ByGrace3 Posted April 3, 2017 Share Posted April 3, 2017 My dd is currently taking EW1 with WTMA, and I am trying to make a decision about next year. I know for 8th my plan is as of now for her to do WH FOEW. I have liked WWS and dd is doing well, but as it ramps up I am wondering if she could use a year to shore up the skills she learned this year and just practice writing across the curriculum for 7th like we did in 5th (and had a great year!). Dd is a bit ambivalent. She likes the class, but does not like the loss of flexibility with timing. My big question is, what does she need to be prepared for FOEW? I am fairly certain that after WWS 1-2 she would be good to do into FOEW, but what about only after WWS1. I imagine we will cover some of the topics in WWS 2, but not all as I would have a more diverse year with writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted April 3, 2017 Share Posted April 3, 2017 So, I have a kid in FOEW this year. Writing is a huge strength for her. She's been stretched because the teacher is awesome and really expects a ton from those kids. -One of the things you need going into this class is strong reading skills. They read The Odyssey - not a retelling, but a real translation. They will be reading Shakespeare's Julius Caesar at the end of this semester. -Maturity. They read select parts of The Canterbury Tales. The middle school short stories book they read from is really tough in terms of content, IMO. Dark, chilling, morose tales. (Yuck for me & my dd! My dh loves them.) They need to be flexible to learn a new style of writing if they haven't done topic sentence, concrete detail, at least two sentences of commentary, and then concluding sentence. The teacher is really strict on this during the first part of the year. The teacher keeps them busy the whole year. There is very little downtime, ever. There is reading, writing, vocab, questions to answer, etc. all year long. IMO, it is a good non-honors Freshman level class. There are several of us with kids in FOEW this year & a few that took it in previous years that should chime in with other thoughts. It is a great class and has really stretched my DD. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h2bh Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 I'm one of those with a kid who took it last year. I would recommend having solid grammar skills in place. I second the importance of reading and the difficult selections. This class will push the students to think deeply. My child had never written an essay before the class and did well. (We did classical writing before.) The class itself teaches the essay so I don't think that it is necessary to be concerned with practicing essays. A hard working student who is focused in class should thrive. My dd enjoyed rising to the challenge and can't wait to take another Mrs. Lange class. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourisenough Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 We'll, I don't have BTDT experience (yet), but I am one who was tempted to enroll my DD in FOEW after WWS1, but decided to wait until after WWS2. In our case, I think that was a very good decision. She has always been an advanced reader/strong writer, but I am seeing her maturity grow rapidly this year, so ultimately I think she will get more out of FOEW next year than she would have if I had put her in it a year ago. I like the idea of either writing across the curriculum or completing WWS2 (with or without the class) before embarking upon FOEW. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 Just bumping this to say that we just found out today that Mrs. Lange is not teaching FOEW next year. (Mrs. Lange apparently is going to do something else? I believe it was her decision.) WHA has pulled her name from the class registration page. There was already a different teacher for one of the sections. Mrs. Lange's sections are now "to be determined." Mrs. Lange is an awesome teacher. I hope she comes back for future years because I want my next kid to take a class of hers at some point! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourisenough Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 Just bumping this to say that we just found out today that Mrs. Lange is not teaching FOEW next year. (Mrs. Lange apparently is going to do something else? I believe it was her decision.) WHA has pulled her name from the class registration page. There was already a different teacher for one of the sections. Mrs. Lange's sections are now "to be determined." Mrs. Lange is an awesome teacher. I hope she comes back for future years because I want my next kid to take a class of hers at some point! Okay, that might be a deal-breaker. I hope their refund policy will be flexible in light of this teacher-switch-a-roo! I registered SPECIFICALLY because of the feedback on her as a teacher. Feeling very frustrated right now... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yvonne Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Mrs. Lange is teaching classes on her own, now, I believe. Here's her site. Looks like she will be offering a couple of lit-based writing classes...."Intro to Persuasive Writing Through Literature" and "Lit & Composition Year 1." She really is a good English teacher! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalypso Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Mrs. Lange is teaching classes on her own, now, I believe. Here's her site. Looks like she will be offering a couple of lit-based writing classes...."Intro to Persuasive Writing Through Literature" and "Lit & Composition Year 1." She really is a good English teacher! I thought about switching my dd to her class, but did you notice the price? She may be a great teacher, but $1250 for the year is way too much for us! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourisenough Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 Okay, that might be a deal-breaker. I hope their refund policy will be flexible in light of this teacher-switch-a-roo! I registered SPECIFICALLY because of the feedback on her as a teacher. Feeling very frustrated right now... Quoting myself here to follow-up to let you know how this is playing out. I received an e-mail from WHA notifying us of the teacher change and the reduction from four to three sections of FoEW. They very generously offered a full refund for any students who decided not to remain in the class (either due to the teacher change or schedule change). Given their rather unforgiving withdrawal/refund policy, I was glad to see this. I have also spoken with Mrs. Lange regarding her new academy. You're all right; she is wonderful. I think I'm going to make the switch. For any of you who are turned-off by her price, I encourage you to reach out to her to let her know you're interested. She seems willing to work with families (especially those who were registered in her FoEW sections at WHA) while she's building her brand. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 I have also spoken with Mrs. Lange regarding her new academy. You're all right; she is wonderful. I think I'm going to make the switch. For any of you who are turned-off by her price, I encourage you to reach out to her to let her know you're interested. She seems willing to work with families (especially those who were registered in her FoEW sections at WHA) while she's building her brand. Unless there are technical issues with getting her classes going, I don't think you will be disappointed with Mrs. Lange. I hope she hasn't priced herself out of the market because she really is a master teacher who works with each kid where they are. Glad to see WHA offering a full refund if the teacher and/or time change didn't work. That's great to hear, even for those who won't be taking advantage of it. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2vikha Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 I spoke to Mrs. Lange today and what an amazing person! I am on a fence between two providers now. So want to enroll my daughter in Mrs. Lange's academy. She sounds like a wonderful wonderful teacher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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