Love2Smile Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Can you give me any reviews of BJU highschool Lit programs, specifically the 11th grade American History? This is for a kid who really does not like to read entire novels, and I "let" her read for pleasure, yet needs a lit study program. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 I have homeschooled for 16 years. We are Christian. I took my homeschooled ds who is an English major to a BJU hotel meeting to preview BJU high school literature. Here is his quote: "It is naive, only what is salient to a Christian worldview on a shallow level is discussed, turned into a Sunday School lesson." He begged me NOT to use it with dd. I don't mind stating what I believe, I don't have trouble recognizing what is right and wrong, but when I read a literature piece, I want to know all of the levels of meaning intended by the author. I did use BJU for British Literature with the dvd teacher when ds what still homeschooled. It did help a lot with the interpretation of the older British pieces. At that point, I started to tire of the commentary. If there is something immoral going on with an author, or in the piece, I don't need a lit. teacher or book to tell me.... and that is what they do. Dd and I are really enjoying Scott Foresman United Stated in Literature. I do have A Beka's American Lit. book for another view when I want it, but couldn't handle a steady diet of it. I ducked out when they said the theme of Scarlet Letter was "sin has consequences." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted February 7, 2011 Author Share Posted February 7, 2011 I have homeschooled for 16 years. We are Christian. I took my homeschooled ds who is an English major to a BJU hotel meeting to preview BJU high school literature. Here is his quote: "It is naive, only what is salient to a Christian worldview on a shallow level is discussed, turned into a Sunday School lesson." He begged me NOT to use it with dd. I don't mind stating what I believe, I don't have trouble recognizing what is right and wrong, but when I read a literature piece, I want to know all of the levels of meaning intended by the author. I did use BJU for British Literature with the dvd teacher when ds what still homeschooled. It did help a lot with the interpretation of the older British pieces. At that point, I started to tire of the commentary. If there is something immoral going on with an author, or in the piece, I don't need a lit. teacher or book to tell me.... and that is what they do. Dd and I are really enjoying Scott Foresman United Stated in Literature. I do have A Beka's American Lit. book for another view when I want it, but couldn't handle a steady diet of it. I ducked out when they said the theme of Scarlet Letter was "sin has consequences." Well I just learned what "salient" means tonight LOL Where can you purchase the Scott Foresman curriculum? and thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 There is another thread going right now with the ISBN #s. I ordered from half.com and got both students and teachers, and shipping from two vendors all for under $20. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in CA Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 Hmmm...well I feel like I need to reply. My DS loved BJU's American Lit. He is more of a sciency-math guy and not at all an English major like the pp's son, so we are coming from a completely different slant. DS was dreading an entire semester of Literature, but ended up thoroughly enjoying it. I actually spread the class out and added in a few whole books as they came up for discussion, so his semester of dread turned into a year long course without a single complaint. We used BJU's American Lit with the DVDs and the teacher made it very interesting. It didn't feel like 'Sunday school' at all. :confused: I highly recommend it, and so does my ds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted February 8, 2011 Author Share Posted February 8, 2011 What if you don't use the DVD's, is it doable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in CA Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 What if you don't use the DVD's, is it doable? Sure it is! But, I personally wouldn't do it without them because I am not a Literature teacher. I could tell when watching the DVDs that the teacher knew and loved her subject, she brought something into the course that I could never do...enthusiasm. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yolanda in Mass Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 A wonderfully gifted English teacher taught this at co-op a couple of years ago and my son learned so much. No way could I have done as good a job as she did. My one complaint about BJU lit is that it doesn't have complete works read, only excerpts. They really focus a lot on how the different pieces and authors represent particular movements, philosophies, etc. On the other hand, he came away with a solid understanding of all this. Assuming you don't have the good fortune to have a great teacher to teach this, then I would try the DVD's. BJU lit is a LOT of work if you're looking to use it to its full potential. Yolanda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CindyJ Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 I can give you two perspectives. My ds used this last year in his Christian school. He had an excellent teacher, and he enjoyed it very much. He thrived on the discussion of all of the different philosophies and schools of thought. His teacher did add in a number of novels - Scarlet Letter, a Shakespeare play, Fahrenheit 451, Night, and a couple of others. But this year I am actually teaching this exact course in a small Christian school (not his), and I really dislike it. My students are not advanced students, and the philosophical discussion is simply way over their heads. I find the book itself to be for the most part dry, and the teacher's materials are singularly unhelpful. There are no worksheets included, no CD for printouts, and the notes in the teacher's edition are not even on the same page as the story. I also am not crazy about anthologies, I guess - so many snippets, and no complete books. Plus, it is in chronological order, which makes sense, but the Puritans are not the most fun to read for such a long time. They didn't write fiction, after all, and their writing does not make for easy reading. Not that that is my goal, but they have too long a stretch in which what they are reading just is not enjoyable. There are some good things in the book, but I have just found it difficult to teach from. So I would say that you need to evaluate your student(s); if you have a lot of time and energy to add to the curriculum and you have advanced and fairly intellectually inclined students, then it may work for you. I wish I could have used that DVD; my class might have enjoyed that more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.