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My son is enjoying class with Daniel Burns at Pennsylvania Homeschoolers.  I have been impressed with Mr. Burns’ communication with both parents and students.

He does, however, bring in a Christian lens as well as the secular view of US History, which does not suit everyone...

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I think she uses a secular lens.  We almost put our son in her class.  Lovely woman and I hear great things about her class...

If she is overtly Christian in her approach, it will be made clear in her bio online.  Pennsylvania Homeschoolers does not advocate for one worldview or religion.  They employ teachers from all walks of life...

 

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11 hours ago, fourisenough said:

Is Mrs. Richman’s class secular? Or Christian?

I’m sure the class is secular. I think the teacher herself might be Jewish. It doesn’t matter. The class will be 90% fundamentalist Christian because that seems to be the homeschool population nationwide. And when most of the class is constructed around “respond to x of your classmates message board posts on Y” well you can imagine how it goes.

needless to say I don’t have experience with this class. And am doing APUSH at home 😉 

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And here we go...never fails

A class can discuss Christian beliefs and still be academically sound.  My son has not once written a paper or test answer that involves Christianity.  He is preparing for the very secular exam.  The only difference is that he is allowed to mention his own worldview in discussions.

Additionally, the majority of work for this class is most definitely NOT postings on a discussion board.  Please don’t make broad assumptions about things with which you have no involvement.

You do you.  The rest of us are allowed differences of opinion.  Bless your heart

 

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I do have personal experience with Mrs. Richman's class. The class is secular, the subject matter is secular, the conversations in the class are secular. Responding to other students' essays is a very small part of the class, and I have not seen any essays written from "fundamentalist Christian" perspective in this class. It is a very rigorous class and would be an excellent fit for a student who is able to work independently and is really deeply interested in US History. 

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20 hours ago, Hadley said:

And here we go...never fails

A class can discuss Christian beliefs and still be academically sound.  My son has not once written a paper or test answer that involves Christianity.  He is preparing for the very secular exam.  The only difference is that he is allowed to mention his own worldview in discussions.

Additionally, the majority of work for this class is most definitely NOT postings on a discussion board.  Please don’t make broad assumptions about things with which you have no involvement.

You do you.  The rest of us are allowed differences of opinion.  Bless your heart

 

Please be kind. I know MadTeaParty came across somewhat harshly and possibly seemed to jump to conclusions, but over the years several of us have been burned by world views in courses/ curriculum that are not at all welcoming to open discussion by everyone. There was some history in the comment that perhaps you are unaware of. My family is not not atheist, but my dd would feel excluded in many of these classes. Frank reviews of what to expect is helpful to everyone.

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1 hour ago, MamaSprout said:

Please be kind. I know MadTeaParty came across somewhat harshly and possibly seemed to jump to conclusions, but over the years several of us have been burned by world views in courses/ curriculum that are not at all welcoming to open discussion by everyone. There was some history in the comment that perhaps you are unaware of. My family is not not atheist, but my dd would feel excluded in many of these classes. Frank reviews of what to expect is helpful to everyone.

Yes, but that wasn’t a frank review, it was an assumption. She had no personal experience with that class or that teacher. I’m finding the teachers at PAH operate much more independently and as entrepreneurs rather than employees, thus their classes all have different ‘tones’. It is important to hear factual information from people who have first-hand knowledge of that particular teacher/class.

I am an atheist and I have been burned by a teacher/class that was supposed to be secular but wasn’t, so I sympathize with her plight. But, painting every teacher/class with broad strokes that may not be accurate isn’t helpful to any of us.

Edited by fourisenough
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MamaSprout,

You are correct to remind me that I should be kind.  It’s been on my conscience.  The use of the snarky ‘bless your heart’ was inappropriate and unkind.  For that, I am sorry.

As far as the rest of my post, I stand behind what I said.  I am not someone unaware of the fact that there are worldviews outside of Christianity.  I am in a multi-faith family, myself.  However, I can speak for myself in that I am very weary of the denigration of ‘fundamentalist Christians’.  Perhaps there may be backstories on both sides.

Edited by Hadley
It’s very early for me!
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I agree with both of you, but I will admit the "bless your heart" probably set me off a bit. In some places, it means pretty much the opposite.

I don't want to take away from the OPs question, and agree that finding the happy medium with AP history can be tricky. We've decided to go the DE route b/c I would rather dd have the classroom experience and I can vet a local teacher more easily. Most of her target schools will only take AP American History as general humanities credit, anyhow.

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3 hours ago, fourisenough said:

Yes, but that wasn’t a frank review, it was an assumption. She had no personal experience with that class or that teacher. I’m finding the teachers at PAH operate much more independently and as entrepreneurs rather than employees, thus their classes all have different ‘tones’. It is important to hear factual information from people who have first-hand knowledge of that particular teacher/class.

I am an atheist and I have been burned by a teacher/class that was supposed to be secular but wasn’t, so I sympathize with her plight. But, painting every teacher/class with broad strokes that may not be accurate isn’t helpful to any of us.

I have experience with online homeschool classes from almost every provider, including multiple from PA homeschoolers. I was speaking to trends I’ve observed that go across the spectrum, because the population is what it is. Calling the thing by its name is not denigrating it.  I stated in my post I do not (and would not) have experience with this class for the reasons I stated. 
But she doesn’t need to amend her post. I think it rather nicely illustrates my point, actually, which is why I didn’t engage further. Considering I never spoke to rigor, or any such thing. Bless my heart indeed 🙂 

Edited by madteaparty
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