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Our oldest two (13yo and 14yo) are ready for more outsourcing. We really value them getting experience sitting under different teachers, learning to handle deadlines, etc. And it frees me up to work more with the younger children. But we're hoping to find qualified instructors - as in, science taught by someone with a science degree, which rules out all the local co-ops we've been able to find so far.

 

Online classes are wonderful, but at $500+ per course/per child, that adds up quicker than we can manage. This year one child is doing Essays1 with Mr. Vogel, and one child is doing Great Conversations 2 with Wilson Hill Academy. The kids love everything about both courses, and we're looking for an affordable way to include much more of this sort of thing next year.

 

Any ideas or suggestions? These are the specific courses we're aiming to cover next year:

 

Biology

Algebra

Great Books/History

English/Writing

Logic

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For algebra for one of mine I'm considering Derek Owens online.  Apparently for half the price you can sign up to do the grading yourself.

 

I hear you about the costs adding up quickly, but it is a balance, isn't it? If a qualified teacher has an hour long class once a week for 32 weeks and spends an hour outside of class preparing, grading, answering questions, whatever, then a $600 class is paying them less than $10 an hour.

 

Maybe you can find one or two stellar online classes in your ds' area of interest and strength, and them compromise with less qualified but invested teachers in local classes?

 

We're going to be in that boat next year or the year after.

 

Good luck.

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I agree it's hard to find online classes for less than $500 but here are few that are a bit more affordable and still offer accountability to an outside teacher.

 

Funda Funda Biology -  $360/yr

 

Clover Creek Physics - $380/yr

 

Big River Academy (Writing) - $175/sem or $350/yr

 

Homeschool Connections - Live classes are $500 plus but they also have unlimited access to recorded classes for a flat monthly fee. You can also add teacher feedback to recorded classes.

 

Virtual Homeschool Academy - Free

 

My Homeschool Math Class (Jann in Tx) - $50/mth or $400/yr

 

 

For Great Books, if you don't need teacher feedback, there is Roman Roads Old Western Culture or the Self Paced Omnibus from Veritas Press. Veritas sometimes has sales on the Self paced courses and Homeschool Buyers Coop often has discounts on Roman Roads.

Edited by 3andme
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One thing I did was to swap/barter with other hsing moms.  I taught our kids one subject, they taught another.  A good co-op is an expansion of this, but not every co-op has access to qualified teachers.  Still, look closely at local teachers' credentials.  Sometimes a teacher has enough teaching experience and related work experience to make up for the lack of a degree.  Sometimes, not so much.  Also consider finding a couple of compatible kids and hiring a teacher for the group; that can bring down the per-kid cost quite a bit.  

 

We did find that when comparing the expense and complexity of doing high school a la carte, the local private schools became a serious consideration - quality teachers and a single location, plus more mom time for youngers, was worth a look.  Everyone's local landscape is different; if you can find families searching for similar things, you may be able to create something really special for your kids and their local peers. 

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Are you looking to outsource 5 courses for each child, or 5 courses total divided among the 2 children?

 

If it's the former, I would caution you that, aside from the expense, 5 outside classes from 5 different sources can create a lot of stress. The scheduling itself, especially if we are talking classes that meet online at a specific time, will be complicated. It may seem like it would ease your load a bit, but in reality it may just create new burdens. At that level of outsourcing, and especially when you don't feel free to pick and choose without regard to cost, it truly may make sense to look at the local schools.

 

That said, if you have a kid who likes to work ahead, Derek Owens math may offer a bit of a cost savings. One pays by the month for his service, so if the student buckles down and works efficiently, that may save a few months tuition.

 

Write at Home has a family discount of 10% so that could save you a bit if you are ordering courses for two students.

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Clover Creek Physics is a great value and you don't have to buy an expensive textbook with it.

 

I have not taken classes through FundaFunda but I know some of the teachers IRL and you are getting quality, qualified teachers.

 

Early registration discounts can bring costs down quite a bit across several classes.

 

Another thing I have noticed with outsourcing is that often the required texts are not very expensive and sometimes there are very few required texts. When I did everything on my own I know I generally spent more on textbooks per course. I would also be guilty of thinking we needed to add something on or reading about some other great resource I would then add in. While outsourced courses are expensive, I am spending less on books and supplements.

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My Fun Science: https://myfunscience.com/

 

MFS has payment plans lasting as long as 9 mths.

 

Bright Ideas Press Academy: https://academy.brightideaspress.com/

 

Math-Tabletclass: http://www.tabletclass.com/

 

Classes created by a math teacher, but not live. My son watches the videos, works out the problemz, and checks his own work, usually. I'll come behind to confirm the grades and document. If he's unsure of a concept, he can contact the teacher or rewatch the lesson.

If you want someone else to give a deadline, this isn't for you, but if they'll follow your deadline, it's a cheaper way to have a qualified teacher and promote independence.

Edited by historymatters
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Are you looking to outsource 5 courses for each child, or 5 courses total divided among the 2 children?

 

If it's the former, I would caution you that, aside from the expense, 5 outside classes from 5 different sources can create a lot of stress. The scheduling itself, especially if we are talking classes that meet online at a specific time, will be complicated. It may seem like it would ease your load a bit, but in reality it may just create new burdens.

I agree with this completely. My suggestion is to be selective in which classes to outsource (speaking only of live classes here).

 

I outsource because of my chronic disability and because I want him to be accountable to others, too. The classes I chose are specifically those I felt unsure that I could do or could commit the time and attention needed for success. So:

 

Writing- live weekly

Latin - live weekly

Logic - live weekly

P.E. - live at a local charter school 3x/wk ( a pain in the rear. I couldn't do it without family help). Only 1 semester. Next semester, something else.

Math - not live

Literature- live, once a month.

Sci-fy book club - once a month

 

He has mentioned feeling overwhelmed with the schedule. He struggles with depression, and time management. So, some of that feeling if self-inflicted.

Edited by historymatters
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This probably isn't what you'd want, but I'll toss it out there anyway:

 

Website is currclick.com

That website is a way to connect teachers with students for online classes, and looks to be a place for people selling curriculum to find buyers.  The people that run the website don't produce a curric or teach classes.  The website is just a place for buyers/sellers/teachers to meet.

 

For this year, I wasn't comfortable teaching my son chemistry.  I chose to use Discovering Design with Chemistry as the text since it's written to the student and (theoretically), the student should be able to learn from the text without help.  But I didn't want my student not to have any help in case he was confused on a topic. 

 

So, I found a teacher on currclick who teaches using the textbook I wanted to use.  She gives and grades tests, grades lab reports, and keeps the kids on track learning the material.  There are due dates and expectations to be met.  She will work with a student who has questions.  There is a live class once a week for an hour and a half, plus she provides extra videos online that help explain concepts (videos she makes herself, plus ones she's found on youtube.) 

 

However, this teacher does not have a science degree.  She has been teaching a number of science courses for a number of years, so she knows the courses inside and out.  But since she doesn't have a science degree, you might not be interested.

 

Anyway...all that said...she charges $180 per semester for her high school level biology and chemistry courses, so it's $360/year.  It's still not cheap, but it's hard to find something under $500 a class and it fits exactly what I wanted.  Maybe it'll be an option for you.   

 

Oh--and she gives a discount when she first puts up a new class, so I pay only $124 per semester at the discounted rate, so it's only $248 for the year.  Just email her and ask her when she puts up her discount prices.  

 

To find her classes, go to currclick.com and search for Mackin.

Edited by Garga
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We have concerns about prices of online, AP, etc. courses as well.  This year, we are enrolled in Homeschool Connections because of the recorded option ($30.00 per month for unlimited use, no restriction in number of courses) and because it offers so many subjects and the certification/education level of all of the teachers..  The classes are also offered live for those who are interested.  My daughters and I think the recorded classes are great.  I plan to use this option again next year.  It has been a wonderful experience!

 

[edited to add more detail]

Edited by llama
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Our oldest two (13yo and 14yo) are ready for more outsourcing. We really value them getting experience sitting under different teachers, learning to handle deadlines, etc. And it frees me up to work more with the younger children. But we're hoping to find qualified instructors - as in, science taught by someone with a science degree, which rules out all the local co-ops we've been able to find so far.

 

Just want to suggest slightly broadening the definition of "qualified instructor." Having a degree in the subject area is nice, but that doesn't mean the person understands how to *teach*. And that's really what you want: someone who has both an understanding (a passion) for the material, and who also understands how to teach. :)

 

Broadening your definition will give you more options, such as the one suggested by Garga. You may also find a terrific fit with someone local. The experience of real-life interactions with a tutor, or with a live class and teacher will be invaluable for future college.

 

And that might be an option for outsourcing to consider at some point, as well: dual enrollment (DE)/dual credit at your local community college or university. That provides instruction by, and accountability to, a qualified instructor, is work at a more advanced/rigorous level, AND gets a jump start on acquiring credits towards a future college degree. It might also be very comparable price-wise.

 

For example, a one-semester college level Spanish course taken at our local Community College runs about $350 -- but counts as a one YEAR one credit high school course. So for $700 (two semesters), in one year of DE, we can knock out TWO years of high school Spanish through outsourcing -- AND the credits count towards a future college degree's need for a foreign language as a general ed. requirement. :)

 

 

...Ideas or suggestions? These are the specific courses we're aiming to cover next year:

Biology

Algebra

Great Books/History

English/Writing

Logic

 

And agreeing with the above post by HistoryMatters -- trying to juggle the online schedules and work deadlines of five completely different classes for two different students sounds like a recipe for stressing out your students, and potentially interrupting or reducing your time for working with the younger children.

 

What about going with just 1-2 classes for your two oldest -- perhaps give them each one separate English or Writing class, and then have them together in the same class where they are working at the same level (like, Biology or Algebra or Logic). And then use a solid video instruction course at home for the other subjects. Ideas:

 

- Bob Jones (Christian) -- Science

- Chalkdust (secular) -- Math

- Roman Roads Media (Christian) -- History, Logic

 

BEST of luck in finding what works best for your family! Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

 

ETA -- PS

Just remembering from some of your past posts that your oldest has had some special considerations -- slower working speed for math, and some ADD types of needs. Outsourcing all the classes, but especially the Math, might not be a good fit for his needs, if the pace can't be varied to fit him. Instead, some homeschool curriculum with video instruction would allow him to slow things down and to re-play lessons as needed. That also might mean it will be extra-important to find online courses, and especially, specific instructors, who will be a good fit for your DS's learning pace. Just a thought! Disregard if the special considerations are no longer "in play".  :)

Edited by Lori D.
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Roman Roads Logic is 2x/wk. and uses Nance's curriculum, Introductory Logic.

 

Memoria Press used Traditional Logic 1Ăƒâ€”/wk.

 

My son uses the Apologia DVD with Biology and it's working well. The only things I check are his lab reports, completion of notebook entries (used the Apologia Notebook) study guide, and test.

Edited by historymatters
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Thank you, all of you, for your wonderful suggestions. I've really appreciated seeing all the ideas come in. This is all very, very helpful as we weigh our options for this coming school year. You have pointed me to resources I didn't know existed. Exactly what was needed; I appreciate it so much!

 

 

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For algebra for one of mine I'm considering Derek Owens online.  Apparently for half the price you can sign up to do the grading yourself.

 

I hear you about the costs adding up quickly, but it is a balance, isn't it? If a qualified teacher has an hour long class once a week for 32 weeks and spends an hour outside of class preparing, grading, answering questions, whatever, then a $600 class is paying them less than $10 an hour.

 

Maybe you can find one or two stellar online classes in your ds' area of interest and strength, and them compromise with less qualified but invested teachers in local classes?

 

We're going to be in that boat next year or the year after.

 

Good luck.

 

 

But these classes almost never have one student, right?  My daughter's Latin class has something like 15-20.  So they're making something more like $100-$200/hr (of course admin costs defray this, and etc.)

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I hear you about the costs adding up quickly, but it is a balance, isn't it? If a qualified teacher has an hour long class once a week for 32 weeks and spends an hour outside of class preparing, grading, answering questions, whatever, then a $600 class is paying them less than $10 an hour.

 

But these classes almost never have one student, right?  My daughter's Latin class has something like 15-20.  So they're making something more like $100-$200/hr (of course admin costs defray this, and etc.)

 

I can't imagine that any teacher spends only one hour per week outside of class. I'd say that one hour PER STUDENT per week is much closer to realistic for outside of class time.

 

From my own experience of teaching Lit. & Comp. classes, grading of papers or homework is a HUGE block of time every week -- for providing feedback for the longer essays, it can take me 2-3 hours per student essay!  :svengo:

 

And going over your lesson materials and preparing exactly what you're going to cover, plus prepping any in-class activities and discussion questions is guaranteed to take several hours a week. When you're talking about a class that only meets 1-2x/week, you have to be so precisely prepared to make every one of those precious class minutes count.

 

I'd say online teachers are LUCKY if they are making $20-25/hour.

Edited by Lori D.
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I don't think Mary's Lukeion teacher spends an hour per student outside of class; I would bet it is more than an hour per class, but not hugely more.  The vast majority is automatically graded; it's not the first year they've offered the class so while there is tweaking, most of it is probably already prepared.

 

 

Now for a writing class or a class with a written component, I totally agree.  I used to grade papers for my MIL (she hated doing it as part of her job, so outsourced it to me for $15/hr); it took forever.  When I was being conservative it was 15 minutes a paper, 40 papers every two weeks, so something like 5 hours a week.  That was just high school comp, though, so 2-4 page papers, not 10-15 page behemoths!

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I was so stunned by the $100/200 an hour estimate above that I decided to work out a closer estimate for my particular case. I've never actually calculated this before because I do not teach online physics for the money. If I could make $100 an hour, I might be more interested in doing it for the money. Ha!

 

I have no "middle man"...no entity between myself and my students. So being self-employed, I handle all the technological side (including website costs and maintenance), and of course, I pay quarterly self-employment tax. But let's ignore all those costs for the sake of ease of calculations.

 

For the 2017-18 year, my course was $350 per student. I have 25 students for an "official" 35 weeks, so I make about $250 a week (before taxes and administrative costs).

 

I have grading tests and labs down to a science, believe me, but in a best case scenario, it takes me about 20 minutes per student to grade a test. This includes downloading documents to One Note (there might be a better way for me to do this), carefully grading the problem-solving sections (I do not just grade the answers---I grade the process), saving and uploading the document, and emailing it back to student and parent. I also grade the online conceptual portion of the test which includes discussion questions and then enter the total grade in the online gradebook. So about 20 minutes per student if there is no issue (but there are often missing pages or faint, small handwriting or dark, blurred scans that slow me down) which adds up to 8.3 hours to grade one set of tests. 

 

Labs do not take quite as long as tests. I can usually do the whole process for a lab report in about 10 minutes per student. 

 

I keep a fast and furious pace in my course, so there is something "due" almost all the time (just ask the students!). 

 

One thing that Lori didn't mention in her reply is the amount of time an online teacher spends emailing back and forth between students and parents. If any of my current or former parents are reading this, please know that I ***love*** hearing from you. I want to know if your student is struggling silently or is sick or particularly liked an assignment, etc. Your feedback and interaction and involvement is very important to me. But the time I spend emailing back and forth does add up to several hours a week.

 

The one hour plus a week class meeting doesn't seem that time-intensive. I now have two sections, so considering about 3 hours of actual meeting time (I'm almost always in class 15 minutes early) plus time spent preparing for the class and then uploading/posting class notes and video links brings it to about 5 hours a week. 

 

So I added all these things up for a normal week and found that I spend about 15.5 hours a week on average on physics. I make, therefore, about $16 an hour before tax and business costs. Of course this doesn't include the time spent interacting with future parents or the time spent setting up registration and taking applications for future classes or the time spent during the summer at the post office mailing textbook rentals or looking for the best prices for lab materials or setting up the new year's website, etc. etc. etc.

 

I understand that my estimates might run a little on the lower side because I do try to keep my course fee in a semi-affordable range. But still...no online teacher makes $100/200 an hour. Or if they do, my own children are not in their class!!!  :lol:

 

 

 

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For the 2017-18 year, my course was $350 per student. I have 25 students for an "official" 35 weeks, so I make about $250 a week (before taxes and administrative costs).

 

I have grading tests and labs down to a science, believe me, but in a best case scenario, it takes me about 20 minutes per student to grade a test. This includes downloading documents to One Note (there might be a better way for me to do this), carefully grading the problem-solving sections (I do not just grade the answers---I grade the process), saving and uploading the document, and emailing it back to student and parent. I also grade the online conceptual portion of the test which includes discussion questions and then enter the total grade in the online gradebook. So about 20 minutes per student if there is no issue (but there are often missing pages or faint, small handwriting or dark, blurred scans that slow me down) which adds up to 8.3 hours to grade one set of tests. 

 

Labs do not take quite as long as tests. I can usually do the whole process for a lab report in about 10 minutes per student. 

 

I keep a fast and furious pace in my course, so there is something "due" almost all the time (just ask the students!). 

 

One thing that Lori didn't mention in her reply is the amount of time an online teacher spends emailing back and forth between students and parents. If any of my current or former parents are reading this, please know that I ***love*** hearing from you. I want to know if your student is struggling silently or is sick or particularly liked an assignment, etc. Your feedback and interaction and involvement is very important to me. But the time I spend emailing back and forth does add up to several hours a week.

 

The one hour plus a week class meeting doesn't seem that time-intensive. I now have two sections, so considering about 3 hours of actual meeting time (I'm almost always in class 15 minutes early) plus time spent preparing for the class and then uploading/posting class notes and video links brings it to about 5 hours a week. 

 

So I added all these things up for a normal week and found that I spend about 15.5 hours a week on average on physics. I make, therefore, about $16 an hour before tax and business costs. Of course this doesn't include the time spent interacting with future parents or the time spent setting up registration and taking applications for future classes or the time spent during the summer at the post office mailing textbook rentals or looking for the best prices for lab materials or setting up the new year's website, etc. etc. etc.

 

This.

And if you develop content and create class videos: it takes about ten hours to create one hour of cut and edited video that is ready for class (once you are proficient with the video editing software). I have spent two hours performing and recording a demonstration and embedding it into my lecture for a net gain of two minutes of final video footage.

Edited by regentrude
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We found what looks ot be a great Science class at Currclick, at 180.00 per semester, it's still almost 400 for the year though.

 

To be honest, when I could not afford the whole she-bang, I decided to just choose WHICH subjects and get those.  For example, choose the subjects that you need more help or your kids need more accountability.  

 

For me that would be Science (I don't like it and would put off experiments too much!) and any other subject depends on the child.  I had to outsource Math as soon as I could for my dd (we used Derek Owens with grading)  because my daughter gets very upset, frustrated, etc. with my explanations and also doesn't like to work alone.

 

For my son, it was worth it to outsource so that he could truly take something to the next level.  That changed over the 3 years that we used online/outsourcing for him.  

 

So I would just make decisions, subject by subject for each individual child on where you think you need the outsourcing rather than trying to find less expensive classes because to be honest, they really don't exist and even when they do, you get what you pay for.  (Thinking of Virtual Homeschool Co-Op) which tends to have classes which are auto-graded, very few writing assignments and essay options, and less live teaching and feedback. 

 

Also, please consider your local community college.  You can probably start dual enrolling after 9th grade, and it's often free for high schoolers. 

 

Thinking outside of the box is a good idea too....We did not have that Dual Enrollment option, since our community colleges are so overcrowded that they can't take many DE students, so my son went full time and even still the entire year is only costing us 2000.00 including books, fees, parking etc. etc.  That's the total cost.  So we are paying less for his entire year at college than we were paying for his 9th grade year homeschooled, using online and paid co-op classes.  Last year our total cost was 4200.  (about 700 per class, times 6 classes, plus books and materials).

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I have been teaching online for over 8 years, and I have many strategies that I use to grade efficiently, and I still spend about 15-20 hours per week grading student work for a class of about 20-25 students. That does not cover any targeted teaching for those who need extra help, developing new material, reaching out to students who are falling behind, sending encouraging notes to those who are doing well, or improving existing course content. As Regentrude wrote, it takes about 10 hours of work to produce 1 hour of video that I would feel confident to show to students. 

 

Some of the papers my students write range from 20 to 40 pages. It takes a long time to go through these and provide quality feedback, which includes comments on mechanics, content, and organization. Even if I had an auto-grader, I would be spending far more than an hour a week per class.

 

I do not make anywhere near $100 per hour or even anywhere near $30 per hour.  If I wanted to make that kind of money, I would have gotten a job in the industry that would pay close to that. I really do enjoy teaching and working with students that much. 

 

 

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It is great that you provide that kind of feedback to your students!  Mary's Lukeion class, Latin 1, which I love, does not provide an hour per student of feedback per week.  There is no feedback.  There is just a graded quiz per week and graded homework; it grades itself automatically and I think she reviews a couple of lines manually.  There is no universe in which her teacher is spending an hour per student per week.  Most public school teachers can't spend even close to that much per week - that would be 100-120 hours per week of grading alone!  I know creating the content is time-consuming; I did teach high school briefly :)  But once you've created the content, you use it (presumably) across multiple sections - there are 4 Latin 1 classes through Lukeion - and multiple years, just editing as you change things.  So that's 10 hours per class session, but divided by 4 (so 2.5 hours), and then divided by however many years you use it - ideally many :)  

 

I know not all providers have many sections of the same class, or have offered the class for years, so the work at this point is front-loaded; the profit in the industry is certainly in volume.

 

 

Classes that have significant writing components, or tests with written components, are definitely either less profitable or cost more to compensate.  I'm just saying that for this one class, Lukeion's Latin 1, there is no universe in which the organization is making less than $10/hour/student, or even $20/hour/student.  It is efficiently run and worth the money, more power to them :)

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One thing that Lori didn't mention in her reply is the amount of time an online teacher spends emailing back and forth between students and parents. If any of my current or former parents are reading this, please know that I ***love*** hearing from you. I want to know if your student is struggling silently or is sick or particularly liked an assignment, etc. Your feedback and interaction and involvement is very important to me. But the time I spend emailing back and forth does add up to several hours a week.

 

Oh gosh, yes! How could I have forgotten that!

 

I did calculate out what I "earn", after expenses: about $2-3/hour...  :svengo:  Now, granted, I charge a very low class fee (much less than MorningGlory) because it's not online, and it's all that many families in my homeschool group can pay. And part of that low hourly wage is because I am spending hours each week to create my own materials for each class, which includes the weekly handout lessons for students to do at home to prepare for class discussion the following week. I am literally creating a literature guide for each book we cover in class, with background information, info about literature topics, discussion questions, etc.

 

Yes, it sure *sounds* like a lot of money when I collect all of the class fees that first day, but then a good third of it goes for expenses and supplies, and I'm working a good 30 hours a week for 2 classes that average about 10 students each... More hours a week when grading longer papers...

 

Thank heavens I go in to teaching each year thinking of it as volunteering rather than actually *needing* a paycheck. ;)

 

 

Honestly, I don't know how you run classes AND homeschool your own children, MorningGlory! No way I could have done both at the same time.

Edited by Lori D.
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...I'm just saying that for this one class, Lukeion's Latin 1, there is no universe in which the organization is making less than $10/hour/student, or even $20/hour/student.  It is efficiently run and worth the money, more power to them :)

 

It's also very possible that the tech and online streaming provision is an expensive cost that is "hidden" to those of us on the outside. I remember reading something about that a year or two ago, about how much it costs to run online courses for small providers (not referring to colleges) -- a lot more than I would have guessed.

 

And, maybe Lukeion is *just now* finally getting to reap some profit from the years of hard work of creating materials and content, and getting their system set up, when they were putting in all the hours and not getting much return at all. So, as you say, more power to them for getting to the point where they are earning profit for providing a service that's worth the money. :)

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Yes, those first years of a business when you're putting more in than you're taking out (and especially when everything you do make just has to go back in!) are made totally worth it when that stage is through and things start to settle in and make profit :)  Lukeion uses Adobe Connect and it looks like they charge $370/month (although I'm sure they run more than one class at one time, so they may well need multiple subscriptions).  I imagine their internet costs are crazy too!

 

I know most of the co-op classes I've looked into, and even the non-co-op live local classes, cannot possibly be making money for the provider -I consider that volunteer efforts too.  $100/semester for a class of 10-12 kids is just not a lot of money.

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I know most of the co-op classes I've looked into, and even the non-co-op live local classes, cannot possibly be making money for the provider -I consider that volunteer efforts too.  $100/semester for a class of 10-12 kids is just not a lot of money.

 

I consider anyone who teaches (public school teacher, private online provider, co-op parent, or regular old homeschooler) to be performing a labor of love.  My inability to afford that much love, lol, doesn't change that fact.

 

In our area, co-ops are generally barter.  I think I saved about $700 on tuition for my 4 kids by teaching two classes in one co-op, and I know I saved $1,000 by teaching 2.5 classes (and co-directing) in our other co-op.  An average of 125 classes/yr., pretend only another 125 hours of prep (ha!) and that's $6.80/hr. without factoring in directing duties.  Divided by each student, I "make" about $1.70/hr. in my smaller classes, and $0.49/hr. hour in my larger ones if I'm doing my math right. (I don't teach math.  One of my kids is actually getting math tutoring in our co-op, lol.)

 

I am not a trained educator or professional in ANY field.  I absolutely expect to pay much, much more for someone who is.  When they charge the same or less, I think it's necessary to investigate their quality and worship the ground they walk on if they really are that good and willing to teach my kid at a price I can afford.

 

While I'm tempted to say you get what you pay for, I really do find that outsourcing *usually is more valuable than its price point reflects.  I've just come to accept that I can't always afford it.

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