Didn't she even write at least one textbook?

This. I think keeping goals in mind is important. Charlotte Mason's goals did not include her students being admitted to 4-year-universities in the competitive environment of the twenty-first century, ideally with an abundance of scholarship money. I don't think her principles and the above goal are mutually exclusive. Following her in the details, however, seems quite a bit more risky... (Especially if those details are found through modern day interpretations...)

Thank you!

Newbie here, so please bear with me... I have two potential schools that told me to check back in Feb. I will do so Feb. 1st. ;) I looked at the AP Course Ledger, but don't understand the codes. What does a 1 or 2 mean? Sorry if I've missed something obvious. This is all new to me. Thanks for the thread!

I'm curious as well. Feel free to PM if that is preferable. :)

Different perspective on AP Human Geography... I've known more than one student who started with AP Human Geo and ended up dropping the class partially due to lack of interest in the subject. Being the easiest AP or best first AP didn't matter. Their time could be spent in better, more interesting ways. For some students starting with AP Human Geo works well, for others it is far better to start with a subject of interest to the student. There is no one size fits all when it comes to AP.

Regarding letters of recommendation... Letters of recommendation can be given by AP instructors if the student takes an AP class online or at a brick-and-mortar school. That's not unique to DE. Many of the AP instructors are also college professors or professionals in the field they are teaching. Qualifications most likely won't be an issue. As in all situations dealing with letters of recommendation, much depends on the teacher and the student. Does the student make themselves memorable? Do they work to form a relationship with the instructor? Even just listening to my daughter talk about her classes, sitting in on particularly interesting topics, and walking by and seeing students on the webcam, I've formed initial impressions of some of the students regarding promptness, participation, attitude, appearance, how they work with others, etc. This is just from walking by occasionally and sometimes watching a segment about something my daughter thought I might enjoy. I can only imagine how much more the teacher of the class would know the students - especially the students who make an effort to be known. Unless it is a lab course or there is some other reason the teacher needs to have been physically in the room with the student in order to effectively write the letter, I'm not sure I see the difference between AP and DE letters of recommendation. I'm almost certain many students on this board use letters of recommendation from AP instructors for their college applications.

Some college classes have a mid-term and a final. That's only two grades. Some have 3. Not all college classes have lots of opportunities for grades. Also, not all college professors are saints. There are horror stories with grades, etc there as well. Neither AP or DE is all good or all bad. Many factors are at play.

Just a word of caution... Wouldn't bringing something to distract herself distract others as well? And also possibly call attention to her?

We incorporate many of her principles, but she lived in a very different time. In no way do I try to follow what she did in any of the specifics - especially at this level. Most of my daughter's classes are outsourced for high school, but many of Charlotte's ideas still influence our days. The essence of CM is timeless.

I can relate. It was definitely not a gripping, can't put it down, page turner. It was more like a steady, constant companion who never demanded my attention, but was always patiently waiting for me...

Machiavelli's The Prince and Marcus Aurelius's Meditations might be worth considering. (ETA: I forgot you were looking for Russian works. I've just skimmed the thread and forgot that.)

I think either one of those would be a good choice. War and Peace is one of my favorites. My dd read Crime and Punishment a few weeks ago and is still talking about it. Another vote for Don Quixote, too. We both finished it recently. No advice on how your son would choose. I just took my dd to the bookstore and she came out of the stacks with Crime and Punishment. We obviously do things differently here. ;) In this situation, I would probably hand him several books and say, "Here are a few possibilities." Actually, I would probably just place the books on a side table somewhere in the house. If he didn't pick them up, I would presume they weren't calling to him... I'm guessing that's not what you meant. ;)

We faced a similar decision. We chose to forego the tempting options and stick with homeschooling high school, probably with some DE in 11th and 12. Considering medical schools accept students from a variety of majors, a bioscience focused high school certainly doesn't appear to be a necessity. I'm not convinced it would even increase the odds, but I have nothing concrete to support that. I have no idea what the right decision is. Just wanted to let you know you're not alone in the angst. :cheers2:

I've never been able to get past the first few pages... :ph34r: I'm hoping to try again this spring or summer... Perhaps I've just not been in the right mood... :zombiechase:

This is similar to the conclusion I've come to as well. My daughter prefers to take a mix of outsourced classes with only a few at home. The uniqueness for her comes in the ability to choose from many providers in various formats. Uniqueness also comes from what she does outside of class. The flexibility of homeschooling allows her to have a very different high school experience than she would have had at a brick-and-mortar school. She has little interest in creating classes at home. She would rather take an outsourced class taught by someone in the field and then be free to study the subject in further depth outside of class with no strings attached. Or study something else or many other somethings with complete freedom to change on a whim... Her educational path will be solid, her extracurricular life will be rich. Uniqueness is the cherry on top.

Buying the horse made the most sense here, too. The moral of the story? Never take your 3-year-old on a $5 pony ride... ;)

I think the difference is that horses are expensive from the start. Here lessons average $40-$60 an hour. Some schools require signed commitments for weekly lessons and also require significant deposits. I can think of many passions for young elementary students that don't start at $240 a month. (None of which interested my dd... :glare: )

In case anyone else is wondering the same thing... I've received a few PMs stating the student feedback in Mrs. Serbicki's class is for optional extra credit. It is not an integral part of the class. Good to know. Thanks everyone!

I understand about the rubrics. This isn't my daughter's first AP class. :) She learns best -even about rubrics- by seeing what to do, not studying what not to do. In an AP class she has this year, the teacher posts exceptional student work. My daughter has benefited from this greatly. She would not have received nearly the benefit from reading student work that didn't meet the rubric standards.

That may work well for many students, but I don't think it's a good fit for my daughter. A small amount of time would be fine, but it seems to me there is quite a bit of time spent on this in Maya Inspektor's class. Also, I think it works best if the student is lucky enough to be part of a class of students she can connect with on some level. If the student happens to be in with a mix of other students that isn't a good fit, it can be a waste of time and a miserable experience.

I think it depends on what you mean by knowing "how" to write. I would rather the bulk of the time be spent studying excellent writing rather than the writing of other students. I'm sure it depends on the student. My dd's writing is strongly influenced by what she reads. The tone, the structure, the phrasing, etc. From the time she was little, I could tell the caliber of she had been reading recently by what she was writing. She learns best by seeing what to do, as opposed to what not to do.

I've read through many old threads about this, but haven't been able to find the answer to my question. The two teachers we are seriously considering are Maya Inspektor and Lili Serbicki. At first I was leaning toward Lili Serbicki because it's my understanding Maya Inspektor's class has lots of student to student feedback as part of the class. I don't want a class that spends much time with this sort of work. I had read on the board that L. Seribicki's class didn't do this, but when I read a description it mentions all student work being posted and students can comment on each other's work for extra credit. Do all AP English Language classes post student work and spend time critiquing each other's work? I know we've discussed this before, but I didn't realize it was so prevalent. Do any classes NOT do this?

Still entranced by Don Quixote... the only Austen contribution I can bring myself to make at the moment is how many times DQ has brought to mind Austen's Northanger Abbey parodying Radcliffe's Mysteries of Udolfo. (To be quite honest, I've had to shield my eyes from some of the Austen posts in this thread, lest I feel faint.... :svengo: ) Back to DQ while I recover my decorum... ;) From The Great Courses, The History of World Literature by Professor Grant L. Voth Lecture 22 Don Quixote ...the real meaning of anything lies not in the thing itself, but in the way that we interpret it, which will always be based on our own individual experience, history, and choices. As the windmill and fox and sheep and strange lights are to Don Quixote and Sancho, so the book is to us. Each one of us will probably read our own Don Quixote, but we need always to remember that the text is reading us as we are reading the text.

:smilielol5: