Classical Conversations - Challenge - questions

[Another Lynn]

Never say never, right? I never thought CC-Challenge looked like what I wanted for dc academically, but for various reasons we are considering it anyway. Life is like that, right? Specifically I'm considering Challenge A - core only.

 

If you have participated in Challenge:

 

1)What does your role as teacher at home look like?

 

2)How much time during the week is required of the student? (see question 3 - is there time to assign other work?)

 

3)Did you find you were able to add in other work at home (i.e. keeping a real history thread going? More WTM-ish grammar, spelling, vocab.?)

 

4)Were there other subjects you felt you needed to supplement at home (besides history, grammar, spelling/vocab)?

 

5)Did you use IEW before doing Challenge? If not, how did that work?

 

6)Did you have any personal difficulty with Bible-Based writing lessons used in Challenge A? (for example, did it bother you to do re-writes of Scripture?)

 

Any other thoughts welcome. I think I've searched and read most of the Challenge posts on the board.

 

Thanks!

[Another Lynn]

bump

[SonshineLearner]

 

1)What does your role as teacher at home look like?

 

2)How much time during the week is required of the student? (see question 3 - is there time to assign other work?)

 

3)Did you find you were able to add in other work at home (i.e. keeping a real history thread going? More WTM-ish grammar, spelling, vocab.?)

 

4)Were there other subjects you felt you needed to supplement at home (besides history, grammar, spelling/vocab)?

 

5)Did you use IEW before doing Challenge? If not, how did that work?

 

6)Did you have any personal difficulty with Bible-Based writing lessons used in Challenge A? (for example, did it bother you to do re-writes of Scripture?)

 

Any other thoughts welcome. I think I've searched and read most of the Challenge posts on the board.

 

Thanks!

 

Hey There,

 

Sorry I haven't actually USED Challenge, but I've been observing it. I've observed a Challenge A and then my step daughter did Challenge B last year... but she is totally independent. She did the core... and some of the Latin. She was really much farther than the Challenge B Latin. (She was doing Henle with another class).

 

So, as far as Latin and Math, which aren't "Core".... we did other Math and Latin.

The amount of time for the "Core" is enough that I really can't see assigning other work, besides maybe typing, during the year. BUT, it's 30 wks a year... so there are "extra" weeks. The one thing I could see is perhaps 1-2 hours a week of kinda "after-school" type stuff.

 

For me, I'd look at doing some extra writing during the off time (summer), like some "Classical Writing" type material. Of course, we're doing Essentials... and I plan to do CW on our off time:-)

 

My step daughter had never used IEW, but was able to successfully and joyfully do the IEW program. (Oops... we did IEW instead of Math due to too many ages/grade levels. It was a GREAT choice for us!) She said that it was the best writing class she'd had, ever. She is an A student in PS and this was a year she took off to be homeschooled. So, for me, that was a good recommendation. She also really liked the Key Word Outline process. Because she's used many methods, I really think she writes well.

 

As far as re-writes of Scripture, it bothers me to see "The Message" and such used in Church and such, but for writing, it's not meant to be read as "Authoritative Scripture" so I don't think that would bother me. Haven't done it yet.

 

What I've heard about Challenge A, and 7th grade in any school in this area, is that it's a year of independent growth on the part of the student. It's learning to be accountable for your own work and the "how to" process of learning, is worth as much as what you learn.

 

Do I have a problem with the content of Challenge A? Well, it's not exactly what I'd do, but I do plan on having my daughter do it... and doing some "extra work" in between. (Perhaps more Science... etc.)

 

I will also do only the Core, as she's not using the level of math that she'd be doing in Challenge A and her Latin would be too boring for her... as she's already way farther.

 

I would talk to the Challenge Tutor and ask about correspondence with them. I have a tutor who I've been emailing with... in another state.... and she sends out a report each week of what they did/are doing/will do the next week. I would want this for 7th... :-)

 

I have seen 2 children of my own.... go through this time, and I think that a class situation can serve many individuals well. I look forward to seeing my daughter make the same strides.

 

:-)

[G5052]

Every tutor and family is a little different. My kid is very independent, and his tutor is superb on every front. She has been a huge inspiration for him.

 

My oldest is in A and had three years of Foundations/Essentials beforehand, but was very used to working off his own assignment sheet during the week and just coming to me for grading and help. That said, before this, we were more of a "spread it out over a year" family versus "cram it into 30 weeks with deadlines" family, so it was hard to adjust to being on someone else's schedule for the majority of work at first. Now it's no biggie. We work out his assignments for each day after class, and then he manages his own schedule and gets it done. I grade his Latin and proof his writing, otherwise he does his own thing. His tutor gave semester tests in Latin, Geography, and Rhetoric in December, and he aced every one ;).

 

Because I still have a younger one, we continued with history and science read-alouds after breakfast as we have for the last five years or so. Otherwise we added several novel studies in the fall because IEW was easy for him and I wanted him reading, and he did Bible, Spanish, and vocab of my choosing. That load has been reasonable for him. Other families I knew in Challenge A haven't been able to do anything else and some have dropped outside activities. He's always done around 4pm or so.

 

I'm excited about Challenge B next year!

[LND1218]

1)What does your ro. le as teacher at home look like?

That depends - I like being involved. But a lot of parents don't

 

2)How much time during the week is required of the student? (see question 3 - is there time to assign other work?)

We do 4 days of about 6 to 8 hours but that includes Latin and Math.

 

 

3)Did you find you were able to add in other work at home (i.e. keeping a real history thread going? More WTM-ish grammar, spelling, vocab.?)

Not really.

 

4)Were there other subjects you felt you needed to supplement at home (besides history, grammar, spelling/vocab)?

None but we do add Bible but I don't consider that a subject KWIM?

 

5)Did you use IEW before doing Challenge? If not, how did that work?

We did Essentials, so we did IEW.

 

6)Did you have any personal difficulty with Bible-Based writing lessons used in Challenge A? (for example, did it bother you to do re-writes of Scripture?)

No but if you do talk to the tutor. You are the teacher and your student doesn't have to do those if it bothers you.

Edited January 9, 2010 by Steph

[Another Lynn]

Ladies,

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. I'm not sure what we'll end up doing. We have approached things very differently at home, so I'm not sure if Challenge will help address weaknesses we've allowed to develop or just be a bad fit.

 

I really appreciate your experiences - good food for thought!

[newlifemom]

Lynn,

 

I am a Challenge A tutor. With IEW I think it is important to understand their process to teaching writing. They use a model and the student rewrites from the model. Of course one does have to be careful when working with the Bible, but idea behind the Bible Based Lessons is writing and not formal Bible study.

 

As for your other questions,

 

You the parent are their teacher and have ultimate say in what they do. Challenge A is probably the only program which would allow any extra work.

 

The goal of Foundations and Essentials is to prepare the student for things like Latin. They have spent 6 years learning the definitions of the parts of speech and 3 years learning how to use them extensively. [trust me, I am learning and teaching dd amazing things through EEL. She knows more english grammar than I did, after college. At this point I actually consider us learning together.] Now, if you are new to Classical Conversations and your child doesn't have as much background in grammar, Latin might be a bit tough, but you the parent can work with that and the tutor will work with that as they teach the Latin. KWIM?

 

As for work outside of class, it is expected to spend an hour per day per subject. Could you get by with less on some subjects, yes, but I personally think that you could also do the full hour and really study the subject well.

 

The point of Challenge A is to prepare the student for the more rigorous work of high school. They are reaching for independence and higher level reasoning. It is the stepping stone for socratic dialogue.

 

I am planning on enrolling my own dd in Challenge A next year. I will probably require to do some extra history reading, but no extra writing for sure.

 

 

I hope this helps some. I am currently on Benedryl so I am a bit more convoluted than usual. :tongue_smilie:

 

CC is a great program and the Challenge program can be awesome. IMO it takes a dedicated tutor, involved/informed parents, and a lot of hard work on the part of the student.

 

Is there any chance you could go to an open house and watch a class? That might give you a better feel for CC. Good luck with your decision.:001_smile:

[angela in ohio]

I tutor Challenge A as well. I have twelve students from 11-14. A few of them have extra work outside (my 11 and 13 yo, another boy who is 12.)

 

The homework really does come out to about an hour per day per subject. So for Core, you would be looking at four hours per day. You would need to add in math and grammar (the Latin serves as the grammar portion at CC.)

 

The parents edit first drafts, discuss what the students are learning, help keep them on track throughout the week, etc. They can also alter assignments - make them harder or easier - to fit the student.

 

Challenge really depends on the tutor. You will want to find out all about the tutor and observe them teaching. They will be teaching your student for 120 hours. Their attitude toward the material, knowledge of the material, comfort in teaching, worldview, and so forth will make a large impact on your child and his or her education.

 

I have not been happy with the BBW, but then I love IEW very much and dislike all of the themed books very much. :001_smile: The concepts are forced to fit into the theme, and sometimes that makes for less effective lessons. I did not find anything disrespectful of Scripture. The stories that were re-written were ones that are commonly re-told in other forms: Jonah, the Prodigal Son, etc. In the Critiques lesson, the book talks about how to critique any other writing and how we must critique Scripture differently.

 

I have used IEW for years. Many of my students had not. It went fine. A lot will depend on the tutor's comfort with IEW, and his/her ability to teach it to students of various levels and experiences with IEW.