CAtoVA Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 I am looking for reviews of experiences with Blue Tent's Online Intro to LIt & Comp class for advanced 8th through "on grade" 10th graders (not the Honors English 1 class). I have read many reviews about the Honors classes at Blue Tent but I don't think the work output for the Intro class would be the same (I hope it wouldn't be 15-20 hours per week, yikes!) Background: This would be for my DS who is rising 10th. In 8th grade, he took the IEW SWI B online class, and this year he has taken Open Tent's All About Essays class. He can write well in most essay forms (not literary essays yet) but is not as fast as I would like and he still lacks confidence. I would like him to improve his confidence and speed and to also learn how to write literary essays. For literature, he is not as well read as I would like (for someone of his age) because he dislikes fiction. If I can get him to read a book and actually like it (The GIver this year for example) he still balks at discussing or writing about it in any depth beyond recall and comprehension. Short stories are somewhat more successfully analyzed. Many literature classes for "standard" 10th graders have reading lists that would scare him off, I'm sure. Blue Tent's seems like a good mix of challenge but not onerous. I have found that due to his foot dragging in this subject it works better to have some if not all of English out sourced otherwise my other homeschooled children would have none of my time. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retepxela Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 It is a terrific class. My son just finished it last week. The class had a perfect mix of reading, discussion, writing, grammar, vocabulary. Book discussion were very thorough and my son's favorite part of the class. They wrote one creative piece and four essays. All essays required an outline, sources, and a draft. The feedback on essays was very detailed, and the students always had to rework the essay to address the feedback. My son spent about an hour on the class daily; perhaps a bit extra time during the weeks they wrote essays. So, definitely not 15-20 hours a week (my older son took Honors English 2 from Blue Tent this year, and he never spent this many hours on that class either). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCal_Bear Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 @retepxela I would like to ask the teacher, Anna Harvey, some questions. I don't see a way to contact individual teachers on Blue Tent's website, Can you find out if she is willing to receive an email? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retepxela Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 This year the class was taught by Brigid Thompson ( I did not realize that they have a new teacher for the class next year). You can get in touch with them via the main email; they are very responsive to questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourisenough Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 5 hours ago, retepxela said: So, definitely not 15-20 hours a week (my older son took Honors English 2 from Blue Tent this year, and he never spent this many hours on that class either). How many hours per week would you estimate your older son spent on English 2 weekly? That 15-20 hours per week estimate sounds SO high it’s hard to believe, but I’ve heard it from more than one source! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retepxela Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 I've seen these estimates as well, but it was not our experience. My son spent about 1.5 hours daily (Mon-Fri) on the class. There were a few weeks when he did additional work on the weekends (usually when essays were due). But even then it would be about 10 hours max for the week. The work for the week was usually posted on Sunday, and we made sure to sit down on Sunday night and schedule exactly what he would need to accomplish every day so that he would just get to work during the week instead of figuring out what to do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAtoVA Posted May 13, 2019 Author Share Posted May 13, 2019 Hmmmm, a new teacher for the class? I have heard good things about Brigid Thompson.....should I worry about a new teacher teaching the class next year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAtoVA Posted May 14, 2019 Author Share Posted May 14, 2019 Signed my DS up for Blue Tent's Intro to Literature and have been in email contact with Brigid Thompson. I'm excited to have a huge, many moving parts subject largely off my hands for next year!! It was taking so.much.time. to teach English to my DS that my other kiddoes were truly suffering!! Fwiw, Brigid gave me the expected time commitment breakdown for the English classes at Blue Tent as follows: "This is what we assume timewise: Intro to Lit (5-7 hrs per week), Honors 1 (6-8 hrs), Honors 2 (7-9 hrs) AP English (8-10 hrs)." Any and all reviews are still welcome—thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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