Julie in MO Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 I bought My Father's World American History for my two HS age DD's. They really like the materials, but they hoped to also do a few other things this year including Critical Thinking Press' You Be the Judge (a study of the Bill of Rights) and The Art of Argument. Additionally, we planned to read the Constitution aloud and discuss it and watch the American Heritage DVD series. MFW is already complete and gives a 1/2 credit for history and 1/2 credit for government. What do you think....would adding these things in make the government class a full credit? The Art of Argument is really a logic curriculum, however, we wanted to use it to judge political advertising as we gear up for the election. Or, should we just do these extra things and consider them good for us and not mess with credits? What would you do? Thanks in advance for giving me opinions. Blessings, Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 Just my opinion. If you feel comfortable calling it a full credit, then absolutely do! I've been busy catching up with three years of course descriptions, so my mind leans that way. I would just add those extra things to the course description as primary texts. Re the Art of Argument, you can certainly slant it to suit your purpose, "as an in depth study judging political advertising during a presidential election year." My philosophy is to count whatever I can. Dd and I have tried to keep a running list of any remotely considered schoolwork over the past year so I can add it to her descriptions. I wish I'd kept better track throughout her high school career. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 I have a tendency to "overstuff" credits, do more than what a traditional school or curriculum might require. I like to make sure we're really covering the bases (in case anyone ever questioned a credit). But also, I realized recently, I want to teach my kids that being a good student means going above and beyond and that rewards in the form of credits shouldn't be the motivating factor for doing well in school. So, for example, do we spend more time on literature and writing than is required to justify a credit? Sure, but he gets just one English credit per year. The only time I spin off and give more credits is if the work is genuinely different in topic or focus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MO Posted August 12, 2012 Author Share Posted August 12, 2012 Appreciate the thoughts. Blessings, Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Aren't government classes pretty standardized at half a credit? If so, I would only make it a full credit if you are trying to emphasize a strong and abiding interest in the topic (potential major, etc). Otherwise, I would leave it alone. Either if I was pretty sure I was going to use it as a full credit, I wouldn't 'count' it towards their minimum - in other words, I wouldn't plan future years based on that being a full credit. That gives you leeway to count it that way or not closer to the time when they apply to college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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