My review of PAH AP Human Geography APHUG

[mirabillis]

I've promised for some time I would do this - but I wanted to wait until the school year was over and there would be no grade repercussions (just in case!) for posting our honest and unbiased opinion of the course.

 

We just completed PAH AP Human Geo. We went in with high hopes as our first AP for 9th grade. Very soon into the class, we realized it was nothing more than glorified self-study. He was assigned textbook readings/videos/open-book online multiple choice questions weekly. He kept up with the syllabus in a timely fashion the whole year. The textbook required (Fellman) is a slog to go through - and we began to bemoan it very early on. Others I PM around the boards from previous years agreed one of the books was a bear. We ended up spending big bucks on buying a different textbook (Rubenstein) that was easier to read about 3/4 of the way through the year to help round out the edges.There is no teacher feedback nor interaction (or precious little). So for $700+, your child will read a very dense college-level text, take multiple choice self-graded quizzes and watch various videos and tap out video reviews on those. While Ms. Gillespie is very nice and responsive when called upon, she doesn't teach at all and does precious little grading. If you don't mind a completely self-guided study for that cost, then go for it. She finally gave feedback on the first 2 FRQs assigned, but that was after she called upon everyone in the class to ask what more she could be doing. She's nice enough, but she really does nothing. You could easily find an AP syllabus yourself, assign the reading, and do as well as her for free. We have spent oodles of money on extra materials, as I am afraid with her course alone, with no teaching, that he is not as prepared as he needs to be for the upcoming AP exam. So I am essentially taking the reins of teaching... something I don't like doing when I've paid big bucks for the course.

 

We'd hoped to get a 5 - as my son read 2 prep books and put a great amount of time into prep work. But no dice - he scored a 3 (as you can see, along with 40% of the class).

My ds felt so disillusioned by the class that he's quite gun-shy of PAH at all, which is such a shame... but we are persisting, and he's trusting my research that the PAH classes we've chosen for this year are not of this ilk. I hope I can prove him wrong. :)

 

Here is the breakdown of this year's scores:

 

22% - 5

26% - 4

40% - 3

8% - 2

4% - 1

 

Oh and to add insult to injury, at the start of the course we received by mail her published book (about life in the Appalachians or something). I thought how thoughtful of her - until I opened the book and found an invoice to be paid upon receipt for $20. How classy (not)! https://www.amazon.c...pie appalachian

As always, YMMV!

Edited July 13, 2017 by mirabillis

[Gratia271]

Thanks for sharing this.  I am so sorry!  It really sucks for your conscientious son. And for a first experience, that has to be so tough.  I can say from our experience, the only bad class for AP purposes at PaH we have experienced is AP Bio.  IOther teachers there have been quite good.  Some are not fabulous but do a good job preparing students for the AP exam.

 

[Janeway]

Thanks for the review!! It is important for others to know this when choosing classes and how to spend our money.

[Julie of KY]

Thanks.

Some of the PAH classes have excellent teachers, others not so good. 

[Alte Veste Academy]

Oh and to add insult to injury, at the start of the course we received by mail her published book (about life in the Appalachians or something). I thought how thoughtful of her - until I opened the book and found an invoice to be paid upon receipt for $20. How classy (not)!

Wow! Honestly, I would contact PAH with this review and this little tidbit especially. She is damaging their reputation with this kind of nonsense!

[Miss Tick]

Thanks for posting your review. Sounds like a pretty frustrating class.

[BlessedMom]

Thank you for posting your review.

[daijobu]

Thank you for posting.  You are performing a great service to others.  

[MerryAtHope]

Wow. That seems ridiculous!

[lisabees]

Thank you for sharing this.

 

I am designing my own AP Human Geo course this year.  If dd seems ready, she will take the exam.  If not (she will only be in 9th), then so be it.  No biggie.

 

I really appreciate your update.  Sorry it was such a mess of a class for him.

[Hsmomto2]

Many thanks to Mirabillis for saving dd from a crappy class! I am so sorry you guys had to go through that but truly appreciate your willingness to help a newbie!!! I also thought the "please pay me for the book you didn't request but I'm sending anyway" was bizarre.

 

Here's hoping the other pa homeschool classes are better....

[maks]

Just another sample: Our experience with AP Euro Hx a few years ago was great with PAH. It was an intense course, but dd could write essays quite readily and was well prepared for the exam and future writing assignments. Sorry to hear about your experience. How frustrating.

[counselinggirl]

I wanted to concur with Mirabillis' review. We also registered for PA Homeschoolers AP Human geography (APHG) last year. Fortunately, after 2-3 weeks of a terrible class experience, we dropped the class and received a partial refund. This is definitely a very unorganized self-study "class." While we didn't complete the class, what we did experience in our limited time was certainly not worth $700. The website ("classroom") was fraught with typos and incorrect dates, jumbled and unorganized info throughout the site, and overall chaotic, unorganized environment. There is NO teaching and "overall grades are at her discretion" (super concerning) plus you must complete a class review before receiving your final grade. The books used are dry and uninteresting. Dr. Gillespie's book about the Appalachians was poorly written and repetitive; sadly, it was one of the worst books I have ever read. Her book was forced upon on us and mailed directly to us with the $20 due upon receipt with no warning despite me already purchasing it from Amazon. I had to pay to mail the second book back to her. :(

 

I cannot recommend this AP Human Geography class either. Disappointingly, my daughter is now very hesitant to enroll in any PA Homeschoolers classes despite knowing there are some other good ones available.

Edited September 6, 2017 by counselinggirl

[mirabillis]

we're enrolled in 2 PAH classes this year, despite my ds's hesitance. they are lauded as 2 of the best - so here's hoping! i'll be frank and candid with my reviews at end of year again. ;-)

 

and i knew you'd find the review, counselinggirl. LOL! ;-)

 

 

[Donna]

My dd took PA Homeschooler's AP Music Theory last year and it was similar...a glorified self-study course. The instructor sent a syllabus and graded all the work each week even though the material was just being learned. When purchasing the course, it said weekly lectures but throughout the entire course, the instructor sent only two pre-recorded lectures even when dd asked for the lectures on other topics. Rather than answer any of dd's questions, the instructor suggested she work with a tutor (a former student in the course). Instead dd went to musician friends who have multiple degrees in music theory when really stuck and plowed through the rest on her own. There was so much work every week that it took over her life. Dd ended up with a 95 in the course and a 4 on the exam. I think she would have done better if she had actually had an instructor who taught.