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mjbucks1

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    PA Homeschoolers AP classes . . . Put your reviews here!

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    I used PAH for my older children and am now using PAH for my youngest.  Last year he took AP US Gov with Daniel Burns.  I thought the class was set up really well.  I will say that Mr. Burns is not the most exciting lecturer.  We used Khan Academy videos to supplement, but other than that the class was interesting.  Mr. Burns has a specific format he requires the students to follow when analyzing the court cases and I think it helps students really understand them.  Ds scored a 5 on the exam.

    This year ds is auditing APUSH with Mr. Burns (We just needed a bit more flexibility in our schedule this year.  Even though Mr. Burns said he would work with ds's schedule, I just thought this would be easier).  It is probably not as fun as Mrs. Richman's class,  but ds loves history and he has really enjoyed the class.  I appreciate that Mr. Burns' classes are very well organized.  We have utilized the grader Mr. Burns uses to grade the essay questions and he gives great feedback.  I am expecting ds to earn a 4 or 5 on the exam.

    Ds is also auditing AP Physics 1 with Mr. Kernion.  We are actually doing this through Mr. Kernion's own website (physics-prep . com).  The course is set up well and Mr. Kernion responds very quickly to questions (usually the same day, but if not the next day).  The class is organized well, and Mr. Kernion even gave me a syllabus of the free online textbook he uses with his class that has some extra questions assigned.  

    Next year ds will be taking AP Language with Maya Inspektor.  My older two took AP Land/Lit with her and loved the class.  Ds might take AP Eviron Science next year as well (we have a friend whose ds is taking it and has found it enjoyable).

    • Thanks 1

    Physics question

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    On 10/26/2023 at 1:30 PM, Leah10 said:

    How are you guys finding local schools for your children to test?  It has been almost impossible (have one lead that may work, far away).  Everyone is saying it's only for their own students.  My son is enrolled in the AoPS Physics 1 course, and I also asked our local brick-mortar AoPS.  They said sometime in the future they may consider being a test site, but not this year for sure.

    Thankfully our local school has always allowed our children to test at the school.  I know some have had luck at private schools.  In our state, we have a law in place that states homeschoolers must be allowed to participate in extra-curriculars, so I think many expand this to testing as well.  None of my friends have had issues with schools allowing them to test.  But I know others on this board have had difficulty.

    First AP Class Recommendations? Govt? Comparative Govt? World History?

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted · Edited by mjbucks1

    My ds took AP Government with Daniel Burns through PA Homeschoolers last year (9th grade).  I loved how the class was set up.  It was very clear each week what was due (he uses Canvas).  There are 10 (I think) court cases that the students must understand very well in order to do well on the test.  Mr. Burns has a very specific (and good) way he has the students synthesize this information.  Reading the court cases was challenging for my 9th grade son, so we read them to together and discussed them, which helped him a lot! The textbook Mr. Burns uses is online and was very good as it contained all the information need in a succinct manner. 

    There were three or four group projects.  These projects were good, but ds was always having to work hard to get others to complete there part of the assignment.  He did email Mr. Burns about this once because he could not get anyone to respond to him, but Mr. Burns was able to solve this issue. 

    Another thing Mr. Burns does very well is give SPECIFIC instructions on HOW to write the essay questions.  He gave good feedback, and I also looked at the rubrics to give my son feedback.

    The one weakness Mr. Burns has is he is not a fantastic lecturer.  I added in the videos from Khan Academy for AP Government, which were excellent (and they also have sample multiple choice questions which were helpful).  I also found practice multiple choice questions and essay questions on Teachers Pay Teachers that I had ds do before Mr. Burns exams, which were very helpful.  Heimler History also has short review videos on YouTube (10 minutes) which were helpful as well, especially as a review before the AP exam.  

    Ds really enjoyed the class.  The students interact weekly on a message board, and the comments were always insightful.  He usually spent 10 hours/week on the class, and he scored a 5 on the exam.  Let me know if you have any questions.

    • Like 1

    Dos and Dont's of Highschool Homeschooling - From a graduating senior

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    On 5/7/2023 at 2:13 PM, JennaH said:

    I took AP Human Geography, AP Statistics, and AP World History. For AP Human Geography, the site was extremely outdated and half the links to our homework were broken. We routinely used online resources from the 1990s and early 2000s. We were frequently assigned 2 weeks' worth of homework to complete in 1 week, and it wasn't until after we'd already stretched ourselves thin trying to do the extra work that our teacher would say, "Oops, that was a typo!". She was incredibly slow at responding to emails. She had us grade our own FRQS and we got full credit if we included basic vocabulary words.  All MCQs were open-book and open-note, including the midterm and final. We all got A+s and none of us knew where we actually stood in terms of knowing the material. If I had not studied for hours each night on my own with resources outside of what I was given, I would not have passed the AP exam.

    This really emphasizes the importance or researching classes before signing up for them.  AP Human Geography at PAH is one that is notoriously poor.  I created an AP Human Geography class for my middle daughter and she loved it.  The PAH class has many negative reviews.  However, my three children have taken many classes at PAH (17 so far), and there are many excellent teachers.  Maya Inspektor (Ap Eng) is one of my favorites, as is her mother Susan Richman (APUSH).  But, all children are different and it is really important to find a class that meshes well with your child.  I will say, if the plans are to go to college, sometimes it is a good experience to have a class that doesn't fit will with the student because they will more than likely experience one or two classes in college that are challenging to navigate.  Also, in all the classes my kids took at PAH there was one intructor that was "meh".  It was AP Bio, but the instructor is not there anymore.  

    • Like 2

    Would you fill out my son's survey for his AP Government project?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    17 hours ago, Lucy the Valiant said:

    In my state, a citizen has to request an absentee ballot (show ID, give reason for request, fill out application for absentee ballot, which is then counter-referenced with voter registration). It's possible to deliver this absentee ballot by U. S. mail, but locally is not called "mail-in voting." 

    Locals here call "mail-in voting" a system where ALL registered voters are mailed a ballot, and those ballots can be either mailed back in return, physically dropped in a drop box, or given to another person to return 3rd party. 

    Our voter registration and vehicle registrations are not handled by the same office (though they WERE in a state I lived in previously).

    Thank you for your answer!  Do you have both absentee and mail-in-voting in your state (which seems odd), or one or the other, and if so, do mail-in-ballots have anything to verify the identity of the person voting?

     For absentee ballots in our state (which I consider mail-in) you must request a ballot by mail and you have to provide the last 4 digits of your social security number, you driver's license number, or a copy of a different photo ID (like a passport).  The ballot will then be mailed to you and you can then mail it back in.

    Our voter registration used to take place at our public libraries.  Now, you can still register at a library, but you can also register online, at the bureau of motor vehicles, at various state agencies (Department of Job and Family Services, Department of Health, Department of Developmental Disabilities, Department of Mental Health, etc), high schools, the board of election in each county, or at the Office of Secretary of State.  So there are many options!   

    • Like 1

    AP Chemistry

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    Both of my older kids too AP Chem with Mr. Moskaluk at PA Homeschoolers.  It is not easy, but prepared the kids well for the exam.

    1 hour ago, Miss Tick said:

    PA Homeschoolers. There are positive reviews so my opinion is not universally held, but it was a terrible class for us and I pulled him out this time last year. We regrouped at home, he still took the test, but I administered the class.

    I was considering having my son auditing this class next year.  Could you tell me what you did not like?  I want to pick a good course for him.

    • Like 1
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