Do you believe there are paid people on here...

[Carol in Cal.]

Wow, if I got paid to recommend curricula...

 

I'd be getting money from PHP for SOTW and the writing CD, RS4K especially for chemistry, Saxon math, Concordia Publishing House (Self-Study Bible, s*x ed, religion), Writing Strands, and Bravewriter for Writers' Jungle.

 

Too bad I'm not.

[Jane in NC]

As a Dolciani proselytizer on the High School Board, I have mentioned on more than one occasion that I am not paid by the author's estate for promoting her math texts. I just really like these old math books.

 

That said, I have wondered less about people being paid to promote curricula than I have about certain tech products, i.e. I-everythings, electronic readers, etc. It sometimes seems that threads begin about the time a product is going to be introduced as part of the buzz. Are people really that excited about new gizmos that they chatter about them on homeschooling message boards??

[nmoira]

 

That's why I always give Power Glide a poor review. I seriously think it's awful and no one has ever tried to dissuade me of that opinion. I don't want a new homeschooler to waste a year struggling with it.

:iagree:

[cbollin]

LOL, sometimes I *wish* I could be paid to endorse certain favorites of mine, because I love them so much, but then I would be compromising my right to speak honestly about the companies and my endorsement wouldn't be very helpful after that. :D

 

yep. I totally understand that. :lol:

 

-crystal

[Audrey]

I'm glad it has turned out well.

 

Laura

 

 

Absolutely! And, on top of that, it opened up the whole world of Galore Park materials that I never would have known existed were it not for you. I think of you every time we crack open one of their books. :001_smile:

[Night Elf]

I've never thought about it but I suppose it's possible. I'm sure I've sounded like an advertisement many times. I'm sure there are others like me who are just so passionate about a program or multiple programs that we tout them at every opportunity because we want to share the love! :tongue_smilie:

 

And of course there are people who've used a particular program long enough that others are the board call those people experts on the program and always expect to see their advice on it.

 

I'm probably extra suspicious because I love K12 and so many people associate it with virtual charter schools. I probably look like an infiltrator. I only use it independently and anyone who wants to judge my title of homeschooler can bite my toe. :D

[Dana]

Are people really that excited about new gizmos that they chatter about them on homeschooling message boards??

 

It depends on the person, but for some of us, yes :)

However, since homeschooling, I'm spending a lot less on the new gizmos and a lot more on new programs.

 

Now if it's a new poster or someone whose only posts are "Yes" and "I agree" to ancient threads, you've got a spammer.

 

I am grateful for the posts and experience people provide here. We switched to AAS and MCT due to posts here and they're much better fits for us than what we'd been using. I don't worry whether people are paid for recommendations or not; I go based on what I hear about a curriculum, specifics about what worked & what didn't, and I also do look at whether a poster's prior recommendations work well with what works for us. So I really do appreciate the signatures where people say what they're using, and that's why I added mine.

[Guest Cindie2dds]

No, but I rave about Oak Meadow every chance I get because I really love it. Maybe I SHOULD get paid! haha.

 

Me too!

[Audrey]

No, but I rave about Oak Meadow every chance I get because I really love it. Maybe I SHOULD get paid! haha.

 

Me too!

 

Guilty as well! :o

[vmsurbat]

This is true, but if you see a post where 5 or 6 people all talking about how XYZ math program saved their 5th grader from tears every day at math time....and you have a 5th grader in the similar situation, a parent may be inclined to drop $100 on this math program, due to the overwhelming number of people who just seem to Looooove the program.

 

Yes, the homeschool parent should show due diligence when shopping, but for some of the programs that you can not preview a copy of, and have to order online, the reviews of fellow homeschoolers is all the due diligence they have to go by. That is a shame, when the 5-6 reviewers may never have even seen the program, may not even homeschool and are just paid to advertise it.

 

We see advertising on TV, but we know it is advertising when it is commercials or brand placement in a TV show. It skews the lines, when people are saying "I loved it" and they aren't disclaiming that it is a commercial or advertisement.

 

Living overseas, I often only have reviews/internet samples to go by when deciding on a curriculum purchase. HOWEVER, I also make full use of the board by asking detailed questions of posters, either as a posted message or PM. If posters cannot give specifics of why/how something helped and how it was different from other programs, then their review is essentially meaningless. But in my experience, many people have graciously given me honest feedback and I, in turn, do the same when I can.

[gingersmom]

I have thought it a bit odd when I express my personal displeasure with a certain curriculum and then am attacked (or it feels awful like an attack of words) about how wrong I am and it is the best curriculum since peanut butter and jelly was invented.

[Tap]

Living overseas, I often only have reviews/internet samples to go by when deciding on a curriculum purchase. HOWEVER, I also make full use of the board by asking detailed questions of posters, either as a posted message or PM. If posters cannot give specifics of why/how something helped and how it was different from other programs, then their review is essentially meaningless. But in my experience, many people have graciously given me honest feedback and I, in turn, do the same when I can.

 

Yep, I totally agree that detailed questions can often weed out false reviews and also the people who give a bad review of a curriculum that they only used for a week or so. Usually, you can tell who is giving BTDT advice or those who are going by something other than personal experience.

 

Some people don't do this. I used to help people who were getting started homeschooling in a hybrid program. It was amazing how many people would make curriculum choices based on "my neighbor uses it and she loves it so I know I will too...." when they know nothing about the program (I saw this several times with programs like Abeka DVD, Saxon, BJU, Singapore). I think it is especially hard on the first time homeschoolers, who may not know what questions to ask, don't have any idea what their teaching style is or the child's learning style is.

 

The first time hsers are often the victims of the Guerilla Advertising, when several people are paid to have conversations on line about programs that they have never used. It is sad that companies use these tactics. Often, even the really good programs can take years to get going and making a profit, and people want/need to recruit buyers sooner than that, so they resort to unsavory advertising.

[Rivka]

I reported someone for doing this just the other day. They stuck out like a sore thumb because they were trying to advertise a whole-word reading program with sight word flash cards. Poor dear must have been misdirected here.,