thoughts on the PAH AP Physics options?

[AEC]

It feels a bit early for this, but looking ahead is helpful to DD, so....I'm looking for feedback on the PaH AP Physics classes.

DD is currently taking CalcBC (AoPS is the text, I am teaching) and Clover Valley Honors Chem (+1 for Connie, who is awesome. that class rocks. Cannot recommend strongly enough).

We do want it to be a class that someone else teaches, grades, etc. There's a choice of teachers - I'm interested in feedback on one vs the other.  Also, there's a PhysicsC Mech-only that spends the whole year on mechanics or the option to do mechanics the first half & E&M the second half of the year. Any feedback on how challenging that schedule was for your DC?

Finally, I think the HS Physics thread that's stickied is a bit out of date. It looks like the PaH classes have switched texts. 

https://www.aphomeschoolers.com/cgi-bin/choose.pl?class=physics3

suggests he's using Physics C Mechanics: University Physics  now.

Jack Kernion's class description says:

"The backbone of each course is self-study based on a wide variety of clearly defined sequential activities, but students will also have the support of the instructor through a discussion forum and through live (optional) video sessions held every other Wednesday at 12:00 noon (US Eastern Time). "

that sounds maybe TOO limited in teacher interaction? What are the assigned HW's like, how much teacher engagement is there, etc? Jeff Lanctot's course sounds a bit more teacher-involved, but that might just be the description?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hadley]

My son ( a junior) is taking AP Physics 1/2 this year with Dr. Kernion, and plans to take both C level classes with him next year.

He has learned a ton from the classes, and Dr. Kernion has been excellent with communication, organization, etc.  I do believe that his classes are best for strong science/math students who are very capable of digging into topics and learning some things outside of class. I’m not going to lie: My son has spent a ton of time on his physics classes this year.  I know that his AP Physics 2 semester class has grown very small, with the others moving into his AP Physics 1 year long class.

I would encourage you to contact Dr. Kernion to ask him any questions you may have.  He really does seem to care about the kids and wants them to be placed where they will be best able to succeed.

Edited April 15, 2020 by Hadley

[rjand6more]

DD is finish 1 year Physics C with Dr Kernion. It is fantastic.  He is so involved and available.  She has never felt like instruction has been lacking in any way.

This class is for sure for someone who can self study and is willing to invest a lot of time in the class.

[daijobu]

Another thumbs up for Kernion.  My dd started with Lanctot and switched at the semester and was glad she did.  For an AoPS student, AP physics C should be no problem.  My dd (also an AoPS student) took mech in the fall and e&m in the spring and got 5's on both exams.  

[MAhomeschool]

My extremely self-motivated, very math-loving son took AP Physics C (both Mechanics and E&M in one year) with Jack Kernion through PAH in 2018-2019 and got 5s on both exams.  I think that Mr. Kernion did a great job with the class, although it was a TON of work (we had to defer history to the summer to make enough space for the workload) and the work was absolutely relentless (e.g., 1st semester final was Dec 28, 2nd semester assignments start Jan 2).  Mr. Kernion was extremely personable and friendly, a *really* nice guy.  My son had taken Honors Physics through Derek Owens, and he felt like the physics content was mostly review, which allowed him to focus on the calculus parts (he was taking BC Calc concurrently). Don't bother with the free textbook; it is terrible, and the material that Mr. Kernion provides is more than enough.  Overall, my son really liked the class, and Mr. Kernion, and it seemed like a great course in terms of content and presentation; I would highly recommend Mr. Kernion to anyone. (And another +1 for Connie Schwartz's Chemistry too.)

[MamaSprout]

I just came to the board to look at PAH Physics reviews, so good timing!

Has anyone done Mr. Kernion's "Physics Prep" course website instead of the class? Dd has two potential live classes, so the PAH/ Physics Prep would be kind of a back up plan.

Since she will have had both algebra-based physics and Calc BC, I'm hoping to find her something thorough that doesn't require a lot of graded busy work (she's one who will find/ do extra problems if she needs them). If the Physics Prep courses are enough, I would really prefer to not have to compete for a spot in an online class that might fill up before she knows for sure about her other options.

TIA!