MCT

[My4arrows]

I’ve alqays been intrigued by this curriculum. Is it meant only for gifted? Would it work for a struggling student?

[hmrt]

I really loved the idea of this program and was really excited to try it - I really agree with the philosophy behind it - but I can't say I've been nearly as pleased with it as I thought I would be.  Some elements are great; the creativity, the top-quality writing and vocabulary used, etc.  But I really don't think his alternate four level system of analysis works well.  It is tedious, and doesn't really give you a good picture of function nearly as well as traditional diagramming.  Most of it consists of countless repetitions of labeling parts of speech, parts of the sentence etc. only by name.  Traditional diagramming gives you a visual of how each part of speech is functioning and connects to the sentence as a whole, while this system does not.  It's just naming things, which really doesn't give you that much clarity, in my opinion.  I think students, especially ones who aren't technical, would find this very frustrating.   I will continue with the Caesar's English portion and the Music of the Hemispheres (poetry) looks very good.  However, I won't be continuing the parts using his analysis system. We're going with regular diagramming for that. The first book introducing parts of speech is interesting, though I'm not sure it did an especially good job in really mastering the material, even for a gifted child.  In whole, I don't think this would be a particularly good system for a struggling student. Perhaps you could pull out particular elements like the poetry portion (Music of the Hemispheres) and use that independently? I would think that would work for all learners. Or read the first book introducing parts of speech as a supplement to another program (that's what we've switched to doing now).  They're all separate books and sold independantly. I love RFP's ideas and mentality though and I do think parts of the MCT program are still really good.

Edited March 2, 2018 by hmrt

[Farrar]

I have very mixed feelings about it, but overall, no, I don't think it's really just for gifted learners. I think the story teaching style in the early levels would work for most learners who like to learn through story. The other elements really require kids who enjoy creative thinking, including struggling learners who like to be offbeat and creative. I think you can't know if it's for you unless you try it.

[Jackie]

I think it would better be described as for whole-to-parts learners than necessarily for gifted learners. It works on developing a “big picture†appreciation for language, then filling in the details as it goes along.

 

My daughter is both gifted and generally a “big picture†learner, and it’s been a great fit for her overall. Her favorite part is probably the vocabulary, with the poetics running a close second. She likes the story aspect of the writing books, but generally prefers creative writing to the academic writing that MCT emphasizes. She enjoys the story aspect of the grammar and she and I both like the four-level analysis more than traditional diagramming for understanding sentence structure.

 

ETA : I agree it’s one of those programs you just have to try in order to know if it works for you. There’s nothing else quite like it. We started by purchasing only the TM for Grammar Island. By the time we were done with that, we knew we wanted to continue.

Edited March 3, 2018 by Jackie

[RenaInTexas]

The program can definitely be used for all student types. I believe that it is the recommended ages that warrant the gifted label. However, students at the top end of (or even above) the recommended age, would not need to be gifted to successfully use the product. That is actually what makes it perfect for us because I can use with both kids - in which the youngest is gifted. 

[Sarah0000]

My gifted learner doesn't have as much retention with MCT as with The Sentence Family. For him it's worked well to start with MCT to get the bigger picture, then The Sentence Family to retain the parts of speech and types of sentences, then hopefully back to MCT for application. That's for the grammar.

 

But we love the poetics book. Again, I don't think he would have great retention with it but I apply what we learn to the usual poetry we read and so it works.

[GeoKitty]

My non-gifted but really smart DS loved MCT Town and Voyage levels.... but he was in sixth and seventh grades at the time. But the Magic Lens1 level started to be too much then... only the grammar book still worked for him. My gifted DD flew through Town and Voyage complete levels both during fifth grade (first year homeschooling). She loves and flourishes with the upper levels as well, particularly the vocab books, but we are just picking and choosing what fits our needs currently. HTH

[daijobu]

My favorite books were the Caesar's English series.  The vocabulary books are really just lovely and make learning words and stems so much fun.  I also liked Grammar Island and Grammar Town.  I don't think your students need to be gifted in language arts to enjoy these books.  

[LMD]

We love mct here and none of my kids are gifted. I have been impressed with their retention.