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Considering online classses -- quick question


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Are online classes more intense or difficult than studying the same material at home or at a once-a-week co-op? If so, why? Just because the student has to manage a week's worth of assignments?? I would appreciate the help as I consider how many classes to put my dd into for next year (8th). We're considering some at The Potter's School and possibly Algebra I at VP (because it meets twice a week for class vs. one class + one practice session at Potter's).

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For us they are more work in that you have a solid 90 minutes of class blocked out once or twice a week for each class. On those days there is usually no homework, but normally we would have only spent an hour at most on those subjects that day.

 

Dd is taking Precal at VP from the teacher who also teaches Algebra. He is very reasonable, a solid teacher and I would say she spends about the same amount of time for his class as she would for a home-made class. The exception to this is when she was studying for the mid term and semester final which covered all the information learned that far. Those couple weeks before the test she had to study a couple hrs per day.

 

Other classes she has taken at Potter School's school involve slightly more than 5 hrs/week.

 

Spanish 1 at VP is about equal or slightly more due to the 90 minute classes twice a week, but that time is truly needed for fluency. (We tried it on our own and floundered a bit).

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My 15 yo dd started online classes with potter's school last year. She's in their "classical track", which invloves 4 core courses. She also did Latin 1 and Geometry with TPS. I scheduled her to do biology at home with apologia. It was a great difference for us in time commitment. The 90 minute classes once a week (times 6) plus all the assignments and regular homework provided her with a challenge to keep up with it all. Suffice to say, the course that I "scheduled" at home had to get dropped so that she could focus on the TPS courses. This year is much smoother, perhaps because we're used to the schedule. I think it depends on the course. For instance, the instructor for Latin 1 at TPS expected no less than 1 hour of homework each day. Other courses were more "hit and miss" depending on when assignments were due or exams that needed to be studied for. So ...hope that helps.

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My 15 yo dd started online classes with potter's school last year. She's in their "classical track", which invloves 4 core courses.

 

How do you feel about the Classical Track? I'm interested in this for my dd for 9th grade and don't know anyone that has experience with it. Do you feel that the CT has the right amount of rigor -- not too light but not too overwhelmingly difficult? :) How do you feel about the Christian worldview component? I've love your review!!

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I typed up a big long reply and then tried to post but the server was too busy.

 

We're in the same position, wondering how many classes to take online next year and how many is too many.

 

This year, my dd 13, has taken Latin I Henle with Regina Coeli Academy. GREAT class. It's moved slowly but she's learned a lot. It's been quite manageable. No more than an hour a day. She has loved the interaction. It's laid out in a way that the kids know exactly what they need to do every day. We've liked this class so much that we are considering more RCA classes for next year. She is highly motivated with her online classes. This class meets two times a week for 50 minutes each time. They've also been offering study sessions that are optional. We did Latin at home last year with Latin Prep I and it was hard for both us. She passed me by and then I was useless to her so she had to muddle through. So, not as rigorous as this year, but we thought it was harder last year with us muddling through.

 

She's also taking Classical Mythology with The Lukeion Project and took one of their workshops a few months ago. Wonderful classes, too. Mythology is a lot of work but she's managing. It helps to have the teacher guiding them. She's also writing her first research paper--6-8 pages. It's a lot of work, but she is enjoying it and learning a great deal. She told me recently that this class has, "Opened up a whole new world," for her. It's rigorous but being in a class makes it easier to learn.

 

I'm planning on more online classes for the Fall, but I, too, wonder how much would be too much? I love RCA and am considering signing her up full-time. I believe TPS Classical Track would be comparable as far as a full-time option. However, I have no idea if TPS Classical Track and RCA full time would be an equivalent work load. I also want her to take German with OSU German online. She can work on the German year round and go at a slower pace if necessary. But full time with RCA, would that be too much online time? It would be anywhere from one to about two hours a day. Is that too much? I'm still quite involved, discussing things with her, listening to her talk about what she's learning, so it's not like she's isolated in any way. She also loves knowing others are doing the same things she is doing.

 

Don't know if any of my comments have helped. I'll be interested to hear what others say, so keep those comments coming. :001_smile:

Edited by Violet
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If the student can do the requisite work, will TPS admit them regardless of age?

 

Potter's is pretty flexible with, for example, some of their computer science classes. The Java teacher was willing to take my 11-year-old for a high-school class (it didn't hurt that my son had established a reputation in the junior-high programming class). OTOH, I've heard they have instituted lower age limits for their English classes, partly because it takes a certain maturity to handle the 'live' nature of the class (those emoticons are so tempting!), so no matter how bright a, say, 8-year-old is, she won't be allowed to take a junior-high English class. Those are the only two departments I have direct experience with. The age limit is something like 10 or 11, but you'd have to ask (I don't know).

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