I think Fred is wonderful -- but as a supplement to a curriculum, NOT as a curriculum itself. It's great for kids who really "get" math and don't need five thousand and twelve repetitions of an algorithm before it becomes second nature. It has very few problems unless you order the supplementary problems book -- and it's not exactly systematic.

There's a really cool graphic novel of The Metamorphosis. http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/metamorphosis/ In some ways, I think it works *better* as a graphic novel than as a novella!!

And it's absolutely no jump at all from talking about Frankenstein to talking about the possibilities of IVF, preimplantation genetic counseling, the ethics of designing your baby -- and the other, troublesome ethics of NOT designing your baby if you have the ability and means to do so. It's a book that's eminently worth reading for anyone interested in going into the biological sciences.

I think it touches a great deal upon science, particularly ethical issues involving the degree to which it is ethically right to create life -- whether in the laboratory or not, really -- and the responsibilities of creator to a creation.

I've heard varying reports about Apologia's rigor, but I haven't had any experience with them. Folks? Is this the case?

I'm not sure how to ask this without offending you or others, but how Christian/religious is the instruction? We are not particularly religious, and to be honest, science is (obviously) one of those sticking-points. We do believe in the validity of evolutionary theory, for instance. I understand not every religiously-affiliated provider will stress a religious worldview -- Scholars Online, for example, is religiously-oriented but doesn't expect uniform adherence to one religious viewpoint or outlook from its students -- but I know much less about TPS. I hope you're not offended by the question, and I appreciate your answer.

It's the Newsweek Challenge and Jay Mathews' Washington Post list. They've changed their methodology a bit, but initially, the calculation of the "best" high schools was this: Take the # of AP exams given by a school to its student body and divide by the number of seniors. The more exams a school had its students take, the higher they rose on the list. Now...all those students could've gotten 1s, of course. This is precisely a problem I've encountered as a PS teacher. Administration packs the AP courses as if they're in a sardine factory. The teacher can't teach at the AP level because the students aren't prepared. The lower-level teachers are resentful of being told this, even if it's true (actually, IME, especially if it's true), and the cycle begins again. If the AP teacher teaches and grades appropriately for the rigor of the material on the test, she'd better have the administration at her back or else there will be a tsunami of parental complaints.

Okay, going a little nuts here. I'm looking for an online course provider like Scholars Online, but for chemistry. (I've loved Scholars Online's lit, but I've heard uneven reviews about the science). Any suggestions??? I'm tearing my hair out here.

Here's where she's getting her intel: http://www.collegeboard.com/html/apcourseaudit/faq.html Click on the link for "Appropriate Grade Levels for AP Courses." Quote: ...the College Board believes that these [9th-10th-grade] students would be better served by academic coursework focusing on the building blocks necessary for later, successful enrollment in college-level courses. Many college admissions officers share this position, feeling that students should not be rushed into AP coursework....AP coursework completed in 9th grade is often not often deemed credible by the higher education community.

I think it works best for kids who are strong and confident enough in math to risk the ego-puncturing that the discovery method can sometimes be. If you have a kid who already feels as if s/he can't do math, AOPS is not likely to help improve the situation.

Yep, Billy Graham...the Charlie Sheen of ...well, nothing.:D

I honestly think that it's more useful to judge by the individual child. More specifically, I think that we can take away different messages and meanings at different ages, but this fact does not make initial readings superficial.

Oh, thank you -- you said this so much more succinctly than I could. I appreciate this answer. I would also like to piggyback on your answer, especially the last sentence. One element that's hard for modern Christians, Jews, or Muslims (or even those who do not practice those faiths but were raised in the modern era) to really "get" at a deep level is this: Classical worship was not about your internal moral layout. In short, it wasn't about your belief in a particular ethical or moral creed so much as it was about giving respect to the gods in the form of prayers and sacrifice. Sin wasn't necessarily about unorthodoxy. It was more about straight-on obedience v. disobedience. The difference, as you can imagine, is huge. If I want my child to do something, I try to appeal to her reason and beliefs because I want her to be motivated from within. In short, I think like a modern monotheist. If all I wanted was her obedience, her feelings or belief about it would be essentially irrelevant. Then, I'd be thinking more like an ancient. That's why the Romans could easily and painlessly adopt worship of Cybele or Isis into their worship without a moral qualm. It's all about obeying the Gods -- whoever they are! Hope that helps.

There is one!!http://www.amazon.com/Dantes-Divine-Comedy-Boxed-Set/dp/0811856577/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333737720&sr=8-1 I love this version, I admit, and for people who are totally freaked by Dante and find him scary and intimidating (and possibly boring), this is a fabulous place to begin. That said, any Dante purist who reads this will have a brainsplosion. Really, you folks who argue about whether the Mark Musa or the Dorothy Sayers was the best translation, and how to render terza rima in English, and Dante's influence on Eliot and the Modernists...just walk away. Now. Fast. Okay, you other readers who argue more over who's the weirdest-looking guy in LMFAO or whether Kayne will still be relevant in five years...click the link. Go on. In all seriousness, this is NOT a literal translation. It is an adaptation. The authors were very much influenced by the Gustave Dore drawings of the Inferno, but infuse both the illustrations and the text with a modern sensibility. Paolo and Francesca still fly in the middle of the great whirlwind of illicit lovers...but so do Bill and Monica. The great killers of Dante's time still wade through a river of blood...along with Pol Pot, Stalin, and Hitler. The language and illustrations are not always appropriate, particularly the language, so I would definitely advise pre-screening, but what I would say is this: Just as the language in this Commedia is casual and everyday, so too was Dante's Italian dialect. (A work of "serious literature," after all, should have been written in Latin!) Ultimately, I think that for many readers, the experience of reading this version probably comes closest to the experience shared by Dante's original readers. These folks populating the Inferno weren't just Dante's friends and enemies, but well-known members of the Ghibbeline and Guelph factions, high-ranking clergy, and (if memory serves), more than one Pope. They would have been just as memorable and real to Dante's readers as Clinton, Bush I, Bush II, Cheney, Monica Lewinsky, Charles Manson, Dionne Warwick, and a host of other public figures are to us. There's a shorthand there that we can access instantaneously without needing a footnote to explain it -- and Dante's audience experienced his text the same way. In short, it is by no means a perfect work or a perfect translation -- but it is, I think, a fascinating version to read. Good luck.

Any good DVD performances of Oedipus? The one with the masks is...well, useful in a kind of anthropological way, but it's not exactly viewer-friendly.

No, neither would I! It is by no means an F paper. I think that if the elements other folks have brought up already are addressed in good faith, it has every chance of being an A paper -- again, no pun intended here either. The paper has good bones, as it were, and fundamentally and importantly, the writing is grammatically accurate and clear. An F paper is one so riddled with errors that the reader finds it challenging to make meaning of the text. As for analysis, an F paper either doesn't address the prompt at all, or does so in a way that's so superficial it's doubtful that the reader understood what the prompt was asking. Anyone can see that this paper isn't even remotely close to that level. Mostly, it needs a stronger thesis and topics and more evidence and analysis. Listen, if it'll help, feel free to use this one-size-fits-all checklist/template as a basic essay organizer, if it will work for your family. If not, chuck it and say it's not for you. It's a bit of a boilerplate, but as a place to start, it might be of some use. Hope it helps. INTRO * Begin with a strong (but relevant) statement or quotation. * Name the author, title, and genre of the work. * Give overview of the work, focusing on the main issue you're writing about. * Narrow to the thesis, which ideally should include the following: ^ The author's name and title (optional if previously mentioned) ^ Key words from all parts of the prompt or question. ^ The author's message or point. BODY PARAGRAPHS I. Transitional signal + topic sentence with thesis key words (or synonyms that address key ideas in the thesis). Refer to, touch upon, or address the author's point in each topic sentence -- that's the main element your reader really needs to understand. A. Context for the first major quote to support the point. 1. The quotation (embedded in the context sentence and broken into "bite-sized pieces"). 2. Analysis explaining why, how, or in what way that specific quotation supported the point being made. (This should be a multi-sentence analysis.) Repeat A, 1, and 2 as needed for further quotations if needed. B. Conclusion or transition to the next body paragraph or conclusion. CONCLUSION * Avoid direct restatement of the thesis. * Explain why this issue is of relevance to the larger world outside the text. Why should your reader care about this issue? What, in essence, is "at stake" here for all of us, not just the characters in the text? * Conclude by returning to the quotation or strong statement with which you began in order to "tie the bow" on your essay. Hope this is of use.

My experience today: You can’t classically educate your gifted child unless you keep them in line with the proper age expectations. If you accelerate them, you are educating aligned with the typical achievement-oriented institutions. ***Uh...what? How is giftedness a matter of achievement, particularly in a homeschool context? That's like arguing that learning disabilities are also issues of "achievement." You should seek a community other than one focused on classical education. Children cannot be, therefore should not be, moved to the “later grammar stage,†introducing abstract concepts, until they reach 9 years old. It is impossible for it to be appropriate to move them to the logic stage until they are 12 or 13. Rhetoric stage cannot begin to emerge before 16. ***Again...uh...what? Seriously. I understand that the stages of the trivium describe a norm, of course, but this is like the public-school pronouncements with which many of us are familiar, including my favorites below: * "They can't do algebra before they're 12. They just won't understand the abstract concepts." * "No child can read before she or he is five years old. If she is, that means you're a pushy parent/you're rushing her/she's not really 'reading'" * "They all even out by third grade." Honestly, I've met people well into their forties who haven't (yet?) reached the logic stage. Age is a guideline, not a rule. But, I gather, I am pushing my daughter, (whose IQ, btw, is unknown because she hit the ceiling of the test) inappropriately. Basically, I should try and get my needs (because they aren’t hers) met elsewhere unless I decide to stop pushing her and let her be at the same place as other 8 year olds. ***Again to make a comparison, this would be as inappropriate as expecting a child with learning challenges to "be at the same place as other 8-year-olds" just because she's 8. But they are just another version of an institution. As such, they have every right to impose whatever rules and boxes they want. I agree with them in this--we don’t fit. But I say, you can’t tell me that I can’t classically educate my child unless I do it your way. Watch me! Bravissima!!

Listen, I'm sorry you feel discouraged, but if you wanted people to focus solely on the positives, it would have been helpful to know. I stand by the assertion that the paper fell below a "C." A "C" represents average mastery of crucial elements. A paper lacking a thesis is missing really the most important element--and others pointed out that it is also lacking evidence. I think it has good potential, but it does need one more round of development. I hope the time the posters here have taken to help you truly does help, and I wish you well in your efforts.

With all due respect, this is not yet an A paper. I've included my comments below, and I hope you can find them helpful. Perspective in The Scarlet Letter It is curious how things [Always avoid this vague word and substitute a concrete noun instead.] such as signs in the sky, bizarre medical conditions, and even elements of nature can often be viewed so differently. Indeed, some sight or happenstance that would strike terror into one person could be the very thing that brings another peace. The individual perspective of each person plays an enormous role throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic novel, The Scarlet Letter.[Right here, the paper has slipped below the level of a C. Unfortunately, it has not specifically answered the prompt, so it has not fulfilled the fundamental purpose of the essay at this time without further revision.[/color] The prompt asked for the following to be addressed: 1. Two different characters, objects, or events 2. How Hawthorne describes them from different points of view 3. How this different point of view affects the readers' impression of them 4. How the technique affects the story as a whole. It can be a very helpful technique to teach your student to treat a prompt as if it were a checklist (as I've shown above) and that the thesis addresses each "ingredient" in the checklist] Reverend Dimmesdale, [Generally speaking, it's better not to presume that the reader knows who Dimmesdale is. Even saying, "Reverend Dimmesdale, the tortured secret sinner of Hawthorne's novel, believes he has seen a red letter 'A' in the sky during one of his late-night vigils" would be quite helpful.]during one of his late-night vigils, believes he has seen a red letter “A†in the sky. [Very jumpy transition to the quotation here. Instead, encourage your student to practice two skills: 1) Leading in to the quotation smoothly by incorporating the quotation into the sentence and 2) cutting the quotation in smaller bits. For example, "Hawthorne, acting as the all-seeing narrator whose perspective (Note the repetition of a key term from the prompt) extends to Dimmesdale's conscience and actions, saying that Dimmesdale's 'disease in his own eye and heart' caused him to '[behold[ there the appearance...'" et cetera.]“We impute it, therefore, solely to the disease in his own eye and heart, that the minister, looking upward to the zenith, beheld there the appearance of an immense letter,—the letter A,—marked out in lines of dull red light.†(149) The minister is overcome with guilt at the sight of this symbol in the sky, although it is written [by whom?] that “. . . someone else’s imagination could have easily seen in it the image of his own guilt, and not the minister’s.†(149)[Place periods after the parentheses.] In fact, the very next day the minister is approached by the sexton, who mentions that he also has seen the symbol, but he interprets the letter A to stand for “Angelâ€,[Commas go inside the quotation marks.] in honor of Governor Winthrop, who passed away the night before (153). It is because of their very different circumstances [You assume the reader knows how or in what way the Governor's circumstances differ from Dimmesdale's, but the reader does not necessarily have this information.] that these two men’s interpretations of the event are so dissimilar.[Now, wind up this paragraph with a nod toward Hawthorne's point. What larger message is he communicating about perspective? About the ways in which our conscience alters our perceptions?] When at last Reverend Dimmesdale makes his public confession, he tears away his robe and shows the crowd the scarlet “A†emblazoned on his chest by some ghastly medical miracle. All who are present undoubtedly see the minister’s scarlet letter, but for the most part, those in the crowd pick and choose what they remember and believe. [it is crucial in any literary analysis to back up central assertions -- such as this one -- with evidence from the text for which you provide context and analysis, explaining why this piece of evidence supports your claim.]In fact, many of Reverend Dimmesdale’s friends and parishioners refuse to in any way accept his guilt, even after his public confession.[Again, return here to Hawthorne's message. How does perspective affect the way in which we interpret the world around us?] It is singular, nevertheless, that certain persons, who were spectators of the whole scene, and professed never once to have removed their eyes from the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale, denied that there was any mark whatever on his breast, more than on a new-born infant’s. Neither, by their report, had his dying words acknowledged, nor even remotely implied, any, the slightest connection, on his part, with the guilt for which Hester Prynne had so long worn the scarlet letter. (241) [This paragraph was a block quote in her paper, but I couldn't format it that way for the WTM forum.] [Quotations are more effective when embedded into the sentence, broken up into smaller and more readable pieces, and explained in detail.] Their devotion to Dimmesdale, even after his dramatic confession and his death, drives the people to believe what they wish to believe, rather than the truth. This is an obvious case of bias affecting the interpretation of blatant fact.[so what is Hawthorne's point? Is this not a very cynical scene, given the fact that this is a community that is founded on the idea of belief? Apparently, belief and truth are not the same thing -- or is that what Hawthorne is asserting here?] Even the forest is viewed in diverse perspectives: sometimes as a rather enchanted place of beauty, while at other times, the home of the Devil himself. [Avoid talking about scenes out of chronological order. Therefore, put the forest before Dimmy's death.]On one occasion, Mistress Hibbins, [Context?]believed a witch by the townsfolk, invites Hester Prynne to a party with the Devil in these woods. “‘Wilt thou go with us to-night? [Make this transition more smooth, e.g., ...invites Hester Prynne to a party with the Devil in these woods, asking her, "Wilt thou go with us...?"] There will be a merry company in the forest; and I well-nigh promised the Black Man [the Devil] that comely Hester Prynne should make one.’†(116) However, this same forest is later seen as a kind of sanctuary for Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale. It becomes the place where their burdens can be lifted, if only for a while.[same suggestion as before: Embed the quote, break it up, give it context, and comment on the words.] “Such was the sympathy of Nature—that wild, heathen Nature of the forest, never subjugated by human law, nor illumined by higher truth—with the bliss of these two spirits!†(193) The forest became, for those around it, whatever they needed it to be. For some, this meant that the forest was a satanic place to be avoided, but for others it was a charming vacation from their less-than-ideal circumstances. [Return to Hawthorne's point or message.] Much of the plot in The Scarlet Letter was not based on the facts, but rather on the understanding of the characters therein. The connotation that follows people, places, and even things is often of more importance than are the actual circumstances. The use of different perspectives in this novel, from each individual character, is what makes this story great. [Why does it make the story great? Why, when people ignore facts but rely on their own (flawed) understanding, does that equal greatness? Your reader would appreciate at least a brief discussion.] Hope this helps!!

I think of it as Stephenie Meyer for the corset and farthingale set. By the way, Jane Austen skewers these books -- and their fangirls -- so wonderfully in Northanger Abbey. She has a scene in which two fangirls are raving about the latest Stephenie Meyer novel of that day that I remember as something along the lines of, "OMGOMGOMG, I just LOVE The Mysteries of Udolpho!" "OMG!! I do too! That is SUCH a coincidence! I am SOOO 'Team Valancourt'!" "I so wanna be Team Valancourt, but what the heck -- I'll be 'Team Montoni!' In several hundred years, I'll be rooting for Professor Snape!"

See, I would SO go to see a movie of The Federalist Papers if it had Johnny Depp. Okay, now down to brass tacks. Other works you may want to consider include the following. NOTE: Not all of these works are going to be appropriate for all families! Some contain adult scenes or content, and if so, I've marked them with an asterisk, meaning that you may want to preview them first. Frances Burney, Evelina Jane Austen was a major fan of Burney's, and it's easy to see how Burney definitely influenced Austen. Samuel Pepys, The Diary of Samuel Pepys* Fascinating, first-hand accounts of the Restoration, Plague, and Great Fire. Choderlos de Laclos, Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons)* Delightful aristocratic snark and Machiavellian sexual politics. Not for the younger set. Peter Shaffer, Amadeus (play and film)* A compelling modern-day examination of the life of Mozart. Daniel Defoe, Moll Flanders* A romp in every sense, but also not for the younger set. Alexander Pope, "An Essay on Criticism" Snarkly wonderful diss on crummy writing. Jonathan Swift, "A Modest Proposal"* A unique -- if rather questionable -- solution to the problem of poverty. Warning: NOT for the younger set. Oh, and don't be eating while you read this. Jonathan Swift, "A Lady's Dressing-Room," "Description of a City Shower," etc.***** PLEASE pre-read these for content. Don't say I didn't warn you. Funny, though!! Addison and Steele, "The Spectator," especially Spectator #1, Spectator #10, and assorted others. A master example of what you could call an 18th-century blog. Hope this helps!!

They read the. entire. textbook. The whole thing. In addition, they read several Shakespeare plays and at least 1-2 full novels.

Actually, if you're looking for an online option, I was very impressed by the quality of education offered by Dr. McMenomy of Scholars Online's Brit Lit class. It's primarily literature-based (little writing, lots of reading), and Dr. McM sets the lit in historical context. Awesome job.

Yeah, those sexionals'll get you pregnate every time.

Yes -- I actually ended up feeling like Almanzo was really rather a jerk. Oh, and BTW, did anyone else but me think that Laura was suffering from some major, MAJOR postpartum depression right around the time the house burned down?