PAH AP US Government, AP Physics1, & AP Environmental Science

[mjbucks1]

My kids have taken many classes with PAH (12 to be exact), and we have loved them all except one.  I was wondering if anyone had any experience with AP US Government (and which instructor might be good), AP Physics 1, and AP Environmental Science.  Did your child enjoy the class?  Was it a good class layout?  I would also like to know the workload in each, although I now that can vary quite a bit from student to student.  My dd has already self-studied for AP Human Geography and AP Psych, and has taken AP Chem, APUSH (Susan Richmond), and AP Lang (Inspektor).  If you prefer to private message me, that is fine as well.  Thanks in advance!!  

[bibsandmegs]

My dd took APUS Govt with Julia Reed two years ago (so not last year, but the year before).  Here's what she had to say.  She's off at college now so I texted her and put her exact response below.

"The work load was probably about 10-12 hours a week, class included. The layout worked really well because she had a couple of different class times so everyone could attend when it worked best for them. She’s more than willing to help you understand the concepts when you don’t get them and she gave me an opportunity to understand what I had missed on the tests by allowing me to go back and review the right answers and why they were right. 

I enjoyed it, even though gov isn’t my favorite subject because she made it interesting and was willing to help us understand the material."

[mjbucks1]

Thank you!  That review is very helpful?

Any other thoughts on the above courses?? ?

[cuckoomamma]

I’m on my phone so will be brief. My dd took AP Environmental with Molly Olson and really enjoyed it. It stands as one of her favorites and she’s taken 10 now. She said that Mrs Olson was very organized, timely and clear. The workload wasn’t tremendous, but she isn’t available tight now to ask. I can let you know when I speak with her later. I think I probably have it in a prior post.

It was one of her first AP classes, and she did well. I think a seasoned AP student would definitely find it manageable. 

I think there was a post not too long ago that was less than stellar for Dan Burns. We decided to go with Julia Reed as a result. 

[freesia]

Ds is taking US Gov't with Reed this year.  I think it is a good class and I am pleased with the extra touches (readings, videos, e-congress activities) that she adds.  The tests require a fair amount of detail, but there are lots of them and sometimes extra credit to raise your grade.  This class, more than any, has gotten ds to improve his study skills.  A friend, whose son has some EF issues, did not like the class as well.  There are a lot of parts to it and the meetings are lectures.  So, if you have a child with big EF issues (my ds has small ones) and don't have the time to make sure s/he stays on track, is navigating well, it might be overwhelming.  For us, it was a good choice and I think if we can afford it I will have my other dc take the class.

[mjbucks1]

Thank you, both.  I think Environmental Science sounds like something she will really enjoy. I think she will be able to handle AP Govt well after taking APUSH with Mrs. Richmond (lots of assignments every week to keep track of!).  I am just not sure if she will enjoy government in general. She loved APUSH. 

[learners4life]

My daughter took APES two years ago with Molly Olsson.  The class was enjoyable, my daughter felt well prepared, and the exam was an easy 5. Molly Olsson seems to be a genuinely nice person, and her class is very organized. And, wow, is she ever on top of grading! Sometimes things were graded and back to my daughter the same day. There isn't really any interaction between the students, but that was okay with us. I think it'd be hard to find a better APES class. :)

[SebastianCat]

My DS is taking APES with Molly Olsson this year.   This is his first AP course and he has struggled some with time management, but it has been a great experience overall.  Ms. Olsson gives great feedback and usually has assignments graded within a day of submission, and she issues progress reports with updated grades after each unit.   Most of the material has been interesting to DS, although there have been one or two units that he didn't enjoy as much as others.  He has told me that the felt the class was tough (compared to other science courses he's taken previously) but there wasn't a lot of busy work, and he loved Ms. Olsson.