Miss Marple Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 I was having a conversation with my oldest son yesterday. The topic of high school vs. college classes came up and he said something that interested me. He said that college classes were more fun because you worked hard for a short time and then moved onto something else. In other words, a semester of science was more "fun" than a full year of the same science. He said that he always felt tired when we returned to schooling after being on Christmas break. He would have preferred to begin another subject rather than just picking up where we left off. So, as I look forward to the next 3 boys going through high school, I wonder if there is a way one can do this kind of scheduling (and still stay sane). Is it feasible to do a semester of English, Geometry, and Chemistry and then a semester of History, Foreign Language, and an elective or two? Obviously one would have to determine what and how many credits one needs for graduation. I believe the kids can do it because my son has been doing this since his junior year (concurrent enrollment), but it seems like it might be a nightmare to schedule at home, esp. labs, etc. Has anyone done this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama25angels Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 I have not done this, but i'm thinking of trying it this year, just wanted to bump you up so that someone with experience will see it and help us out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 One of our local high schools does this, except for their IB courses--those are all year, every day. The one thing I don't like about doing school this way is that so much content has to be squeezed into each teaching lesson. The lessons can contain so much that it's hard to absorb that quickly. I'm thinking mostly math and upper sciences--and cramming 10 major works (that's light for us) of literature in 18 weeks would mean a ton of reading in a short time--not enough time to process it. Just my 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jann in TX Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 WE HATE IT! There. I feel much better now. In my dd's school their A-B block scheduling has the student working on 8 different classes every week. 4 on Mondays and Wednesdays and 4 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Fridays are rotated between the 'A' and 'B' days. Math is probably the hardest class--the teacher has to teach 2 lessons each period--and double the homework too. Most of the time the teaching just does not get done. When using a 'college' based block schedule the student must work at least double time every day--2 hours of Math Monday-Friday... A homeschooler using a video program would watch a lesson, work the problems, watch a second lesson and work another set of problems the same day! Some texts like Lial's are already set up for this--but ALL of the students I teach/tutor really need 2 days to work each lesson--so they can process it all. The other down side to math being 'college blocked' is that if the student only takes a math course one semester, they have 8 months to forget what they learned before they take the next course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saved1112 Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 I've considered something like this, but with science, logic, word roots, art, music, etc. Not grammar, math, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted April 17, 2008 Author Share Posted April 17, 2008 It does seem like a scheduling nightmare, especially if one uses a homeschool curriculum such as Sonlight, TOG, Apologia, etc. And these are the courses which were hard for my son to sustain any enthusiasm after our break. Hmmm...still mulling this over... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda in NM Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 That's what I'm trying to get a handle on with Trisms--if I use it in the morning as a kind of unit-study approach (including lit, research, history, mapping...), then I'm blocking my mornings...and keeping my afternoons free for science, math, and foreign language. Then, my question becomes, should I do Latin three days/week and German twice? Eiii....maybe get some German language CDs for the car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 however, two subjects that I think would be better dealt with continuously are math and foreign languages. I do think the idea of concentrating on one or two other subjects at a time could add some enthusiasm and variety to the schedule. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GailV Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Waldorf schools do this all the time. Some subjects are taught daily, regardless. Foreign language, for example, and math facts in the early grades. But, for the most part, you have a science block, a lit block, a math block, etc. I imagine Waldorf homeschoolers would be a great source of information on how to block schedule your school year. I'd start by looking for info at Christopherus Homeschool, which is Donna Simmons website. She has a fairly accessible approach to Waldorf homeschooling. ETA: Okay, apparently that link doesn't help. Sorry. I'll try to find some other links that do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda in NM Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 I tried to find some information on block scheduling, but it looks like you have to buy curricula (or at least the Overview) to find out anything detailed from the site...maybe I'm looking in the wrong place? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GailV Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 I tried to find some information on block scheduling, but it looks like you have to buy curricula (or at least the Overview) to find out anything detailed from the site...maybe I'm looking in the wrong place? Hmm, that may be. I was just taking a guess that she'd have some info. Sorry that it didn't work. I'll see if I have anything around here, or any links in my bookmarks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 We follow a waldorf type system. After 8th grade the day changes quite a bit. Almost all waldorf high schools have one block class followed by four or five "track classes" usually 50 minutes long. These are regular year long classes. Many of the schools do alternate day classes. So you would have four track classes on Monday, Wednesday, Friday of one week and Tuesday, Thursday of the next week. And four more track classes that run opposite days. Sometimes there are fewer track classes and the last class is 1.5 hours and is some sort of fine or practical art class. This class does not necessarily last all year. Not all waldorf high schools work this way, but I would say a majority do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda in NM Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Thanks; what I did figure out that WS seems to be more of a "focus on one thing for a chunk of time" type of block scheduling; I'm thinking more of a three-hour section of unit-study type work, I think...or maybe not. Seems like there's just too much to do... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Excelsior! Academy Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Our high schools do this. They have 4 subjects a day each for 1 1/2 hours. You keep those 4 classes for 1 semester. The next semester they have 4 new subjects. Pros: They can cover 8 subjects a year instead of the normal 6 or 7. You still go over the same material daily with more in class time. You can accomplish more in lab type classes. Cons: If you have a subject semester 1 of one year then again semester 2 of the next year then you have 1 full calendar year without that subject. In classes like math the time can drag on. Everyone we've talked to that have done this schedule like it. I doubt it would work for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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