MommyThrice Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Can anyone recommend an online AP Comparative Government. Ds is INSISTENT that he wants to take this next year and I have no idea how to write my own AP course. Anyone with experience? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Pennsylvania Homeschoolers has a good AP Comp Gov't class. Ds enjoyed it very much, and it did a great job preparing him for the AP exam. http://98.130.222.129/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MommyThrice Posted March 5, 2012 Author Share Posted March 5, 2012 Thanks. I don't know anything about PA Homeschoolers. Do you have any idea of their worldview or philosophy of government, etc? We strongly favor our own republican form of government and a free market economy. I obviously want my kids to study other cultures and governments, I just don't want to pay someone to undermine our values. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 The course focused on the mechanics of the other governments. The teacher focused on covering the material in the class -- namely, what the other forms of government were like. My son is a strong libertarian, and he enjoyed the class enormously. In my kids' government classes at PAH, most (though certainly NOT all) of the kids have been conservative. The teacher is used to teaching homeschoolers -- he is not out to undermine family beliefs but merely to cover the material that needs to be covered. There will undoubtedly be some things in the class that you disagree with, but by talking with your son about what he is learning you can weigh in with your viewpoint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MommyThrice Posted March 5, 2012 Author Share Posted March 5, 2012 Thanks, Gwen. I didn't mean to suggest anything negative - I just wanted to know where they are coming from. We've been spending a decent amount of time on college campuses for my son's moot court competitions, and I've been really shocked by some of what I'm hearing. I can't afford to be naive and take anyone's beliefs for granted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 http://www.aphomeschoolers.com/index.html?022412 You might read these reviews of the class -- they may give you more of a feel for what the class is like. My son really liked the class and didn't find anything troubling about it. My kids have had a total of 13 AP classes, many in the humanities, so I totally understand your concerns about worldview. One comment -- even if you disagree with some of what is taught in the class, having your son encounter different ideas while at home opens up huge areas of discussion. It's harder to have those discussions if he is away at college when he meets certain controversial ideas for the first time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in CA Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Pennsylvania Homeschoolers has a good AP Comp Gov't class. Ds enjoyed it very much, and it did a great job preparing him for the AP exam. Gwen, this is reassuring! My son is in this class right now, and I was just starting to panic about the seeming *lack* of test prep. :willy_nilly: So far the exams don't seem to have used the same types of essay questions as on the AP exam. The teacher did suggest prepping on your own using Wood and/or Wedding ... Can I ask if your son did a fair amount of prep on his own? I guess the other AP classes my son has taken built the test prep into the course ... I'm not seeing that here. :confused: I think my son knows the material cold -- but I know that if you don't write the essay questions in the "right" way, supporting the answer with all the evidence, you don't get full credit ... Thank you for any advice! ~Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 All of my kids have worked through at least one (if not more) AP prep book before taking the AP exam, even when the class provides lots of review. My ds didn't do any more prep than that, but he did our "standard" amount of outside prep. That's peculiar that the class exams don't seem to have the same type of essay questions as the AP exams. Maybe the teacher has changed something about the class...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MommyThrice Posted March 6, 2012 Author Share Posted March 6, 2012 Is it possible for a student to do this on his own - no classroom - with just the test prep books and a textbook? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in CA Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 All of my kids have worked through at least one (if not more) AP prep book before taking the AP exam, even when the class provides lots of review. My ds didn't do any more prep than that, but he did our "standard" amount of outside prep. That's peculiar that the class exams don't seem to have the same type of essay questions as the AP exams. Maybe the teacher has changed something about the class...? OK, thanks, Gwen! I guess my son's previous AP classes (Calc BC & Comp Sci) were so complete, he didn't need to do any outside prep. He says they've had three exams in Comp Gov so far with two essay questions each, so that's only 6 ... and the exam is in just over two months. He's started doing the prep book on his own. I just didn't anticipate this ... But now I feel all set. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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