Do you consider TOG to be academically superior?

[MommyInTraining]

If so, could you explain why?

 

Also, do you feel like it could be used successfully with a child that has learning challenges?

 

Thanks!

[mom2abunch]

I would be interested to know also....

[specialmama]

One of the beauties of TOG is that it is highly tailored to your students. It could be as rigorous as you want it to be, or as adapted to your challenged child as you need it to be. Now, speaking from the pov of one who has a highly challenged autistic son, I do not think TOG suits all children. For my son, he would need something more visual and more life skills based, not history based. But a child who, say in the public system may be delayed a year or can function with a part time aid (or TA or EA or whatever your district calls them) then I think TOG could be adapted quite easily. Hope that helps!

[MommyInTraining]

Thanks Karyn.

 

I would love to hear more from other users if you could take the time to comment.

 

Thanks!

[Karenciavo]

I've never used anything else for any length of time so I really couldn't say for sure. The younger years definitely have a "better late than early" flavor so you could probably find something superior if you want your k-5 or 6th grade memorizing tons of facts and answering a lot of comprehension questions. My 1st grade son has learned a lot though, don't get me wrong. I think at the grammar stage with TOG mom has to lead more than TOG, you take out of it what you want to give your child.

 

My high schooler is making so many connections and drinking so deeply I can't imagine being more pleased. I think studying the philosophy of the age along with the history makes such a difference. And the literature? Wow, yeah, it's deep. I love the history of government study too.

 

I will be honest, at times it seems disjointed because it's often not a straight line of study. Being that it's a unit study approach you move forward in history as you study one culture and then back up again a few weeks later when you move on to the next culture being studied. For example, we studied the unification of Italy, then the Civil War, then the unification of Germany. I would have liked to have studied the European stage all together and I had to make sure my son was remembering certain events, especially regarding all the wheeling and dealing Napoleon III tried. This can be frustrating for some people, we worked it out. Completing a time-line helps keep everything straight.

 

Overall, TOG is a tool you use for your own unique family. I can't comment on how that would work with a special needs child.

Edited April 27, 2009 by Karenciavo

[angela in ohio]

If so, could you explain why?

 

Also, do you feel like it could be used successfully with a child that has learning challenges?

 

Thanks!

 

Honestly, the academic superiority would depend on the person using it.

 

I think it could be adapted to a child with learning challenges.

[Quiver0f10]

I don't know about superior, but I agree with the others that it's really up to how you use it and what your goals are for your family. We don't do everything in the guide so maybe we aren't getting everything out of it we should, but it works for us. I do have a some with LD and I am basically just using SOTW and narrations with him.

[Melissa in CA]

Academically superior? Hmmm...dunno. It's academically superior to the other history programs I have used in the past, but since I have not used them all, I will not claim it is THE history program. KWIM?

 

As for using it with an LD child. That really depends on the child and what his/her LDs are. My oldest boy has LDs. I found him very difficult to teach around 3rd grade and decided to put him in school. I thought he was just being stubborn and pigheaded. While in the school his teacher had him tested, and sure enough, they found it wasn't pigheadedness it was an LD. Long story short, they helped him with math and worked with him in some other areas, etc., but when he came back home to school, he was never able to work at his own grade level. What was simple for the average child, took a lot of brain power for him and he got frustrated very easily. In 3rd grade he could phonically read 12th grade words, but his reading comprehension was weak. Basically he could read anything placed in front of him, but mental comprehension did not mesh with reading ability nor did his math computation. School always was and always will be harder for him than most. He is currently holding his own in college, but he still struggles mightily in math. He is doing much better in reading comprehension though, so that is a help. ;)

 

Now, having said that, I think TOG would have worked perfectly fine for him. He would never have made it to RH level work, at least not fully, but Dialectic would have been fine for him through high school. The books are engaging, and many have a lot of pictures, etc. which would have been perfect for him. I like that TOG offers many different discussion questions. I could have chosen a few for him to answer on paper and then discussed the others with him. He would have loved the mapping and the Lit. It would have been a good curriculum for him...especially compared to a textbook. And I love that with TOG you can hop up or down a level at any given time. So, yes, I feel TOG is a great curriculum for an LD child....depending entirely on the extent of the LD. ;)

[siloam]

I agree that it can be. Of course academically superior means different things to different people. It also is dependent on how much of TOG you use.

 

My oldest is probably and ideal TOG student, loves to read. My 2nd dd is probably dyslexic and thus is a slow reader. There is no way she will cover the same material my oldest will. That said what she does cover she will do thoroughly.

 

For example right now I read aloud the UG selections to all my kids, then my oldest reads additional texts on her own, and both the LG and UG literature (because a book doesn't come into this house that she hasn't read, LOL!). My 2nd dd reads just the LG literature. Next year my oldest will begin to do some of the D level Lit and Church history, while my 2nd dd does a mix of LG and UG lit. Basically my 2nd dd hangs back a little in the levels because she can't handle the volume of reading nor sensitive topics. She may do some R level work eventually, but I will probably have to be selective about it.

 

Heather

 

[Melissa in CA]

Academically superior to what?

 

MFW probably. :w00t: :lol: I'm kidding, I'm kidding, I'm KIDDING! :lol:

 

Actually, I think "academically superior" is in the eyes of the beholder. I can't imagine myself purposely choosing a sub-standard curriculum, so apparently I think TOG is top-notch. I imagine the same goes for those who choose VP, MFW, HOD, Abeka, etc...:001_smile:

[Alison in KY]

MFW probably. :w00t: :lol: I'm kidding, I'm kidding, I'm KIDDING! :lol:

 

Actually, I think "academically superior" is in the eyes of the beholder. I can't imagine myself purposely choosing a sub-standard curriculum, so apparently I think TOG is top-notch. I imagine the same goes for those who choose VP, MFW, HOD, Abeka, etc...:001_smile:

 

That just tickled my funny bone:D

 

Alison

[MommyInTraining]

Academically superior to what? I really am trying to clarify your question, not be snarky at all.

 

 

To any other curriculum available...seriously :001_smile:!

[cbollin]

To any other curriculum available...seriously :001_smile:!

 

 

Terri, let me tell you a story. The year I graduated from high school, our class had 2 valedictorians. Both had the same GPA. Now, tell me.... who was the superior one? The petite brunette or the tall blonde? Anna and I had the same GPA. Which of us was superior and why?

 

When I graduated from university, each college within the university had a top student in that class. Which one college or one student was the academically superior one to the others? Why? Were they not equals among peers?

 

Is it possible that same difficult thought process applies to curriculum? Yes. There is more than just one and only A plus program on the market. Which one is God telling you to use for His purposes? He is superior, right? (we're talking Christian curriculum, so I hope it's ok to mention God.)

 

TOG/MFW/XYZ/blah blah blah is not superior to some other program. Each is a quality program among other quality programs. Curriculum is a tool to use for teaching. That's all.

 

Let me tell you another story. Last year I went to convert my 403B into IRA account. The financial geek showed me a chart of the top 10 company funds. If I looked at company C (which he wanted me to go with), I saw that at the 5 year mark, it was only the 3rd highest rank fund. At the 10 year mark, it was number 1. so, does this mean it was not a superior fund? Of course not.

 

Terri, :grouphug: seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all of these curriculum things will be added.

 

Peace.

-crystal

[specialmama]

Sometimes "good" is the enemy of "the best"; but other times the pursuit of the elusive "best" is the enemy of the relaxed and happy mommy that your kids need way more than they need a history program.

 

This should be one of those lick 'em and stick 'em tattoos, so we could stick them to everything when it's shopping season! Good point!

[Melissa in CA]

I think it is more about fit and family goals than anything else.

 

:iagree:

 

I have used a variety of curriculum in my 12+ years of homeschooling. At different times in my life, different curriculum met the goals I set for my kids. For many years that was Sonlight, for a very fun year it was Winter Promise, this past year and next year it will be TOG. I take each year as it comes and reevaluate our goals. Someday TOG may not be a good fit for us and I'll look elsewhere (gasp! lol).

 

All that to say, there is no perfect curriculum...just what is perfect for you and yours at any given moment in time. ;)

[Staci in MO]

Sometimes "good" is the enemy of "the best"; but other times the pursuit of the elusive "best" is the enemy of the relaxed and happy mommy that your kids need way more than they need a history program.

 

This is such a good point. I have had to embrace this line of thinking lately. I am very tempted by Omnibus, and Smarr, and Starting Points, and WVWW, and and and....

 

But I can't do it all. And as my dc get older, I need to spend my time teaching them to WRITE and teaching them ALGEBRA and doing LAB SCIENCES. I can't do that if I'm continually researching and switching curricula. And, for all I know, a lot of those other curricula might not work nearly as well for me as TOG has.

 

I really like TOG. I know how it works, I know how to best implement it with my dc, and I know how much time it's going to take. TOG done well will give my dc a fabulous education. And I think (hope, pray) that I've reached the point where I can embrace that and not look back.