TurnipGreen Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 (edited) If your child has been in Classical Conversations Challenge program (7th - 12th grade), I'd love to hear from you about what you and your child's experiences of this program. Are you glad you did/are doing Challenge? Why or why not? Pros/Cons? Does Challenge become your entire high school curricula or is it just a portion of what you do during the week? In short, I'd appreciate any thoughts concerning your child's participation in the Challenge program. Edited March 26, 2016 by TurnipGreen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 You might want to do a search. There are various threads that answer this question. This one has a summary of what we experienced and what we did afterwards: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/519090-left-cc-challenge-where-did-you-land/?hl=%2Bclassical+%2Bconversations&do=findComment&comment=5740553 For us, the one-size-fits all didn't work, and the expectations were not on par with our family's goals. I found that outsourcing a few selected classes worked better us and actually cost less. Also we had 4 1/2 or 5 days at home instead of 4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NatureMomma Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 I too am in the fence about this and would love some feedback. I have a going into 9th grade and I like less rigor and more Charlotte Mason overtones, and would also like to be able to pick and choose other stuff. The tutor I talked to in depth with, said it all depends on the family. It's designed to take over what's typically done at home, but not all students do all the work. I'm considering it because my daughter really wants class time with her peers, and it's the only thing around, but I just don't know... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 I'm considering it because my daughter really wants class time with her peers, and it's the only thing around, but I just don't know... A lot will depend on the mix of peers too. My oldest was happy with who was in his Challenge A and B classes, but then his two friends there went elsewhere (one to local classes, one to public high school). He was very unhappy in Challenge I with the other students. They didn't want to work and were far more into modern culture than he is. He was so relieved when we decided not to continue. He went to online classes for several subjects and liked that. My younger one ended up in a local history/lit/writing class once a week, and she loves that. It pushes her academically, and she likes the kids there a lot. That gives her enough local peer interaction. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanezomom Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 Turnip and Nature, ds completed Challenge A and B and he had a very good experience for the most part. We opted for a different route after that. I shared our experiences in a couple different CC threads but unfortunately, I don't know how to do a hyperlink. If you search the CC threads, you will see good information from the last couple years on the Challenge program. If you still have questions, please let me know and I will be glad to share. Our experience is very similar to G5052's. Distilled version: Quality depends on the tutor: their willingness to work hard, their own love of learning, and their ability to exercise appropriate authority with the kids. A couple students who joined the group for Challenge B changed the class dynamics and if a tutor can't steer things well, the serious students will get frustrated. I think at the higher levels, to expect a tutor to do a good job will all the material while also being a homeschool parent is a super-human expectation. We opted for "expert" help for 9th grade and up through co-op and online classes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 I think at the higher levels, to expect a tutor to do a good job will all the material while also being a homeschool parent is a super-human expectation. We opted for "expert" help for 9th grade and up through co-op and online classes. I agree. I received a classical education myself and went initially to a "great books" program in college, and I decided that directing Challenge would have too much impact on my own children. I had no doubt that I could handle the material, but I didn't want to neglect them because I had observed that among Challenge Directors who were still homeschooling. The directors were were "retired" homeschool parents of course were able to balance it all more easily. I realize that Latin is not a priority for everyone, but we especially noticed the different there. Having someone who truly knows Latin and how to teach a foreign language made a huge difference. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 We haven't done it but I was offered the position this week, for the fourth time, to tutor Challenge A. I have no Bachelor's. I have never studied Latin. I have never taught upper grade Science (my ds takes online classes for those)...I am intelligent and hard working...but...I was told I could learn all I needed from a 3 day seminar. I know the materials are chosen well, and the tutor is only a guide... but it always makes me wonder what kind of quality teaching you're really getting from the tutors in general. I think with some, you'll hit the jackpot. With others....probably not. Have you gone to observe? That's the most important thing you can do. If you can observe this year's class at least twice it;ll help you make decisions for next year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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