OnMyOwn Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 (edited) I changed the title of this thread because I figured out the answer to my original question. But, I have another. :001_smile: How did you figure out the best placement for your child in these online classes? I have read the descriptions thoroughly. It is just so hard to tell what the class will actually be like. I have a tendency to be cautious, so I do not usually try to place my daughter in the more advanced class if the teacher indicates that there may be any benefit to doing the lower class. However, this has backfired on me in the past. My dd just repeated an entire year of Latin and I'm aggravated with myself because it was such a waste of time and money. This isn't the first time I've made this mistake and these classes are expensive. I read the description for the Blue Tent English 1 class, it says: "Honors English 1 is designed for students who feel the need for more practice with composing and editing paragraphs that utilize sound grammar and punctuation, a variety of sentence structures and word choices, topic sentences and closing sentences, and integrated support quotes and commentary" This is absolutely not where my daughter is in her writing and sounds like it would be taking her quite a step back. On the other hand, they say one of the goals of the class is to write a solid literary analysis essay and a research paper. My dd hasn't had instruction on writing a research paper in years. She does, however, know how to use MLA formatting. She just wrote a paper that I would consider a research paper in applying for a summer camp, but I'm sure she still could learn something about writing research papers. She wrote a paper this year in her omnibus class on Satan's epithet's after reading Paradise Lost and she had to write her own parody after reading Gulliver's Travels. I'm not sure though of exactly what is meant by a literary analysis essay? Would the ones she wrote this year fall in that category? Also, I see that they use Abeka grammar & composition II for the level 1 class. I actually like that book and really wanted my dd to use it this year, but we used Analytical Grammar instead because it was quick, easy to use, and I had it on hand. I'm not sure she needs a lot more grammar instruction and really wasn't planning on doing any more. How much time is spent on the abeka book? It sounds like it could be a significant part of the class homework. I'd be grateful for any guidance anyone can offer on this. I am going to ask Blue Tent as well, but I'd like to have a good idea of where I think she belongs beforehand. Edited February 19, 2016 by OnMyOwn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnMyOwn Posted February 19, 2016 Author Share Posted February 19, 2016 (edited) * Edited February 19, 2016 by OnMyOwn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunshineMom Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 I have been back in forth about Blue Tent Literature & Composition classes. Not to muddy the waters but another provider may offer some insight. Classical Resources Learning Center offers several high school courses in American, British and World Literature & composition. Generally six-seven novels are assigned along with four essays and two exams. The class meets weekly for two hours to discuss novels, assignments and progress. http://www.clrconline.com/lit-comp/ 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnMyOwn Posted February 20, 2016 Author Share Posted February 20, 2016 I have been back in forth about Blue Tent Literature & Composition classes. Not to muddy the waters but another provider may offer some insight. Classical Resources Learning Center offers several high school courses in American, British and World Literature & composition. Generally six-seven novels are assigned along with four essays and two exams. The class meets weekly for two hours to discuss novels, assignments and progress. http://www.clrconline.com/lit-comp/ Thanks, Jewel. It's so funny you mentioned CLRC. I had never even heard of them until last week and now you are the second person to recommend them to me. I've been looking into their Latin Readings class and just realized they also have literature & composition classes today. Have your children taken any of these classes? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunshineMom Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Yes, my dd is enjoying their literature and composition classes. I would review the Intro to Literature and Composition I and then send in a piece of your dd's writing to be evaluated. CLRC has been great to work with, very professional and supportive group. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnMyOwn Posted February 21, 2016 Author Share Posted February 21, 2016 Thanks again, Jewel! I really appreciate your reply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I have been back in forth about Blue Tent Literature & Composition classes. Not to muddy the waters but another provider may offer some insight. Classical Resources Learning Center offers several high school courses in American, British and World Literature & composition. Generally six-seven novels are assigned along with four essays and two exams. The class meets weekly for two hours to discuss novels, assignments and progress. http://www.clrconline.com/lit-comp/Thanks so much for mentioning this provider. Is it very heavily Christian?Blue tent seems to have a hard rule about kids' ages and I don't think they'll have mine this fall. Pity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Thanks so much for mentioning this provider. Is it very heavily Christian? Blue tent seems to have a hard rule about kids' ages and I don't think they'll have mine this fall. Pity. Circe has a hard age rule, too, unfortunately. I looked at Blue Tent today for a possible 8th grade course. How about fudging? J/k, actually Dd wouldn't take it for credit, just for her own edification in preparation for high school. Anyway there are other places. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunshineMom Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 CRLC high school courses are taken after Intro to Literature and Composition I or the equivalent. There is a recommended age range however I'm sure they can work with you. I haven't experienced the classes as overly religious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 CRLC high school courses are taken after Intro to Literature and Composition I or the equivalent. There is a recommended age range however I'm sure they can work with you. I haven't experienced the classes as overly religious.The intro CRLC class he is the "correct" age for.. He could totally handle the Blue Tent one too but I'm annoyed by their rather patronizing response and not going to pursue it further. Really thrilled to have seen this post, thank you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Circe has a hard age rule, too, unfortunately. I looked at Blue Tent today for a possible 8th grade course. How about fudging? J/k, actually Dd wouldn't take it for credit, just for her own edification in preparation for high school. Anyway there are other places.He is good for the intro class :) I didn't want the blue honors class for credit nor badly enough to fudge (though I am not beneath that lol). ;) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 The intro CRLC class he is the "correct" age for.. He could totally handle the Blue Tent one too but I'm annoyed by their rather patronizing response and not going to pursue it further. Really thrilled to have seen this post, thank you! What was their response? That's rather discouraging that they're so wedded to age/grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 What was their response? That's rather discouraging that they're so wedded to age/grade.Maybe it wasn't patronizing, I'm just used to providers deferring to the parent's view. It's a contrast to other providers (like Lukeion and Potter's School French teacher, as example) who very nicely pointed out certain aspect of the class that might not be appropriate for my child but left the decision to me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauranc Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 What was their response? That's rather discouraging that they're so wedded to age/grade. I don't know what their response would have been, but I do know that there are some very young kids in my son's high school bio class (through WTM Academy). While they may be able to do the actual work, their questions and comments during the live online classes are often so immature that it gets really frustrating to my son who is 15 (9th grade age). I can see why a provider might want to have a hard line on age for that reason alone. I don't know how this will come across being typed, but I don't mean it to sound rude. Just wanted to point out why there might be that age restriction. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 (edited) I don't know what their response would have been, but I do know that there are some very young kids in my son's high school bio class (through WTM Academy). While they may be able to do the actual work, their questions and comments during the live online classes are often so immature that it gets really frustrating to my son who is 15 (9th grade age). I can see why a provider might want to have a hard line on age for that reason alone. I don't know how this will come across being typed, but I don't mean it to sound rude. Just wanted to point out why there might be that age restriction. My son takes about 4-5 online classes per semester and it is his experience that it's not always the young kids being goofy. It annoys him too. :) Edited February 21, 2016 by madteaparty 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunshineMom Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 For us, the choice between Blue Tent and CLRC came down to how much interaction there would be between student & teacher. We preferred the more interactive and engaging weekly live class discussions with fellow students and teacher from CLRC. The course materials for Blue Tent's Honors Literature 1 &2 are comparable to CLRC's classes. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauranc Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 My son takes about 4-5 online classes per semester and it is his experience that it's not always the young kids being goofy. It annoys him too. :) It isn't just goofiness that he's encountered this year (although he's had some of that too, and yeah... sometimes it comes from the kid who is 15/16 yrs old :001_smile: ). But more about the kinds of questions and comments the younger kids make. I don't think they aren't trying, and I can overhear genuine curiosity about the subject. But often the questions/comments are those that would obviously come from a child who just doesn't have the kind of more 'mature' thought processes that a kid who is 4 years older might. I totally get a younger kid sometimes being academically ahead-- my 21 yr old was like that too. But when he was 11, he thought like an 11 year old. He had academic interests that were different than maybe an average 11 yr old-- but in the end, he was only 11 and he couldn't always keep up with teens who had a few years on him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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