How do you or your kids manages online classes scheduling/workloads?

[teacalm]

I appreciate any feedback. I would love for ds to be accountable to another teacher. He is taking home2teach writing classes and showed improvement in owning his work and following a schedule. So, my next step is to add the math/science online class with the Latin online class. He did terrible last year with his online classes with Lukeion Greek Myths (change into audit status), Lone Pine Classical Latin using Lingua Latina (dropped out), and Memoria Press Rod Staff Math 8 (dropped out). He got booted out on several occasions for distracting other students. He couldn't keep up with the schedules and the online classes in the morning were cutting into his work hours.

 

How do you help or how do your kids manage the online classes that you take? Is it foolish for me to plan the coming year again with even more online classes? Is there a way that it can be done?

 

I would love to enroll him in Regina Coeli Academy Algebra 1/Conceptual Physical Science. The Algebra 1 had 1 1/2 hour of online and the Conceptual Science has 1 hour online class. I also want him to continue his Henle with their Latin II (starts on second half of Unit II). THis Latin class meets online for I believe 1 hour 2x a week.

 

Given his history of taking online classes the beginning of this school year, is this foolish of me to plan for him to take these many outside online class? If your kids are on about the same schedule as above, how do you do it? WHat do you do to help your kids manage their schedule and work loads? Is this even doable?

 

Thanks so much for any advice.

 

Lyn

[newbie]

Its all about calendars and to do lists. I think after three yrs my oldest has it down. I have her straighten her calendar on the weekends and we go over together what needs to get done.

 

She is doing well now. But, the second one might be trickier. She is not a planner. So we might butt heads for a full online load coming up in the fall. I think every child is different. So maybe a school that is not as rigorous , like Keystone. Not as much teacher involvement and more lax on time frames.

[FloridaLisa]

Well, only you can really make that decision, but given your ds' history with online classes, I would pause before signing him up for three classes. My oldest has done many online classes, but never more than two at a time. He thrives with a *live* class and is uber motivated to excel. (I've always known he did better with IRL competition; the black and white syllabus just didn't do it for him. ;) ). I never, ever have to remind him of homework or to study and he brings home top grades. Though the online classes have served a purpose, and he will ultimately pull out an excellent grade, I usually have to keep on top of his pace. It's no fun really. It often makes me the enemy rather than the cheerleader. In fact, we mutually agreed that next year he will have all IRL classes.

 

My next two kids have not had any problem. They stay on pace and maintain grades without my intervention at all. BUT, I will try to keep their online schedule to no more than two classes, as too many can be isolating.

 

Given your ds' history, I would seriouly question whether online learning is really best for him. It's easy to drool over the online offerings. Are there any other local options? A math tutor or local classes? I've had great experiences pulling together classes my needed such as biology, chemistry, book club, debate. Sometimes we have a parent teach; other times we've hired a teacher.

 

HTH,

Lisa

 

[LoriM]

I am going back and editing this to insert this disclaimer--this post sounds FAR FAR FAR more preachy than I intended! The short answer is--online classes aren't for everyone, and it takes some training to teach a student how to manage them. Not every course is appealing to every student, and what the parent wants may be different from what the student wants. That having been said, forgive the preachiness, and only listen to the parts that actually apply...:)

 

What are the consequences if he fails to keep up with the set schedule? I think as a minimum, HE would pay for the courses. You mention interfering with his work hours--is he holding down an outside job? That is a privilege for a high school student. Good students have jobs. Poor students are, well, poor. :)

 

A red flag in your post was that you would love for him to "be accountable" to another teacher. If I am off-base, please just ignore me. But sometimes teen boys and their moms get disjointed in their goals, and he gets rebellious, and she gets frustrated, and both give up. But being "accountable" to another teacher is not the solution for a parenting challenge. Ultimately, no matter who you pay for coursework, your homeschooled child is accountable to you. And you are responsible for him. So, you will have to determine the consequences you will invoke if he slips, and the system you need to put in place to keep him on track, and make sure he knows you are on his team.

 

It is necessary for you to differentiate between your ideal high school education for him, and the real person he is. If he is slacking, you have to parent up, and get your nag on. But if he is happy, well-adjusted, following a life plan that is appropriate and good for him (even if it isn't the one you might envision) then put him in courses that support his vision. Some knowledge is non-negotiable. There is a certain amount of math that every well-educated person needs, then there is college prep math. There are good language skills--the ability to write your thoughts clearly, speak with purpose and vision, and show thought and politeness. And then there is Latin and Greek. GRIN.

 

My dds manage their schedules well now (at ages 16 and 19) but I was right beside them for online coursework (reading the syllabus, teaching them how to plan the work) until they were 14 or so. For my firstborn, I decoded her first semester of CC's syllabus for each class, and prompted her nearly every day ("Do you have homework? When do you have a quiz in ABC? Do you have online Spanish homework? How about math problems--want me to check 'em for you?"). It took some "landing gently" before she was ready to be fully independent. My younger dd took to the CC like a fish to water, but she's had more opportunity to be "independent" in her studies for the last two years.

 

Whatever you decide to do, don't decide it without talking to your son. I bet he can honestly tell you whether he "failed" in an online course due to the material, the instructor, his diligence or a combination of them all. Ask him what he wants. Where does he see himself in five years? How much money does he want to earn (grin!)? What subjects of study sound appealing to him? Then choose courses together, and make your commitment to support him when he commits to the coursework.

 

The workload sort of manages itself when the kids are invested in the material they are learning, and I stay connected to the upcoming events with little reminders and simple questions about how they did, what they are doing, and what they have left to do.

 

HTH,

 

LoriM

[Jackie in NE]

If my dc likes the class, I rarely have to nag, remind, berate, or threaten. If my dc doesn't like the class, I often have to do all 4!! So, I would pick the classes carefully, and get an agreement from your ds ahead of time as to how he will handle the classes, homework, schedule juggling, etc. And as a LoriM stated, I would definitely have him pay for any on-line classes not completed. They're expensive! I also liked LoriM's comment about "good students being allowed to have jobs, and poor students being, well, poor" :lol:.

 

Absolutely, your ds should know that he will likely be poor if he can't complete assigned tasks and juggle a work load.

 

My dd is currently taking 3 online classes. They are demanding. She is also taking IRL classes that she loves. Plus we have a couple of classes that we are home-teaching. She is in sports and music. Every day has to be structured, or she will fall behind in one or more subjects (usually the ones she doesn't like) :tongue_smilie:.

 

She has agreed to her schedule. She agrees with the goals we have for her in high school. Sometimes she has to be reminded that she agreed :001_huh:.

I think that if I hadn't built consensus first, her work load would be a constant point of friction. One thing that I did with dd was to plan out all 4 years of high school academically, and show her what would happen if we didn't stay on track. Would that help your ds to see the end game?

 

So what does your ds want to achieve during his few remaining years at home? How does he plan to reach those goals if he drops out of classes, or reduces them to "audit only" status?

 

Those are the questions I would ask.

 

Best wishes, Jackie

[Peela]

I learned the hard and expensive way that signing my dd up for an online course in order not to have to supervise her so closely, so I could have a break and she could be accountable to someone else, was not going to work. She is a responsible kid. She did French online and Latin online, and I wasnt watching closely enough and she got behind on both, and simply floundered. We gave up on the French. The Latin, I dived in and helped her at the end so that she could get a pass. I learned that leaving it to her to stay on top of her online classes was a mistake.

However home2teach has such a good system...it taught her to stay on top and organised. If she missed a day, or didnt set her work out preoprly, there was an email in her and my inbox within hours. I felt Eileen was brilliant and my dd produced good writing for her.

My dd loves other teachers....but too much freedom and a schedule with no consequences hasnt worked for her.

I woulnd't sign your son up for too much just so he can be accountable to someone else. Like LoriM says- he needs to stay accountable to you. You need to stay in tune and on top of what he is doing.

[outtamyshell]

It takes an incredible amount of discipline to finish and excel in an online class. I think they are a great profit center for colleges because people sign up and never finish them. My dd is taking an online Latin course with 9 adults and she is the only student who shows up every week. In fact, after 4 months she is one of 3 students who are even going to finish the course. The professor said he usually loses 20-30% of the class, but she's actually had several private tutoring sessions this year.

 

I think it's too much to expect a child to have the discipline to do it on their own. Most adults don't have the discipline to do it. I wouldn't be too hard on a high school student who struggles with it. Oddly enough, dd can happily do her other schoolwork without me home, but she gets lonely if I'm not there during her Latin class. I have also found it a good opportunity to teach her about expected behavior for a conference call (how to jump in with a question, the right balance of seriousness and joking around, how to communicate more succinctly, etc). I also have to stay on top of her so that she will prepare; it is the last class she will get around to studying during the week if I don't stay on top of her. Maybe it's the ADD, but I have to help her organize her schedule and I have to check up on her throughout the week to see how she's doing.

 

I wrote up what we consider an ideal weekly schedule with assignments that should be done each day. I didn't block out time spent on activities, but goals for each class (history reading finished on Saturday, English rough draft done on Wednesday, etc). This format has been the most useful we've used so far. She still manages each day and I encourage her to spend an hour at a time on each class rather than 3-5 hours on one subject. The chart makes it easy to see if she's on track, ahead of schedule or falling behind for the week.

[teacalm]

Its all about calendars and to do lists. I think after three yrs my oldest has it down. I have her straighten her calendar on the weekends and we go over together what needs to get done.

 

Do you use a paper planner or do you type a schedule?

 

So maybe a school that is not as rigorous , like Keystone. Not as much teacher involvement and more lax on time frames.

 

Do you report to a teacher when you take Keystone courses?

 

 

 

 

THanks so much for responding.

 

Lyn

[teacalm]

Well, only you can really make that decision, but given your ds' history with online classes, I would pause before signing him up for three classes.

 

 

Three online classes would be too much. Have to consider the online meeting class and those hour here and there starts adding up and it cuts into the working time during the day.

 

Are there any other local options? A math tutor or local classes? I've had great experiences pulling together classes my needed such as biology, chemistry, book club, debate. Sometimes we have a parent teach; other times we've hired a teacher.

 

I have to look into the local Christian school who I've heard opens up individual classes to homeschoolers. We have several coops around my area but the ones I know are mostly taught by parents. My preference are classes taught by certified teachers. Not that I'm saying parents aren't qualified to teach courses because I've have one parent in my own small hs group that prepares thoroughly and intensively for her class.

 

 

 

Thanks so much for responding.

[newbie]

THanks so much for responding.

 

Lyn

 

Keystone does have teachers that grade assignments. On the calendar side, I look for templates or buy planners from Christianbookstore.com.

 

My new idea, is Wallies has chalkboard stickums and I want to purchase seven, but in the meantime, I bought lil chalkboards from Toys Rus and I am going to put up a shelf and each chalkboard 8x10, represents a day.

 

I am not the best planner, but there are lots of great planners here.

[teacalm]

I am going back and editing this to insert this disclaimer--this post sounds FAR FAR FAR more preachy than I intended! The short answer is--online classes aren't for everyone, and it takes some training to teach a student how to manage them. Not every course is appealing to every student, and what the parent wants may be different from what the student wants. That having been said, forgive the preachiness, and only listen to the parts that actually apply...:)

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond. I think I already know the answer before I posted this query but why does it have to be so hard, hard, hard?

 

 

A red flag in your post was that you would love for him to "be accountable" to another teacher.

 

Wouldn't that be nice? But I know it's not going to happen so I would have to just deal with it. What I want to know how to do is how to just surrender to the fact that there's no other way to do it but work, and more work. I always have this firm resolve to do it better but it always fails and I have to pick up the pieces again.

 

 

 

I've given up many, many times only to come back to my senses that this child is mine and only my responsibility. I guess there's no other way to do it, huh! It's taking me a long time to fully own this job and responsibility.

 

So, you will have to determine the consequences you will invoke if he slips, and the system you need to put in place to keep him on track, and make sure he knows you are on his team.

 

Dad and I have all these consequences lined up if he failed to do his job but how come I'm not rejoicing when I see him go through the consequences? It leaves me with a heavy weighted heart. it seems like all I do is reprimand him and points out the mistake. Can I really go from that point and at the same time attempt to tie back the string with him to restore the relationship? Just answered my question, of course I can.

 

It is necessary for you to differentiate between your ideal high school education for him, and the real person he is. If he is slacking, you have to parent up, and get your nag on. But if he is happy, well-adjusted, following a life plan that is appropriate and good for him (even if it isn't the one you might envision) then put him in courses that support his vision. Some knowledge is non-negotiable. There is a certain amount of math that every well-educated person needs, then there is college prep math. There are good language skills--the ability to write your thoughts clearly, speak with purpose and vision, and show thought and politeness. And then there is Latin and Greek. GRIN.

 

I don't know if I can ease up on him but I can take small steps towards that goal. THis parenting and nagging is a painful thing. It seems like it's never going to stop, huh!

th

 

My dds manage their schedules well now (at ages 16 and 19) but I was right beside them for online coursework (reading the syllabus, teaching them how to plan the work) until they were 14 or so. For my firstborn, I decoded her first semester of CC's syllabus for each class, and prompted her nearly every day ("Do you have homework? When do you have a quiz in ABC? Do you have online Spanish homework? How about math problems--want me to check 'em for you?"). It took some "landing gently" before she was ready to be fully independent. My younger dd took to the CC like a fish to water, but she's had more opportunity to be "independent" in her studies for the last two years.

 

Thank you for sharing in detail the steps you have to do in order to ease your children into owning their work and ultimately, doing it independently.

 

Whatever you decide to do, don't decide it without talking to your son. I bet he can honestly tell you whether he "failed" in an online course due to the material, the instructor, his diligence or a combination of them all. Ask him what he wants. Where does he see himself in five years? How much money does he want to earn (grin!)? What subjects of study sound appealing to him? Then choose courses together, and make your commitment to support him when he commits to the coursework.

 

 

The workload sort of manages itself when the kids are invested in the material they are learning, and I stay connected to the upcoming events with little reminders and simple questions about how they did, what they are doing, and what they have left to do.

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. It helps me know that I'm not the only who's going through or who went through the exact situation.

 

 

 

Reading through your response is very encouraging and gives my aching heart hope to continue with the journey.

 

Much blessings to you,

 

Lyn