SonshineLearner Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Omnibus -v- Challenge (Classical Conversations) I'm wanting opinions from people familiar with Omnibus and CC. I am really interested in how you like either one. I know that CC doesn't have a concentrated history part, although there's room at the end and during Christmas, I guess. Right now, we have one level of CC and I'm considering whether it's better to focus on getting other CC levels or someone to find someone to teach the Omnibus. I really want my daughter to be in a "group" situation once a week and then do the work on the other days..... Thanks for any opinions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 The excellence of the Challenge program will depend very heavily on your Tutor. We did Challenge 1 last year and it was a waste of time and money imho (I was a Director of another program so I had lots of compassion). I felt like it was a "lost" a year. While CC does attempt to do some interesting things with their Challenge program the Tutor's have very little to go on in terms of training and their TM is nothing more than the parents guide. If your Tutor is not totally committed, with the time, intelligence, etc that the program will demand, I suggest just putting together an Omnibus group yourself. That is, indeed what we switched to this year. Challenge doesn't have a cohesive writing program for Jr. or Sr. High, even though they have gone into biz with IEW- so why not do IEW for upper levels?? No history. Science for Jr. High is sketchy. "Rhetoric" is odd. I wasn't impressed. Otoh I love Omnibus. Clear, concise history, tons of writing, recitation, critical thinking. 2 thumbs way up. Feel free to pm if you have more specific ?'s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCMom Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 It is definitely more of a Great Books approach and very much the philosophy/beliefs of the authors. Not my cup of tea but the program itself is so in-depth and wonderfully put together. I thought the questions were amazing. There are lots of reviews by users and former users on here if you search. CC is a different, a more modern neo-classical approach, maybe. The group interaction is why we started and why we will continue. I've got a dd about to finish the first semester of Challenge B. She loves it. No doubt there are things I would like to do differently but she has learned an amazing amount just doing the current events debates, the logic and the writing. We still have time to do our own thing as CC is only 30 weeks a year and we have always done more like 40-42 weeks. She'll finish most of a year of AO Lite this school year also. It's not perfect ( I HATE the Latin program in Challenge A/B!) but we have a wonderful tutor who really has done such an incredible job. I would suggest that you see if you can visit another group with that level going on to get a feel for the material and that you definitely consider that the teacher/tutor will make a difference whichever option you choose. I just want to add that there is no formal writing program taught (or listed in the catalog) past Challenge A. This made it tough for us at first! For writing we work IEW at home within the parameters of the assignment and our tutor works heavily with them in class. Whew, my girl can knock out an essay now. The best part is that it forces you to write every week and knowing that someone else is looking at your work really motivated her to improve..;) hth, Georgia - current Foundations and Essentials Tutor, moving to Challenge I next year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 I'm hoping to have my oldest in Challenge A next year. We've been in CC for three years now, and have a very vibrant, experienced campus, so I'm hoping that continues into Challenge. The first year that our campus had Challenge (only A), there were indeed problems because of the tutor, but it's been very solid ever since then. We have only 4 kids though in the upper Master's class (6th grade), so that's the one concern I have because only my son is planning to go on right now. The current Challenge A tutor at our campus is very good, but she does multiple campuses and I don't know if she'll continue. We homeschool quite a bit more than the required 180 days and always do a lot of science in the summer, so I'm fine with CC as it is. I have looked at Omnibus quite a bit and have several friends going that way next year, one with the online course, but I'm less comfortable with it because of theological differences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim Ballenski Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 What are the theological differences? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 This is a very old thread. I think you are going to find that most people on here are not fans of either CC or Omnibus. There are many reasons for both of those positions, and you can probably find threads via a search to inform you as to why. I couldn't tell you the theological background of CC. I thought it was protestant, but I don't think they study theology in Challenge. Omnibus is very strongly reformed protestant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.