Saxon showed good progress in the 1-8 range, there wasn't much evidence to show that it worked better in the upper level math. And many math teachers and students don't like the way it jumps around. So, we might not do Saxon. Art of Problem Solving looks like an excellent program for gifted students. It probably wouldn't work for an average student though. Designed for real mathy kids who enjoy math and are very good at it. Jacobs is an Algebra text that some people like. It tries to make math more interesting, but still has good coverage. For Algebra and up, many people like to have a video or dvd along with the text, where a teacher explains the material, rather than just learning from a book. Sounds like you want to continue with a CLE-like program, with workbooks. Key To Algebra is one such program. It's probably too light to use alone, without supplementing though. Some people use it to start Algebra, then move to another program afterwards. We have ruled out Teaching Textbooks, I think. People like it, but it doesn't seem rigorous enough for us. Best wishes to you.:tongue_smilie:

We used to use CLE, but have switched to Saxon (Hake) Grammar. It is good, all-in-one program. It is secular. Similar to Saxon math in that it reviews prior material. Your child will definitely know grammar with Saxon (Hake) Grammar. It has levels 5-8, but don't let that scare you from using it for a 4th grader. No reason a fourth grader couldn't start with the level 5 unless the child has learning problems or is very weak in reading. Best wishes.:auto:

We got the CAT test from Thurber's. There are many different sections. I think there is a more basic CAT test that some other posters may have been referring to. Ours took much more than 2 hours to complete and there were percentiles, grade-level equivalents, etc. for many different subjects and sub-categories. So, we did get some feedback on how our daugher was doing. We do it every year to fulfill state requirements, but it also serves to help guide us in our homeschooling. For example, my dd did very well in most every subject except spelling, so this year we added a spelling curriculum and did a little more in spelling. It also reassured us that she was doing fine. It is easy to get anxious and worried that your child isn't learning everything they are "supposed" to be learning. But then, when tested, you find out that your child is doing fine, even if you didn't cover all the material the schools are supposed to cover.

My dd did 700 series last year and this year is doing 800 series. I think they are both very good. Lots of practical applications of math. I would not advocate skipping the 700 series. I agree with the poster who said if you are going to skip, I would skip the 800 series, not the 700 series. You can go from the 700 series into algebra if you want. We decided not to do that, but to do the 800 series because the material in the 800 series is very important math, doing things like compound interest that are good, practical things to know about math. Next year, she'll do algebra. I also don't think there should be a big hurry to get into algebra, although others on this board disagree. Algebra is important, but that doesn't mean it has to be done early, without a sufficient foundation. Some children have problems with algebra, either because they didn't have a sufficient foundation in math before algebra or because their brains weren't ready yet to deal with the abstract concepts in algebra. So, if I were in your shoes, I would do both 700 and 800, but if you are going to skip one, I would skip the 800 series and go into algebra after the 700 series.

When I applied to law school, I asked some people to write letters of recommendation for me. I prompted them with questions so that they could address some things in their letters, including anecdotes, etc. Two of them were ivy league types who were also friends besides being former supervisors so I'm sure they wrote excellent letters. NEway, I asked about 5 people to write letters and gave them plenty of time to get the letters in (months, not weeks). Even though I only needed 3 letters of recommendation, I think I asked 5 different people to write the letters so that even if 2 of them dropped the ball, I would still be ok. And I think even then, I had to remind some people to write the letters when the law schools wrote back saying they didn't have the letters yet. So, while the stellar letters are an extra plus for the application, they won't consider it without the application being complete, so it's important to get the letters in, even if they aren't overly superlative. The letters of recommendation rarely make much of a difference in college admissions. It's mainly just important to get them in. My niece thought it was so important to get a letter from her supervising professor, but the professor dropped the ball when she was applying to grad school. She didn't want to get another letter from a different person, because this one professor was her supervisor on a major project and she felt it was important that this particular professor write the letter. I think she was mistaken in that belief. No one person is so important. The letters of recommendation are not so important. The important thing is to get them in so you get considered, based on grades and test scores. NEway, she figured she wasn't admitted because her application wasn't complete. Then, about a week or two before school started, she got a letter saying she was admitted. The professor had finally sent in the letter. So, now she is in a top grad school in her area.

I went to a week-long training for my work. It was at a college away from home. We stayed in college dorms, ate in the dining hall, etc. for a very intensive week of training. I am 51 years old. It has been many years since I lived in a college dorm. And I really enjoyed it. I didn't have all the little things bothering me all the time. I could completely concentrate on my work. No shopping to do. No dishes to wash. No driving. No going to the bank. No paying bills. No cooking to do. No one else demanding my time. I didn't spend any money. I just lived on campus and could walk to wherever I needed to go. I learned a lot. I went for a run every day. I ate well. I met new people and had a good time socializing. Good experience for me.

Just in case this thread hasn't gone on long enough, I'll add my 2 pennies. I taught English in Taiwan for a year. And my dd's best friends here are Chinese-American. My dd is very involved in music, which seems to attract lots of Chinese children. So, I know a little about the Chinese culture and education. The Chinese value education very highly. They have a national holiday in Taiwan called Teacher's Day. It is Confucius' birthday. Confucius was a teacher. "Teacher" is a title of respect, sort of like "doctor" or "professor". When I taught English in Taiwan, I assumed (wrongly) many things. For example, I assumed that my students came from wealthy families to be able to afford extra after-school classes for their children. I was amazed to learn that while some of the parents were doctors or engineers, most were middle class factory workers or truck drivers. These families mostly did without cars or vacations, yet spent the extra money to send their children to after-school private English classes. They believe this extra education is important to help their children get into college and succeed. I also assumed that parents would complain if they felt their child wasn't treated right. I had to move a girl in class because she was talking to the girl next to her (a rare occurrence there). The girl cried because she felt ashamed when she got in trouble. I thought the mother would come and complain to the school, based upon my experience teaching in the U.S. But the Chinese teacher explained to me that Chinese parents would never do that. They support the teacher and respect the teacher. The children were very well-behaved. They never fought. They never even argued with each other. There were very few behavior problems there. No disrespect. Teachers don't have to waste time with classroom management like in the U.S. The teaching techniques were also different. They didn't do all the small group work that American teachers do. Mostly individual work or whole class presentations. Partner work isn't foreign to them, so I tried to do a lot of that just to vary it up a bit. Their teaching techniques were very traditional Chinese and not like the American schools of education teach. No one tried to be the class clown or tried to stand out in class. They feel more comfortable being part of the group. As a matter of fact, to punish a child, they will sometimes have him stand up while everyone else is sitting down. That is embarrassing for the child apparently And there is an emphasis on apologizing. If you bump someone on the street, they will apologize for being in your way. If you went and tackled them, they would probably still apologize. And they never get angry. It is a faux pas to get angry in Chinese culture. Only small children lose their temper in that sort of way. They will look at you like a crazy foreigner if you ever get angry about anything. Even if someone just took all your money and stomped on the Bible, and spit on your mother, you don't get angry. Anyway, in Chinese culture, it would be shameful to the family if a child doesn't succeed and the child feels that. They want to succeed, not so much to make big bucks, but so that they fulfill their duty to their family. Meanwhile, the family helps the child to succeed and encourages them in their education. Likewise, children do not feel the lure to test the boundaries (smoking, drinking, drugs, etc.) and risk getting in trouble. That would bring shame to them and their families. So, the crazy things teens do here do not happen as much with Chinese young people. Education is paramount. The school social life we have here doesn't exist there. There are no school dances, football games, pep rallies, cheerleaders, etc. School is about learning and education, not hanging out with your friends and socializing and drama and dating, etc. I think it's interesting that Chinese-Americans do not homeschool very much. If they did, I think they would be even more successful. They are often held back in American schools and could do much better if they were taught by their parents and could progress at their own rates instead of having to be held back by the American kids who don't study or care about school. But I think there is so much respect for teachers that the Chinese want their children to learn from teachers. Also, there is some anti-Chinese sentiment in American schools. My dd's friend got teased at school because she is Chinese-American. She is sort of ashamed of her heritage, but there is no hiding it. She is conflicted between her family and the culture she encounters in school with the other children.

I once interviewed to teach at a boarding school. I asked one of the teachers there what they do if a student fails a course. He said they don't let them fail. They come in after school and get extra help until they can get better grades. Public schools feel that it is their job to sort students instead of helping their students. Homeschooling doesn't have to be that way. Don't let her fail. You have already gotten lots of great advice here. If you let her fail, she will think she is a failure. Don't move her on into new material until she has mastered the material she is working on. Go back and re-do it. Give her the test again. Let her study and retake the test if she doesn't get a good grade- A or B. No one is a failure. But some people take longer to learn certain things than others. Schools keep moving those people along, telling them that they are failures because they never get enough time to learn the subject. They are always pushed on to the next topic before they have mastered the last one. Don't get stuck in this pattern of failure. Help her succeed. Best wishes.

Many people have had good luck starting out with the Key To Algebra book (workbooks) and then going on to Saxon Algebra or a different math curriculum. Also, there is a new book- Algebra Survival Guide. I haven't used it but have seen it. It has gotten good reviews also. It's not a stand-alone, but has an optional workbook that you can get for additional practice. Also, I recommend the Life of Fred Algebra because it has a little story that captures your attention and then uses the every day event from the story to explain the algebra concept. The stories are great. It also is not a stand-alone, but if you get the optional workbook, it can be used as a stand-alone curriculum. I don't recommend the Teaching Textbooks though. It's not as rigorous as other Algebra programs. I agree with the poster who said that it's important to really get Algebra I before moving on to Geometry, Algebra II, etc. It's more important to stay with Algebra I until you get it than moving on, even if it means spending two years in Algebra I. I'd suggest trying one of the above resources for a month or so alone, then start using two curriculums at once. Use one as a supplement and the other as a main program. I also agree with the previous poster who said that Saxon is good for some, but not all. Some kids get confused by jumping around to different topics and do better with a standard sort of Algebra Text. Jacobs is a good program you might consider once you get your daughter started using the Key To books or Life of Fred or the Algebra Survival Guide. Best wishes.

You do have a point, however there are some explanations, as people here have said. My dd (12) is advanced in both math and music, so I do have some basis for my opinion. We purposely did not have her advance as much in math as in music. We tried the EPGY program in math. It advances the child rather quickly into higher math. It's easy to advance a grade level in 6-8 weeks. But, we went back to using CLE math- workbooks. She is a year "ahead" in math, using the CLE 800 lightunits. CLE has continuous review of prior material and we felt it was more important that she remember what she learned than that she advance into higher math at an early age. We have friends whose dd went through the EPGY math and quickly went on to higher math- algebra, geometry, etc. at a very young age. Now, the mom confided in me that she wished they hadn't progressed so quickly. Their dd can do higher math, but doesn't know how many quarts are in a gallon. All of the elementary math was quickly forgotten. And that's the math that people actually use in everyday life. And it's also the math that children are tested on for their age/grade level. Sixth graders are not tested on their knowledge of algebra or geometry and if they are studying higher math, they might actually do worse on standardized testing. As far as music, we did not put any limits on how quickly our dd advanced. However, her teacher didn't try to teach emotional expression in her music, because in his opinion, younger children just aren't capable yet of expressing their emotions through music until they are a little older. She has just started expressing herself emotionally in her music. Also, in music, she has done the Suzuki method, where you keep reviewing the elementary material once in a while, but apply the new techniques you have learned to the repetoire. Basically, I might be on the wrong board here, but I think it's more important for gifted children to branch out and learn lots of different things than to go for higher level material in a few subjects. For example, they can learn some other languages, take up several musical instruments, several different sports, play lots of different games, read lots of different books, etc. I think the variety is both stimulating and interesting. I don't think you should hold a child back, but perhaps expose the child to lots of varied activities so they can learn a greater variety of things. Nothing wrong with going into higher level math per se, but it shouldn't be at the expense of trying out lots of other things. For example, my dd is very advanced in violin, but also plays flute and piano and she used to play cello. Anyway, I do understand your point, but at the same time we actually did choose to not accelerate too much in math in order to ensure she remembered the basics. It's hard to say what would have happened had we taken a different route because we don't have twins to experiment on, but it has worked fine for our dd.

Here is my take on it. My sister was a history major, then went to law school and became a very successful lawyer. If this sort of thing is your plan, then it makes sense. I just don't want to be one of the many people who tell young people all the things you can do with a history major and then, the young person spends 4 years of his life pursuing the degree and gets in debt and then comes out and can't find a job that pays a reasonable wage. You don't get an undergraduate degree in history to get a high-paying job. You do it because you enjoy history, because it will enrich your life. But to tell a young person it's a good career move is misleading. There are lots of history majors waiting tables. If you double major in history and computer science or nursing or engineering or something, then it would make sense career-wise. Do one major for your vocation and one for your avocation. Or major in history and plan on going to graduate school or professional school. History is great. I took a lot of history courses. But to give a young person the idea that employers are scrambling for people who have 4 year history degrees is to do that young person a disservice. Because they will finish 4 years of hard study and have a lot of debt to repay and will have a hard time finding a job that will pay the bills and the student loans. The job market now is not what it was 10 or 15 years ago. It's tough for young people to find work without experience or a degree that is in high demand.

We used to live in western North Carolina, in the mountains, near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. If you go to higher elevations, there is often snow, but no guarantees. And the roads are often closed in the winter at higher elevations. I would suggest Cataloochee Ski area in western North Carolina. It's near Maggie Valley NC. That is closer but not as cold as the ski areas up near Boone NC. The ski areas are a good bet because if there is no snow, they will make snow. They will lose too much business if there isn't snow around Christmas time, so if it's cold enough, they will be making snow. There are ski reports on the internet. Check for the ski reports from the North Carolina ski areas. If you go a little farther, in West Virginia, at Snowshoe Ski Area there will be snow also. I'm in Rochester New York, and it's snowing here right now. We get lots of snow here- lake effect snow from Lake Ontario. Merry Christmas!

I think it's great he wants to tutor math. It's a great learning experience. Learning to run his own business, solidifying his math, etc. What should he charge? What the market will bear. In my area, college students tutor for about $20/hour. If you have a degree and experience, it's only a little more- maybe $25 or $30/hr. But without a degree or college, he's probably not going to get as much at first. Parents are going to be the ones judging whether or not he would be good. If they already know him and think he'd be good, that would help. Otherwise, they might be wary of a 17 yr. old tutoring their kid. There are different strategies for pricing. One is to price at the going rate. The norm. Then, you will compete on quality. Does he have something special to offer the others don't? Another strategy is to price for less than the going rate to get more clients. This would be the tendency for someone new without experience, especially 17 yrs. old. But, if you underprice, sometimes people think you're not as good. The other strategy is to set the price high so people think you are worth it. You do have to deliver in terms of quality because people will have high expectations of you. He could price his services at the going rate but add a quality guarantee to distinguish himself from his competitors. For example, guarantee a certain % increase in test scores if you use him for a year or your money back. Does he have any training or experience he can advertise? If this is a friend that he is going to tutor and you are concerned about relationships and fairness, not business concerns, then you would look at it differently, of course. But you don't want to under-price it and then start to feel resentful that it isn't enough. Or they don't take it seriously because they aren't paying much for it anyway. Somehow, if people aren't paying for something, even though you are doing them a favor, they don't take it seriously, and show up late or cancel at the last minute or they don't bring what they are supposed to or don't prepare. Charging a reasonable rate helps for everyone to take it seriously. If you are looking for fairness, find a method, rather than a price. Find an objective method, so it's not just some number you got out of thin air. And agree to the method, rather than the price. That way, you aren't negotiating with a friend, which can be awkward:tongue_smilie:. For example, you both agree the price will be based upon calling another tutor in the area who does similar work and ask him what is fair, given the circumstances- 17 yr. old, no experience, etc. That way, you are not setting the price, it's based on an objective analysis. I hope this is helpful.

I don't work in this area of the law, but I am an attorney. Yes, most of the banks trade mortgages around so much they don't have any proof that they actually have the mortgage to your house. The paper trail is lost somewhere probably. The problem is that they re-packaged these mortgages and sold them as packages again without proof that they owned these mortgages. And lots of big investors bought these re-packaged mortgages that aren't worth much. Anyway, many of the court papers they filed are fraudulent also. They never checked to see if they had the mortgage documents before they filed for the foreclosure. They just figured you would walk away and not show up to court and they would get the house and re-sell it. It's all a bluff unless they can show you the documents to prove they hold the mortgage. They have the burden of proof to show that they have the mortgage. No proof = no foreclosure. If you fight them in court, with or without an attorney, you will probably win. They know the odds are against them at this point, so they might be willing to work something out with you, which is what your attorney friend is thinking. If you can't afford him and don't want to do it on your own, call Legal Aid. They sometimes represent people in foreclosure proceedings and are actually often quite good at it, even though they are free.