Tenaj Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 My eldest ds is doing what he calls a "Super Senior Year" (most would probably call it a gap year before college - but he likes to put a different spin on it!) One of his goals for the year is to improve his writing confidence and skills before college so, of course, now I'm scrambling to figure out the best way to do this. Any opinions on using LToW for this purpose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mims Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 I hate to say no but . . . It has great information in their and some great outlines to follow laying out your papers. But the learning is laid out in confused lesson plans etc that I would spend an hour a week laying out and planning for them to be usable. An extremely motivated kid who would dig through all that could get good practice and information but I would think it would be very discouraging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSNative Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 I'll take the other side. :) I think LTOW is great for improving writing - and thinking. I haven't found the lesson plans to be too difficult. The audio cds were key to understanding LTOW, so if you choose to go this route - def. get the cds. Makes it so much easier and understandable. How exactly is he planning on using it? Is he already a competent writer or is he trying to bring his writing up to speed? I've only used level 1, but he may need level 2. Hopefully someone who has used level 2 will chime in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenaj Posted March 28, 2011 Author Share Posted March 28, 2011 How exactly is he planning on using it? Is he already a competent writer or is he trying to bring his writing up to speed? I've only used level 1, but he may need level 2. Hopefully someone who has used level 2 will chime in. According to my husband who has taught a few college classes over the years, he is a competent writer as compared to the college students my dh has dealt with. My ds just has no confidence that his writing is strong enough for college (that's his own analysis, not mine). I can see some weakness in organization and depth but I'm pretty sure he's a better writer now than I was when I started college :) I'm just trying to get a handle on some options that we can check out at the Midwest Convention this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mims Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 For some reason I read that he wanted to teach himself. I did think it was worth the time with my kids but would find it cumbersome to teach myself if I were him. If mom is doing the teaching I think it is worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenaj Posted March 28, 2011 Author Share Posted March 28, 2011 For some reason I read that he wanted to teach himself. I did think it was worth the time with my kids but would find it cumbersome to teach myself if I were him. If mom is doing the teaching I think it is worth it. I wasn't expecting complete self-teaching but was hoping I could make up some sort of lesson plan and have him work fairly independently from those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Kern Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 For what it's worth, have to agree with MIMS that LTW was too disorganized for a situation like yours. Happily, we've been able to completely restructure it, going lesson by lesson in a sensible orderly sequence. you can see a demo at http://www.losttoolsofwriting.com. I would urge you to make sure he spends some time studying classical composition before heading off to college, and this might be a tool to do so. Because it is geared to younger students, he could probably breeze through it in a few months (5 or 6) and with the new format he might well be able to teach himself. Camille Goldston is teaching it on-line as well if he is interested in that. If he's ambitious he might prefer using Corbett's college text book: Classical Rhetoric for the Contemporary Student or Scott Crider's handbook: The Office of Assertion. Martin Cothran also wrote a fine text book on Aristotle's Rhetoric, published by Memoria Press. LTW or another sound classical writing program (that teaches the three canons) will help with a great deal more than just writing! Thanks. I hope this isn't out of place. I'm happy to answer any questions through the private messages as well. ajk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Togo Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 Janice, Since your son is a competent writer, I would suggest studying rhetoric. Then, he could use materials that give him a feel for the types of assignments he will encounter in college. Check out The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing. Older editions are fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenaj Posted March 28, 2011 Author Share Posted March 28, 2011 For what it's worth, have to agree with MIMS that LTW was too disorganized for a situation like yours. Happily, we've been able to completely restructure it, going lesson by lesson in a sensible orderly sequence. you can see a demo at http://www.losttoolsofwriting.com. I would urge you to make sure he spends some time studying classical composition before heading off to college, and this might be a tool to do so. Because it is geared to younger students, he could probably breeze through it in a few months (5 or 6) and with the new format he might well be able to teach himself. Camille Goldston is teaching it on-line as well if he is interested in that. If he's ambitious he might prefer using Corbett's college text book: Classical Rhetoric for the Contemporary Student or Scott Crider's handbook: The Office of Assertion. Martin Cothran also wrote a fine text book on Aristotle's Rhetoric, published by Memoria Press. LTW or another sound classical writing program (that teaches the three canons) will help with a great deal more than just writing! Thanks. I hope this isn't out of place. I'm happy to answer any questions through the private messages as well. ajk Thank you so much for taking the time to reply and for the advice and suggestions. Off to check out the other books . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenaj Posted March 28, 2011 Author Share Posted March 28, 2011 Janice, Since your son is a competent writer, I would suggest studying rhetoric. Then, he could use materials that give him a feel for the types of assignments he will encounter in college. Check out The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing. Older editions are fine. Thank you! I will add this to my list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Togo Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 Just wanted to mention that Memoria Press has a rhetoric course for high school students. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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