Any others who don't follow teachers guides out there?

[a27mom]

Why do you think you are that way? Is it a good or bad thing for you? Any pitfalls you have noticed that you could pass on to a newer homeschooler?

 

I have always been almost incapable of following a teacher's guide. I have taught Sunday School and things like that for years, and never really follow the curriculum closely. Now I love to teach! But I have always used curriculum as a scope and sequence with some activity suggestions I might use. I would much rather learn information well myself then teach it my own way, or the students way. At first I thought it might be an issue with being undisciplined and a bit "rebellious" ;). But now I wonder if it is because I really enjoy teaching, and have been told I am good at it. I just don't get that teaching joy/high when I am following someone else's directions.

 

Just wondering what others thoughts were.

 

Oh and if you are a non teacher's guide follower. What programs have you found you can work with well? For example, I just discovered that there is a WWE book that gives you the basic concepts, the 4 year scope and sequence and some examples, so you don't have to use the scripted workbooks. Such a relief! It is nice to have some basic structure laid out, but such a relief to be able to pick my own passages and pacing. (Which was a lot harder to adjust with the big workbook)

[Mystie]

I am that way! I think it's twofold: 1) the scripts are for people who are not confident teaching ad-lib, but the books I have read seem to agree that "real" teaching is done out of the teacher's own mind and not by following a script. 2) there's a personality component, too. Some people are rule-follower, checklist-oriented people, and they like a script laid out to follow (SJs, for Myers-Briggs people). I am an autonomy-oriented person (NT, in Myers-Briggs), and so I prefer doing my own thing rather than following someone else's system. I'm not sure how the other two MB types relate to scripts, but my guess is that it would have to do more with their confidence and what sort of curriculum it is.   

[Orthodox6]

Shaking hands with you!  :001_smile:

 

Most of the time I disregard the teacher manuals (except for the answer keys).  Perhaps the worst products are from ABeka.  The teaching plan is for outside schools, even though they are labeled as for homeschool.  The subject content is fragmented, with "busy work" incorporated into each day.  (i.e. assignments for the student to do while the teacher is teaching or preparing something else)  Non-sensible spacing of assignments.  . . .  Another total loser was Saxon math -- the entire Saxon program, to be honest; however, here I refer to their scripted dumb-down-the-child K-3 textbooks. 

 

In general, I came into homeschooling (nineteen years ago) fully expecting to teach only material which I first had reviewed myself because that is the minimum expected from a teacher. 

 

I appreciate very much having lesson schedules and plans for a curricular product.  I teach the material my own way, though.  A good DVD support product is worth it (such as the lesson DVDs we bought to accompany Jacobs algebra I text).   

[a27mom]

I am that way! I think it's twofold: 1) the scripts are for people who are not confident teaching ad-lib, but the books I have read seem to agree that "real" teaching is done out of the teacher's own mind and not by following a script. 2) there's a personality component, too. Some people are rule-follower, checklist-oriented people, and they like a script laid out to follow (SJs, for Myers-Briggs people). I am an autonomy-oriented person (NT, in Myers-Briggs), and so I prefer doing my own thing rather than following someone else's system. I'm not sure how the other two MB types relate to scripts, but my guess is that it would have to do more with their confidence and what sort of curriculum it is.

I am an NT too :). That makes sense

[Rachel]

I am a rule following, check list, black & white type of person, BUT I hate the scripts.  If I am clueless on a subject I may read through it first, but I usually find them awkward and not the way I speak or way I would teach.

[Lori D.]

An INFJ here who canNOT use a curriculum as written. ;)

 

I attribute it to my need as teacher to be personally (relationally) involved with the material, and to adapt it to uniquely fit my students (the helping/relational side of my INFJ personality again).

 

Plus, there are so many great programs out there, it's just too much fun to put together the best "bits" from all of them and create something even more spectacular! ;) Guess that scratches the creative itch in my personality.

 

 

PS -- ETA 

In answer to your question: "if you are a non teacher's guide follower. What programs have you found you can work with well?"

 

I think some of the BEST programs are the ones that teach YOU how to teach and be adaptable -- Joyce Herzog was that for me with Grammar. As for specific programs that worked well (for me) to not follow the guide, #1 has to be the WTM book as a very general guide to make sure I was covering all the topics. After that:

 

- What Your ____ Grader Needs To Know series (easy to dip in and out as needed, use how you want)

- Miquon (can use as spiral and/or mastery!)

- Beautiful Feet Geography Guide and map pack (schedule how you want, take as long/little time as you want, bunny trail as much as you want)

- ideas from IEW for writing (such as key word outlines, and spreading writing out in steps of a process over a week)

- Ruth Beechick/Sonlight dictation (took the basic idea and made our own, focusing on points each week that individual students needed)

- Winston Grammar (ease to adapt and do it our own way)

- English from the Roots Up vocabulary (easily adapted and did it our own way)

- Wordsmith Apprentice (VERY easy to schedule/adapt as you want)

- Jump In Writing (VERY easy to schedule/adapt as you want)

- literature guides as a springboard for our own questions / discussion / literary analysis

[TracyP]

I don't follow teacher's guides, either. I take the big picture / overview from them and then teach it my own way.

 

I don't know why I am that way. I am an INTJ, so I guess that could play into it. One could also argue that it is my rebellious nature. There is no denying that I do not like being told what to do. ;) I like to think that the real reason is because it is the ideal way to teach. Know the material yourself and then decide how to present it. Like you, OP, I do the same with my sunday school lessons. I can't imagine any other way.

 

Tapestry of Grace is another program(besides some that have been listed) that works well for me. However, I am pretty sure I could make anything work except a boxed curriculum.

 

[ElizabethB]

I am an INTP. I don't even like the script that I wrote myself for my phonics stuff...I use it as a guide when I haven't taught for a while to make sure I don't forget any spelling rules. I find myself thinking, hey, don't tell me what to say...wait, that was me, is that Sybil like or strange, how can I be arguing with myself?

 

But, my instructions are over scripted at the request of my volunteers who wanted idiot proof, I might be able to follow my own instructions if they were shorter, but who knows, I might feel compelled to tweak that, too...

 

I do like a few scripted programs overall, I just read the script and then do my own thing, I cannot stand to read a script.

[prairiegirl]

For the most part I do not use teacher's guides.  The times that I do use them is when I do not know the subject as well as I need to.  I am finding this is happening more now that I have a high school student. But even then I read over the notes and then present the info in a way that seems natural to me.    I find that many the info in teacher's guides are more complicated than they need to be (for ex. BJU math.)

[Spy Car]

I'm an INFJ/sometimes INTJ, and that's definitely my style as well. I have been puzzled at the way so many people swear you can't do Miquon, Singapore, etc., without the teacher's guide, when to me it all makes sense from the student materials. I don't think I could stand a fully scripted curriculum. That said, if I had a larger family, I would be looking for more open-and-go materials.

The reason people (such as myself) recommend the teachers materials in Miquon and Singapore isn't because the worksheets can't be figured out by people with some math intuition. Instead it goes to the point in the OP where she says:

 

"I would much rather learn information well myself then teach it my own way."

 

The Teachers materials for these programs help parents "learn the information well." They both (and especially Miquon) cover the underlying mathematics in a far deeper way in the Teachers materials than what can be gleaned from the text. The purpose it not to provide a "script," but to help cultivate the knowledge base of parent/teachers. They are to help them "learn the information well."

 

I'm as unscripted as they come. I would totally rebel at following scripted lesson. But I know how deep the Teacher resources are in programs like Miquon and Singapore. If someone wants to learn a subject well they are important resources to read.

 

Bill

[ElizabethB]

I do have the Singapore HIGs, and buy teachers manuals, I just use them to learn more, but not directly to teach, only indirectly.

[Walking-Iris]

Another one here who does not follow the teacher's guides. Like others have said I do appreciate having them. They are useful for a quick review of what is being covered, or to glean general ideas for strategy or activity ideas. But mostly I tend to teach from a very personal and creative place.

 

I think it's why I immediately fell in love with all things Bravewriter. I do however enjoy our WWE workbooks. I initially thought I would just use the Complete Writer text, but with my busy life I found it so much easier to have those excerpt selections laid out for me. I do change it however. We skip or combine and I don't follow the WWE recommendations in what to say to a kid. And for whatever reason not one of my children has ever liked the idea of me writing down their narration and having them dictate it. I much prefer the Bravewriter concept of narrations being a "juicy conversation."

 

I can't stand anything overly scripted. OPGTR and FLL are the two things I use that are heavily scripted. Annoys me to no end. I basically just skim and get the idea of the lesson and go about it in my own way. I wanted to use RightStart, but I just couldn't stand the samples I saw. Looks like a great program, and we are enjoying the card game aspect, but I couldn't tolerate a math book telling me what to say to a kid. 

 

I am however loving the Saxon books in the higher grades. I eventually realized I was at a place where I needed my oldest ds's math to be a daily lesson. Something predictable and reliable that he could get done somewhat independently. He prefers it too. 

 

I'm also loving History Odyssey. A checklist...yes. A teacher guide...sort of. But it works for me because there are options to pick and choose from. Instead of being a lesson, it's a checklist of ideas and book lists that I can feel comfortable pulling together our own lessons from. 

 

I definitely have that rebellious spirit. I just cannot follow a script or follow a curriculum or homeschooling method "properly."

 

I actually have somewhat of a visceral reaction when someone says "well unless you do xyz you're not doing Waldorf/Montessori/CM/Classical etc. right." Yeah...whatever. ;)

[Ellie]

INTJ here. :-)

 

It depends. I don't like *scripts* necessarily which is one reason HOD makes my eyeballs hurt, lol.

 

OTOH, some things require you to follow the teacher guide in order to get the best results. Spalding is an excellent example of that. I have talked to multiple people who were sure they were doing Spalding, but they were not following the manual (WRTR), and they were frustrated by the lack of success.

 

I won't buy products that require you to spend big bucks for the TE; ACSI's Purposeful Design materials are like this--all subjects really required the use of the TM to get the best results, because that's where the actual instruction is, not in the student materials.  

[Walking-Iris]

INTJ here. :-)

 

It depends. I don't like *scripts* necessarily which is one reason HOD makes my eyeballs hurt, lol.

 

OTOH, some things require you to follow the teacher guide in order to get the best results. Spalding is an excellent example of that. I have talked to multiple people who were sure they were doing Spalding, but they were not following the manual (WRTR), and they were frustrated by the lack of success.

 

I won't buy products that require you to spend big bucks for the TE; ACSI's Purposeful Design materials are like this--all subjects really required the use of the TM to get the best results, because that's where the actual instruction is, not in the student materials.  

 

This is such a great point. It's why I do buy teacher's guides and read them. Sequential Spelling is like this. I love it. BUT if someone didn't take the time to fully understand how it works and how to teach it....well it's not going to work. 

 

Ahhh--WRTR. I want to do it so badly. I have it staring at me from my shelf---taunting me. (But I guess that's another discussion.)

 

Even Bravewriter is like this to some extent. I like these programs that expect you to learn a way of doing something, but leave you free to implement how it works best for you. 

 

Room for teacher creativity. Overly scripted or strict interpretations of a method or curriculum don't really leave much wiggle room. 

 

This is also why I don't curriculum hop too often. I expect that *I'm* teaching my kids this stuff, not a curriculum. 

[Dmmetler]

I'm an INTJ and hate teaching from a script. I like having teacher's guides for the purpose of reading for my reference and then going from there, and have done teacher training workshops for curricula I'm interested in using if I have the option of doing so. I want to know the author's intent-and then tweak from there.

 

Part of that is that I'm a music specialist. In music, the is a strong focus on philosophy and teaching a given method-Orff, Kodaly, Dalcroze, Suzuki and understanding it very, very well-but there really isn't much scripting (and the things that are scripted tend to be written for people WITHOUT that understanding of the philosophy). So, a Suzuki book is simply a book of music, without any real instruction on how to teach. It is expected that you've already read, experienced, and internalized the Suzuki philosophy and method-at which point, the Suzuki books are only a tool. The same is true with the Orff volumes. The idea of teaching something you cannot do your self just never happens-you become an expert first, and THEN you teach.

 

So, I approached Singapore Math the same way-that is, I did the workshops, read the books, and learned the method and philosophy behind teaching in a Singapore way-and, at that point, the SM books were only a tool, and only one tool that I used. The same has been true with almost anything else I do-including the WTM. My HS failures have come when I have not taken that step to learn the method first. Open-and-go simply doesn't work for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kbutton]

INTJ also. Echoing what so many of you have said, if I get the philosophy and have some resources for myself, it's easy enough to keep the target in view and make my way there without following every prompt. I think I'm also pretty decent at spotting curriculum that's fairly compatible with the way I approach things. I have been very thankful that I haven't (so far) needed something like Spalding that requires a great deal of rule-following, though if I really had to use it, I could probably make myself do it. I think I'm also pretty good at seeing where my students are at and taking them forward in the most efficient way possible (lots of time spent tutoring others when I was a kid). I often plan out what to do with the kids a few days at a time and depart from that when the time comes, but I feel free to depart because I've scouted out the pitfalls, goals, etc. ahead of time.

 

I probably shouldn't be surprised about the number of INTJs on here, but I am. I don't really know any female INTJs in real life (at least not that I currently get to spend time with).

[jar7709]

Also INTJ.  I hate scripted programs--Bravewriter and BFSU and similar are my favorites.  I do use a few things that are lightly scripted, like MBtP, but I read them over and change it up to our own purposes. In our local group, I was starting to feel like a rare bird!  Woo-hoo Hive!

 

My one worry is that my favorite methods might not be the best for my kids' own styles.  Luckily, I think DS is shaping up to be INTJ as well, and DD something similar. She tends to take after DH and he can't/doesn't want to remember his M-B, but he's not drastically different from me.  And I'm a little skeptical of M-B in some ways anyway.   At least that INTJ nature keeps me aware of this potential issue so I can adapt if necessary.  ;D

[Mystie]

Probably homeschooling and online writing outlets attract an unusually high percentage of INTJ/INTP. :) I don't know any others IRL, but lots online.

[Korrale]

Do not like scripted. I don't really follow teachers guides too much. Most of the time I just need to be told the big idea, smaller ideas and a list of vocabulary can be nice.

However I have studied early childhood education for over a dozen years formally and informally and I don't often come across anything new as far as strategies go. Often new strategies are old ones revamped. If I do come across something new. Like Vedic math or Singaporean graphing I study it myself first from various sources until I feel competent enough to teach it.