ereks mom Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Anyone care to offer opinions on his World Literature, American Literature, & British Literature courses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moira in MA Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 I bought one of his literature courses at a homeschool conference about 5 years ago --my excuse is that it was cheap and I was looking at everything at the time. I read it, then, I threw it away. I just wasn't willing to sell it on. jmho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted March 8, 2008 Author Share Posted March 8, 2008 Moira, does the student read whole books or excerpts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janice in NJ Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 I have all of his courses on my shelf. :-) I think the biggest beef that people have with his materials is that he offers lots of suggested paper topics, but doesn't offer guidance on how to write those papers. (I believe that his catalog suggests Writers Inc. or Write for College as a resource.) I also suspect that some folks don't like the student sample papers that he includes. But honestly, I have oodles of resources to teach essay writing. I don't WANT another one. AND I like the student sample essays. It gives us lots to talk about - because honestly my kids don't write amazing essays either. It is GOOD for them to see that others have room to grow too. Very, very good. It actually improves their writing to talk about what others could do to improve their work. If I want really great essays, I use a copy of the Norton Reader or check out a copy of The Economist from the library. But honestly they don't teach as well on their own; my kids need balance - more than JUST being reminded that they have a long way to go. :) And please don't think they are horrible; they are probably good examples of high-school-level essays. Decent form; a decent response; with room to grow in voice and style. :) And I like all of the suggestions for 2-3 page paper topics. I like them. The program chooses strong works of literature - in complete form - the whole novel is used; AND the program provides plenty of suggested paper topics. There are also lots of essay test questions too. Learning to plan and write a quick essay is also on our to-do list, so programs that offer me pick up and go suggestions are welcomed. I am using TOG as our main program. I love the extra Sonlight literature and historical fiction that we fold in. But these Stobaugh guides will retain a place on our shelves. They are very useful to me. Peace, Janice in NJ Enjoy your little people Enjoy your journey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly IN Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 I am interested in hearing more from you since you use TOG as the main but use Stobaugh's as a resource. Can you go into more detail on how you do this? I was getting interested in Stobaughs literature courses but didn't know enough about it and was afraid it would be redundant with TOG? Does it get into Worldview in the literature works? thanks Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janice in NJ Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 I am interested in hearing more from you since you use TOG as the main but use Stobaugh's as a resource. Can you go into more detail on how you do this? I was getting interested in Stobaughs literature courses but didn't know enough about it and was afraid it would be redundant with TOG? Does it get into Worldview in the literature works? thanks Holly TOG covers everything in such an integrated way. It makes an amazing spine. But I wanted to have my 9th grader writing more essays. We are working through TOG 1 - which includes a lot of bible and doesn't focus that much on literary analysis essays. Because of the language arts goals that I have for my ds, I wanted him to write more papers to go along with his Lit 9 course. We dipped in and out of Stobaugh (Skills & World Lit) and found some good topics. After we read the books, I used the sample essays to show him proofs to support a thesis that could come from that text. We talked about how to draw a proof from a literary text. I'd pick another essay topic. And we would discuss possible proofs (Remember I have the answer key that includes possible proofs! So I'm armed to lead him along.) He would produce some good stuff on his own, but he was just learning (and so was I) so it was nice to know that I could offer up a third "proof" to support the thesis if he could only come up with two. :) Outline. Draft. Revise. Stobaugh was helpful for me. But remember - I hadn't read Deconstructing Penguins yet. I hadn't discovered just how much fun this whole exploring literature could be. I'm learning. I'm growing. It really is a fun and exciting process. And TOG 2 is such a rich, rich program - spending time with her drama, poetry, and story analysis documents has been an eye-opener for me. CJ has really done an amazing job. Would I buy Stobaugh now if I didn't already have them? Probably not. (I've learned a LOT this year.) But I'm not going to sell them either. Not yet. I've come back to them and re-read them and had enough "Oh! NOW I see." experiences with them to maintain shelf-space for them. At least for now. Does that make sense? Janice in NJ Enjoy your little people Enjoy your journey P.S. Oh - Worldview. Yes, he does cover that. But I prefer the way TOG handles it. TOG's format educates me regarding my options, but still steps out of the way so I can teach (lead a discussion). I haven't found another program that does that; they all seem to take that role away from me. Now TOG does that with FOUR big, thick binders and a whole pile of books and EIGHT pop-quiz CD'S. They have more ROOM to educate and inspire a response from the parent. (They have that going for them.) So I try to teach worldview from that place of response. And my kids have picked up on that method. They are eager to share their response to another person's thoughts - even Stobaughs - or the Somervilles. They recognize the inherent tension that is always generated in a "worldview" discussion. Does that help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly IN Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 I am going to PM you as I have more questions... Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Andrea H Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 What is TOG? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karenciavo Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 What is TOG? Tapestry of Grace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 I am going to PM you as I have more questions... Holly Don't you two go off in a corner to talk. :D We won't be able to listen in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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