Julie in MO Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Hi, We are on week 31 of TOG, year 1. I bought the evaluations CD and have had my dialectic student fill out the various worksheets along the way. Many, many times we've found that the information that is asked just wasn't in the reading. I'm all for learning how to do research, but we did so much reading that it was frustrating to discover the evaluations didn't cover what we read. For example, we just read the materials suggested for week 31 and the evaluation is a fill-in-the-blank. Very few of the answers can be found in the reading and the blanks are asking pretty specific information. I'm frustrated with TOG. Is the problem that the evaluation CD is worthless? Is it just a year 1 issue? Are we doing "it" wrong (please be nice if you plan on blaming us....I'm tired and frustrated already and would like some helpful comments). I already bought year 2 but I don't want to deal with frustrations like this again next year. Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions/opinions you can provide. Blessings, Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 I haven't used the Evaluations, but I just wanted to :grouphug:. This was also our first year with TOG, and it did seem to me that there was a lot of disconnect between the different areas. Two things that I dealt with was that with an LG student, very often there was nothing in the reading that dealt directly with the stated objectives, or even the title of the Week Plan. And in MapAids the answers to the Geography questions could not always be found in the recommended materials, and occasionally were not even on the Teacher's Maps. I think that this problem stems from Lampstand Press's commitment to always have in-print titles in their reading list. Every time a book goes out of print, they have to find a replacement. I think that, in the interest of time, they do not thoroughly review the TOG materials to make sure they mesh with the new book. All that said, I do not think that it is necessarily reason to abandon TOG. For me, I see TOG as a means to do history and literature the WTM way with more handholding. Do you do the Socratic discussions? This is where I think TOG is really worth while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 I struggled with this too. I had hoped that the lit discussions would be much more in-depth than they were, more like a lit guide. I had a lot of issues like this. We did not use Evaluations, so I'm no help with that, sorry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnandtinagilbert Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 It does get better in year 2. This is a reason why they are revamping year 1. Hang in there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Tina, can you please explain how it gets better in year 2? Still trying to decide on a history program for next yr. I didn't consider TOG again due to those issues so I'd love to know how yr 2 is different? thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 It's my understanding that this is one of the reasons they are planning such and in depth revamping of Y1 as Tina mentioned. :) I have not had trouble with Y2 although we don't do all the evaluations, just one's I think are of particular benefit (diagrams and comparisons mostly) and the finals. I tend to rely on our discussions as my primary way of determining understanding and reinforcement of ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Oh, I see, you're specifically talking about Evaluations. Duh :blush: sorry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MO Posted May 12, 2011 Author Share Posted May 12, 2011 a good cry and a good sleep helped, but the "hang in there" helped the most! I think I may have relied too much on the evaluations. In the past, my kids have really liked worksheets, so I was disappointed that we became so frustrated with it this year. Only five weeks left...... Thanks to everyone who replied. I needed to feel part of a community this week. Blessings, Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AStableBeginning Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 It does get better in year 2. This is a reason why they are revamping year 1. Hang in there! Any idea as to when the revamping of Year 1 will be complete? We start year 1 in August, just wondering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnandtinagilbert Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Any idea as to when the revamping of Year 1 will be complete? We start year 1 in August, just wondering. If memory serves me, Fall 2012 is the plan. It's great incentive to buy the DE. Tina, can you please explain how it gets better in year 2? Still trying to decide on a history program for next yr. I didn't consider TOG again due to those issues so I'd love to know how yr 2 is different? thanks! From reading so much TOG info., I gather this has been an issue in year 1 far more often than the others. I haven't completed year 1, so I can't confirm specifics beyond what I've learned from other users. We started full on Dialectic in Year 2. Personally, I found b/c year 2 is SO packed, there is so much to learn, that we didn't have a problem. And if something was cumbersome, the volume of available resources (listed in TOG and on the internet) was so abundant, finding answers was never an issue for us. We enjoyed it very much and learned so many wonderful things. It has probably been my favorite period, at least a close tie to Ancients :). I just checked with the dc and they couldn't name a time frame that gave them trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnandtinagilbert Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 I struggled with this too. I had hoped that the lit discussions would be much more in-depth than they were, more like a lit guide. I had a lot of issues like this. We did not use Evaluations, so I'm no help with that, sorry! TOG lit. shines in Rhetoric, but otherwise...meh. It'll do for vocab. and general understanding, but not as intense as Progeny Press. I like to read through the PP guides when I can. They do a great job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AStableBeginning Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 If memory serves me, Fall 2012 is the plan. It's great incentive to buy the DE. Will definitely be purchasing the DE. Thanks for the info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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