I appreciate everyone's input. This morning I recalled some online conferences that I've been a part of that did not involve using texting slang. I've also spoken with some friends who attend business meetings online. The meetings are often fast paced and of utmost importance and urgency, but professionalism in the text area is maintained. Those who don't maintain it are not highly regarded. (Of course that is ripe for study into the interplay of perception and work performance...) This most likely varies widely in different locations and professional realms. In the end, it's not something I'm comfortable with or want to encourage in an academic setting. Thanks, again!

I completely understand typos and occasional misspellings. Those don't bother me. It's the overall tone that concerns me. It's also not in a quickly moving chat box. What are your thoughts about leaving off accent marks? Necessary part of an online class? Speed over accuracy?

I've seen the credentials. I guess the words she is using speak louder to me than the degrees. I honestly don't even care if it's a misguided attempt to "relate" to students. It comes across as unprofessional and uneducated. It certainly doesn't encourage a student to strive for excellence. My dd has pointed out several instances of similar slang/sloppiness when the teacher is speaking/typing in the foreign language. I think it's a matter of personality and standards.

But how would you know? If you don't speak the language, how would you know? I would think that the manner the instructor speaks in English would be a reflection of how she speaks in the foreign language. If she is sloppy with English, why would you trust her to speak impeccable French or Spanish? Would you expect her vocabulary to suddenly broaden? Her sentence variety to improve?

So this sort of thing wouldn't bother u? U would be OK with this sort of stuff in a $$$ online class? (Egads! I cringe just typing it!)

DD has raised some other concerns as well...

It's a foreign language class that also involves writing.

This would be ideal, but the withdrawal period is only a few more days. :thumbdown: It's an expensive class, so I need to decide ASAP.

Online. Both text-based and talking. Yes, it seems to be a habit. Every.single.time. I don't know that I've seen any student/teacher interaction when they aren't used. Would this bother u? (Obviously it bothers me - quite a bit. ;) I can barely tolerate having the example in my post! :svengo: )

What are your standards for outsourced classes? What would be significant enough for you to drop a class? Would the teacher's use of texting slang and informal language in class concern you? Would it be bother you enough to drop the class?

It started happening again today. Not every thread, but frequently.

I just remembered something relevant that happened recently in the outsourced class. She made a mistake in the class that ended up leading to a back and forth exchange with the instructor. What a lesson it was! We laugh about it now and use it as a cautionary tale in the family, but at the time :thumbdown: ..... When I wonder if I made the right decision about the class, I remember that mistake and the continuing ripples in the water... I am so grateful she had the experience! She learned so much from the mistake! Two mistakes with lasting lessons of significance. Two very different scenarios!

I think perhaps for dd it's best to have all the subjects that need grades to be more structured. All the extras are better for free time. She prefers it one way or the other. Either she has free reign to study a subject in whatever way or frequency she wants or she doesn't. She doesn't like the murky area in between. Neither do I. Once again, no right or wrong! The more people responding with different experiences the better!

These are really good questions! I've been mulling over them for days. My thoughts are still a bit scattered on the issues, so please excuse lack of clarity! ;) I don't think lifelong learning and following a syllabus/going to a class are mutually exclusive. There are so many possible experiences in the world. There is no way we can have them all. So much comes down to genetics, opportunity, and random chance. There have been many times we've debated going to a weekend lecture vs a day trip vs having rare free time at home. No matter what we decide, each time we win AND we lose. We will always miss out on something... I could tell several stories in which connections were made or passions ignited while we were following a syllabus or a suggested reading list. One time, in particular, stands out. I remember ordering a book from a book list without doing much research into it. I remember flipping through the book and regretting the purchase. I also remember deciding (with some significant hesitation as to the book's appropriateness) to assign it anyway. The rest is history. It set dd down a path she continues on today. I now think of that book fondly. How would her life be different if it was never assigned? Would she have stumbled on the path eventually? Would she be on a better path instead? A worse one? There's no way of knowing... I can also remember books from lists that were duds and structured classes that were failures. Likewise, I can also remember hours of free time dd has wasted, hours I hoped she would use productively. All that to say, neither path-- structured learning versus interest lead free learning-- is all roses or thorns. The more I think of it, the more it seems to me the questions you are asking have everything in the world to do with schole! I'm so glad you asked! Scheduled studies vs free time to contemplate.... For us, it seems a balance of both is good. DD seems to enjoy new things being thrown her way that she might not happen upon otherwise. She also needs free time to reflect. She does seem to need both structure and free time. I think DD would actually be less happy and less likely to thrive if she didn't frequently encounter new ideas she didn't intentionally seek out or that aren't on her preferred path. You are probably right in that it varies from person to person. Thanks again for the question; I'm still trying to puzzle through it, which is probably obvious!

Yes, my impression is that foreign language classes are by far the most interactive. My understanding about the other classes is that teachers are available by email or phone, but there are no classes, daily emails, etc. Follow the syllabus, do the work, turn it in. PA Homeschoolers seems like a much better deal. Someone please correct me if you've had a CTY AP class with lots of interaction.

I contacted CTY about the AP classes. There are assignments in addition to the videos and there is a teacher available, but I get the impression it's very different from their language courses. We will probably stick with CTY for Spanish, but PA Homeschoolers is probably a better fit for AP. DD prefers interaction with a teacher, as opposed to just watching videos.

I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about the Spanish classes!

Quark, I think we are all the richer when different people share their experiences and views about a concept! Yours are as valid as anyone else's! Please don't feel like an imposter. You're the best quark I know!

In the podcast, Dr. Perrin mentions the Sabbath, not only on the seventh day, but during each day. He mentions maybe one hour of the seven hour school day be a Sabbath of sorts, or 5 min of a 35 min math class. He mentions that he is not saying hard work is not needed, but that sometimes we forget to have periods of rest to allow for contemplation and restoration. I am reminded of quark's mention of having a day of leisure for play and laughter each week. I am also reminded of an article by Oliver Sacks (RIP): http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/16/opinion/sunday/oliver-sacks-sabbath.html?_r=0 I realized this past week that our "Sabbath" is broken throughout the week. We work on schoolwork 6-7 days a week. We have several half-days of school with schole in the afternoons and evenings. (Yes, Charlotte, it takes a while for me to understand...) It took really thinking about what schole means, and specifically what it means to me, before I could see that we weren't just running around to activities. On the contrary: the traveling, the time with friends and mentors, the good food and good drinks with laughter and conversation -- all of it--- schole. Rather than dropping some of the activities, I've decided to protect them even more.

This has been our decision as well. One leaves doors open, the other doesn't. Beyond that, the decision to take APs and explore with extra-curricular activities is the best and most fulfilling decision for right now.

I've finished it. As is often the case, and as is acknowledged by Dr. Perrin in the podcast, there is not a lot of practical advice given. He suggests looking to your religious tradition for the practical. So if you are looking for practical ideas for high school, this might not be the most helpful. He does give ideas to consider, so the podcast still has much to offer if you are interested in ritual. He mentioned a few times that he was speaking to Christians or those with a religious tradition. I find that not being part of a religious tradition does not hinder in any way my understanding or using the suggestions mentioned. Ritual and following cycles of the day and of the year have been done for thousands of years by those without religious traditions... I think when discussing these topics in our modern times, more boils down to personality and values than religious affiliation. More later...

I almost passed this by for many reasons. I'm glad I didn't. Thanks for mentioning it. I haven't had a chance to listen to all of it yet, but I've been taking notes on what I have listened to so I can comment on it later. I disagree with some of it, but much of it goes along with thoughts I've been having recently. Many of which take me back to how we used to go about things before high school loomed large. He evens mentions CM... I plan to come back and comment on the interview after I've finished it. I think it may be the first schole talk I make it all the way through....that speaks volumes! Thanks, again! For anyone wondering...the topic is ritual. http://yourmorningbasket.libsyn.com/

:lol: I can relate! The other day my dd was talking and I thought: She looks like my child, she sounds like my child, but what are those opinions she is expressing?!? :ohmy: :sneaky2: :svengo:

So interesting you mentioned Charlotte Mason. She's been on my mind the last few days...One reason I logged on was to change the title of the thread to include her. I think her idea of "education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life" goes well with schole. Thinking through the CM lens is in many ways more helpful to me than just thinking of schole. More later...for now I'm changing the thread title...again... ;)

There is so much I want to respond to, but it might be a few days before I can. Thanks for the posts so far. I'm looking forward to reading them more closely later, as well as any new ones. :)