Biology--If you could choose between...

[Caitilin]

If you could choose between (twin) dc taking a class at the well-regarded catholic high school everyday, involving their driving 20 miles each way or a once a week co-op class, same distance, which would would you choose? (There is a SIGNIFICANT difference in cost to consider as well. )

 

Thoughts?:001_smile:

[regentrude]

I would not drive twice twenty miles daily. No way.

Are they driving themselves? Still not fond of the idea.

I'd pick the coop if I had to chose one of the options (even though I do not consider a once-a-week coop remotely equivalent to a daily class.)

I'd probably much rather teach them at home.

[TiaTia]

If it were me . . . I'd only drive to a daily bio class if EO Wilson were teaching it!

[busymama7]

I would not drive twice twenty miles daily. No way.

Are they driving themselves? Still not fond of the idea.

I'd pick the coop if I had to chose one of the options (even though I do not consider a once-a-week coop remotely equivalent to a daily class.)

I'd probably much rather teach them at home.

 

 

Usually there are daily assignment to do though right? I have heard you and others make similar statements before but for my kids co-op classes they have lots of work to complete and easily spend an hr a day on their course work outside of the once a week class.

[regentrude]

Usually there are daily assignment to do though right? I have heard you and others make similar statements before but for my kids co-op classes they have lots of work to complete and easily spend an hr a day on their course work outside of the once a week class.

 

Sure, that might well be - but if the majority of work is done at home outside of class, I would very closely investigate what the once-a-week-class is actually offering that I could not do myself.

[SuperDad]

Sure, that might well be - but if the majority of work is done at home outside of class, I would very closely investigate what the once-a-week-class is actually offering that I could not do myself.

 

:iagree:

 

Unless the teacher of the 1x/week class is an expert in biology, I would not choose this class.

[busymama7]

Sure, that might well be - but if the majority of work is done at home outside of class, I would very closely investigate what the once-a-week-class is actually offering that I could not do myself.

 

 

I understand this of course. And everyone has to make their own decisions. But for our family, having the classroom interaction with other kids and the social factor, not to mention someone else organizing all the labs, purchasing the materials etc is invaluable to me. I personally stink at doing the labs. Having someone else help with this and having my kids be able to do the labs with others has worked out great for us.

 

It is just annoying to me to have everyone discredit co-op classes as a matter of course. They can and do work very well for a lot of us:001_smile:

[busymama7]

:iagree:

 

Unless the teacher of the 1x/week class is an expert in biology, I would not choose this class.

 

 

But see for ME, I am not expecting the teacher to teach everything my child needs to know. They were using DIVE at home and while I wasnt super happy with the program, it did give them readings, lectures, review questions etc. The teacher helped faciliate the labs and classroom reviews, but I wasnt expecting her to do all the teaching. In other words, I didnt give up all responsibilty to the teacher/mom. Maybe some hs moms are doing that and that is what you see. But it is not like that in every situation.

[AK_Mom4]

I would consider the once-a-week coop Biology class if the class time was focused on the hands-on labs. Dissection, microscopes, that sort of thing, with the out-of-class assignments being the reading and book work. The labs can be tricky to do on your own without the right equipment.

 

I would not transport daily 20 miles each way or have them drive. Between gas prices and winter driving, it just wouldn't work. I do know people commuting that far for work daily, but I wouldn't do it for just one class.

[Caitilin]

I would consider the once-a-week coop Biology class if the class time was focused on the hands-on labs. Dissection, microscopes, that sort of thing, with the out-of-class assignments being the reading and book work. The labs can be tricky to do on your own without the right equipment.

 

I would not transport daily 20 miles each way or have them drive. Between gas prices and winter driving, it just wouldn't work. I do know people commuting that far for work daily, but I wouldn't do it for just one class.

 

The bolded is my concern, really. I can facilitate book-work fine, but if a knowledgeable person can teach/facilitate the labs and provide additional information and explanations, that is worth it to me. I have a weak science background, and want better for my dc; my teaching them would not be the best option in our case. ;) If you want a teacher for a lit class, I'm your girl--science, not so much.:001_smile:

[mumto2]

Too far to drive daily especially since you have a good option for labs and help keeping things in focus. Go with the co op it should suit your needs.:001_smile:

[Brenda in MA]

The bolded is my concern, really. I can facilitate book-work fine, but if a knowledgeable person can teach/facilitate the labs and provide additional information and explanations, that is worth it to me. I have a weak science background, and want better for my dc; my teaching them would not be the best option in our case. ;) If you want a teacher for a lit class, I'm your girl--science, not so much.:001_smile:

 

I would go with the once/wk coop class. Sure, as the others said, you might be able to teach them yourself at home, but the class will provide someone else for them to answer to, and that can be very valuable for some dc. I would not consider driving 40 miles each day for them to take biology. Maybe when they are juniors or seniors and can drive themselves, that option might be more feasible, but IMHO, that's still a lot of driving for one class.

 

Brenda