teachermom2834 Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 (edited) Anyone have have experience with any of these teachers: Meredith Cutrer, Margaret Lagarde, Patrick Timmis, or Joel Reed? We are looking at FFL for next year. Good or bad? Thank you. Edited December 14, 2018 by teachermom2834 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mbelle Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 My son did all 4 forms at MPOA. Cutrer has been there awhile and she's great. I don't know the others, but I can say all the teachers he had for Latin were good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 I have heard great things about Meredith Cutrer. Two of my kids have had three that you didn't mention. (Not sure how many of them still teach Latin there.) One was an ok teacher but my kid didn't retain anything from the class (SFL), and I had to supplement with drills because they didn't do any in class. I found I still had to do a lot of the teaching & reinforcing. I was left wondering why I was paying $$ for the class. I decided to try FFL with a different kid & teacher. This one was such a horrid fit (super strict, very dry, didn't cover the material well) that we asked to change to a less acceptable time in order to change teachers. The second teacher was much better (enthusiastic delivery, positive attitude toward the kids, had a routine for class that included drill, introduced concepts well, practiced in class with games if there was time), but the level of ability in the class was poor (kids didn't know parts of speech & were often weeks behind the schedule) & the teacher had trouble getting through the material due to that and a baby she was juggling. Overall, I'm not a fan of MPOA Latin, but I know several people who have been very pleased, including with Cutrer and the first teacher I referenced. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted December 15, 2018 Author Share Posted December 15, 2018 Thanks RootAnn - I had read about your troubles with the strict teacher when I searched the board before I posted. We have had such good luck with online classes in general but we have a dud this year and it is so frustrating. Dd is in Latina Christiana and her teacher is good. She is nice and responsive and dd is doing well and enjoys it but it is very boring. Dd isn’t complaining and if that is how the schedule works out I would sign her up with this teacher again. So not complaining about the teacher- just wondering if there is another fantastic (possibly more lively) one we are missing. Dd has Dr. Dray for Narrative and he is so fun it is hard for any other teacher to measure up to that, I’m sure. MPOA isn’t done posting the schedule so there might be more options that work for us. It’s just that time of year that normal people dream of sugarplums but I start planning 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 Dr Dray is one that is fantastic. The time didn't work AND his class fills fast. My DD watched one of the classes from the second teacher that she'd already been through with the first. The difference in how they covered the same content was drastic. The new teacher had interesting historic notes, a better intro, and more fun slides while actually taking less time to introduce the vocab and grammar concept. The teacher is key! I'm a preplanner, too. But my main online class kid (dd#1) is a senior this year. Nothing to plan for her next year except dorm room purchases. I think there will be only one or two online classes for dd#3 and that's it for us. Good luck with your search. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted December 15, 2018 Author Share Posted December 15, 2018 Thanks. Another reason I plan early is so I can register for desired teachers ASAP before they fill. A really fantastic teacher is worth the trouble for sure. Good luck to you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted December 22, 2018 Author Share Posted December 22, 2018 3 hours ago, DiannaKennedy said: I had to laugh at this one. I've been shooting messages to Mr Piland (MPOA director) for a few weeks now, regarding classes for 19-20. Planners gotta plan. 😉 We've only done the summer reviews for Latin, but I asked in a group of MP friends and got the following recs: Dr Dray (which you already knew) Susan Francino Cody King Mr Josyln Hope that helps a bit. Thanks! That is helpful. Mr. Piland is so nice. I have refrained from emailing him yet about next year but I would always feel comfortable emailing him questions. He really wants to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted December 30, 2018 Author Share Posted December 30, 2018 Just bumping and throwing out another name. Shawn Wilhite? Any info is great. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamamoose Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 I would love to see more reviews on teachers online. We had one instructor with MPOA in a summer literature class and she was boring and way too strict and for an hour and a half she just talked monotone. We gave her another chance for FFL review last summer and our experience was similar. At one point a child was having issues with his computer and my daughter told him to log out and log back in and she was harsh and flat out rude to both students and basically told them to mind their own business. When kids asked if they could play a game she would threaten to take their participation points away. These are KIDS! A simple yes later or no, not today would have sufficed! I called Mr. Piland about the issue and felt like he addressed my concerns but she’s still teaching. That said, we have had two marvelous Latin teachers (Mrs. Cutrer and Dr. Dray) and I have heard great things about Timmis and Reed as well. Specific reviews would be so helpful, and I feel like they would force the online school to really consider teacher retention. With that said... Cutrer is kind and full of humor, and very interesting. She absolutely loves history so her Latin class is full of slides and history that pertain to Latin. They played some kind of Latin Drill game in nearly every First Form class. She seems to genuinely care about each and every student in class. Dray is funny. He has FUN in class. He doesn’t provide as much history but he has a way with the kids. There has been a trouble maker student in class and he handles it very well and keeps the chat box on task and still manages to move the class at a great pace. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted January 3, 2019 Author Share Posted January 3, 2019 Thank you, mamamoose. MPOA has been around long enough and offers enough classes that I feel like there should be more reviews out there. That said, my ds has one dud of a teacher this year and I haven’t written a review anywhere so I shouldn’t talk. Thanks for the input on teachers. It is very helpful! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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