seeking reviews for history at PA Homeschoolers

[Sunshine State Sue]

If your child has taken World History, European History, or Human Geography at PA Homeschoolers, would you please share your experience with me? Do you have an opinion on which is easier and which is harder?

 

Thanks!

[kangato3]

My 10th grade dd is currently taking AP Human Geography with PA Homeschoolers. We don't have experience with the other two history classes you mentioned. My understanding is that the history ones are much more essay intensive, which is why we chose Human Geography for her first AP.

 

So far, work has consisted of reading from two textbooks, answering textbook questions, practical application exercises, a couple of projects involving exploration in the community, two or three essays (mostly focused on explaining concepts, using the learned terminology), vocabulary work, on-line quizzes, watching and responding to video clips. The upcoming semester will also include a collaborative project with another class member.

 

While the writing requirements are probably much easier than the history courses, the reading has definitely been a challenge for dd - lots of unfamiliar concepts and terminology at a higher level of reading than she's used to. I would suspect that the reading in the history classes builds upon prior learning for most homeschooled students. That said, she is doing well in the class, but spends about 10 to 15 hours per week. Also, she has been much more attuned to current world events, and I notice that she can discuss certain situations fairly intelligently. While she would never want to major in this field and finds the reading to be a chore, she has found the class very interesting.

 

I hope others will chime in on World History and European History.

[dirty ethel rackham]

Ds18 took AP US History last year with Mr. Burns. He loved the class. It was a lot of work, but he received excellent, timely feedback. Writing is not his strongest point, but he constantly improved managed a 4 on the AP exam, which was commensurate with his class grade. It required a different kind of studying that the AP Physics B exam, which he got a 5 (not with PA Homeschoolers.) He is currently taking AP World History with Mrs. Harrison and really likes it. Time will tell how well he does on the exam, but he is improving every week and receives decent feedback. She is a little slower to grade work than Mr. Burns was, but ds feels it is timely.

 

Ds15 is currently taking AP Human Geography. He is enjoying the class. However, he can be a little clueless on what he is supposed to be doing and has a lower grade due to not understanding the expectations. (Part of this is my fault because I wasn't checking in often enough and firmly enough to know where he was struggling.