One Year Adventure Novel--how Christian-specific is it?

[KarenNC]

I was looking at the website for One Year Adventure Novel and it sounds really interesting. My one concern is that they list "Biblical worldview" under benefits. Can anyone tell me how that plays out in the instruction? If it is all similar to the second sample lesson they give, it would be fine for us as I agree fully with him about meaning being necessary (we just don't believe that Christianity is the sole source of that;))--we can incorporate our own interpretations. However, that an author feels the need to use that phrase always makes me leery of a curriculum as it frequently translates into something either a lot more proselytizing, providential or "dominionist'' than I can work with. I'm not sure how one would do that in a course about novel writing, but, then, before we started homeschooling, I wouldn't have imagined someone could or would feel the need to do that with math, either.:)

[The Girls' Mom]

My dd uses it, and I don't think it's heavily Christian. I haven't gone through very DVD or every page of the books, but what I've seen hasn't had anything that stood out.

[radiobrain]

I asked the author about this at a HS convention.

 

At the time, I don't think either of us realized how insulting he was... but the more I thought about it, the more it irritated me.

 

In general, he is coming from a very Christian point of view. He believes that unless something is rooted in Christianity and faith, that it has no true meaning. I wholeheartedly disagree, but that is not really the point. The question is, can this curriculum be used in a secular manner, or with a non-judgemental POV?

 

I think it depends on each person. I am a seriously hard-core secular HSer, yet I try to keep an open mind and will not throw a good curriculum out just because of its religious content. If I can work with it, I will. If its pros outweigh its cons, I will consider it.

 

OYAN seems like something that is on the edge of my comfort level. I love the format, the whole package is right up my alley as far as trying to get my kids to write. My son was quite excited about using it after seeing the sample disc. However, I am not particularly comfortable with his stance on meaning. It is his curriculum though, and he can say and do anything he wants with it. It is up to me whether I want to purchase it.

 

I think that if you go into it knowing that he has that slant, and discuss it with your kids ahead of time... it should be more than doable. I don't think it is terribly pervasive, and should be able to be minimized, ignored or glossed over if necessary.

 

All this being said, I will probably use it at some point, as I think my son will enjoy it. I can put my big girl panties on and deal with the part that I find wrong. :D

 

Does this rambling help?

[Mom22ns]

We're using OYAN this year and loving it. The Christian perspective in it comes in the form of saying there should be a deeper meaning in writing. He doesn't say that Christ has to provide that meaning. He talks about the main character learning a lesson and growing as a person.

 

The author himself in writing and talking about the program puts this in a strongly Christian way, as if not having Christian meaning negates everything. The materials do not have that same strong slant. They encourage good over evil, and deeper meaning, but do not say those things specifically come from God, Christianity or for that matter that they don't come from other sources.

 

Oh, I have often seen this lesson pointed out as the most overtly Christian and offensive. You can decide if it is too much for you.

[KarenNC]

Thanks! I've seen that sample lesson and, if that's the worst of it, I think it will be workable for us. I agree with him about meaning being important in writing, and even that deeper meaning often comes from a religious basis, just not that the only place it can come from is Christianity.:) My bigger beef is usually with authors who claim that there is no deeper meaning to stories like Greek and Roman mythology---that it's all just silly, ignorant superstitions. We spent a lot of time talking about the deeper meaning in the stories of many cultures and how it related to their religious perspectives---Egypt, Greece, Rome, China, Japan, etc--as we went through the ancients last year, as well as how Christianity redacted the stories of Judaism to fit them to the Christian worldview and how Islam's perspective on those same stories is yet again different because of the religious assumptions they use as a filter. We're doing the same with the medieval literature this year (particularly in terms of the Christian redactions into the sagas right now). Maybe it helps that we are theists (just polytheists instead of monotheists;)) rather than atheists.

 

It will be interesting to use that lesson as a springboard for discussion on what I feel to be his fundamental misunderstanding of secular humanism (as well as the idea that they are the ones who invented stories with bathroom humor;)). That might also be a good time to bring in some material from Joseph Campbell's book, "Hero with a Thousand Faces." I don't 100% agree with Campbell, either, but find him useful. Anyone know of instructional material for kids using Campbell's work?

 

Now to find a way to justify the expense of getting it when there's not the ability to resell or get a new student book if you do get it used......

[Mom22ns]

In addition to not being able to sell it or get a workbook without buying the whole thing, you would also miss the forums and other regular communication from the Schwabauers. They send out newsletters and offer live webinars. The forums give the opportunity to connect to other students, but also to ask questions from Daniel Schwabauer directly. The full purchased product is fabulous!

 

It is by far the most I have ever spent on a single subject (I buy everything used), but it was worth it!

[KarenNC]

In addition to not being able to sell it or get a workbook without buying the whole thing, you would also miss the forums and other regular communication from the Schwabauers. They send out newsletters and offer live webinars. The forums give the opportunity to connect to other students, but also to ask questions from Daniel Schwabauer directly. The full purchased product is fabulous!

 

It is by far the most I have ever spent on a single subject (I buy everything used), but it was worth it!

 

All of that does sound really good, and if I had more than one child to use the majority of the material with, it would be easier (I say that about a lot of curricula:)). That way I could just buy an extra workbook and decrease the cost per kid, making it easier to justify that sort of expenditure. <sigh>

 

I'm hoping that Homeschool Buyer's Co-op will have a good deal on it before we would need the program (I have until year after next).

 

BTW, how do you like the Intellego unit on health? I am also very intrigued by their products.

[Mom22ns]

The Intellego Health is getting the job done. I added a few whole books to it and ds doesn't hate it :tongue_smilie:.

 

The pdf itself has very little information, it is mostly a collection of links. They are good links though. They all work and there are a variety, videos, text, and activities. I read each unit and make assignments. There have been just a couple of links I thought weren't worth the effort, but it seems like a good choice for a secular curriculum written to the student so very little parent involvement is required. I preview, he hands in a few written assignments and we discuss occasionally. That fits my level of commitment.