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Post by Jeannette on Jul 1, 2009 20:15:10 GMT -5
Hello! I just discovered your program in "Latin-Centered Curriculum" and I'm heartbroken I didn't find it earlier! However, I have 4 more children to mold, and they will use it! Here are my questions: I would like to start my 9th and 7th graders on Older Beginners, but they have gone through Excellence in Writing and really are excellent writers. Because of the 4 day structure, I am wondering how I would speed up the course in sections they know well (or if I should). You also state in one of the samples I read on line (Homer, Lesson 2, p109, parsing) that we should "dwell" on a new lesson. How? Do it on day two for several weeks, or do it on day 3 & 4 also and just get off schedule? I hope that doesn't sound like too dumb a question, but it seems like your 4-day schedule is rather carefully structured, so I want to know what flexibility we have in speeding up or slowing down. Also, you go through grammar so well in Homer, I wonder why we need a separate Grammar course at the same time (my girls have studied "Voyages in English"), especially since CW should take at least an hour a day.
On a personal note, I would love to know what your PhDs are in - Literature? Classics? Education? My oldest daughter has read the classics on her own for years and will devour these books as I buy them. I thought she might be interested to know what the co-authors majored in! (Alas, my 16 year old son will have to come to the classics on his own - absolutely no interest. Sigh) Thank you for this program!
Jeannette
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Post by Lene Mahler Jaqua on Jul 2, 2009 9:43:44 GMT -5
Jeanette,
>>>
Because of the 4 day structure, I am wondering how I would speed up the course in sections they know well (or if I should). You also state in one of the samples I read on line (Homer, Lesson 2, p109, parsing) that we should "dwell" on a new lesson. How? Do it on day two for several weeks, or do it on day 3 & 4 also and just get off schedule? I hope that doesn't sound like too dumb a question, but it seems like your 4-day schedule is rather carefully structured, so I want to know what flexibility we have in speeding up or slowing down. Also, you go through grammar so well in Homer, I wonder why we need a separate Grammar course at the same time (my girls have studied "Voyages in English"), especially since CW should take at least an hour a day.>>>
Let me answer your questions in sequence:
1. Yes, you can speed things up, so long as your students are understanding the lessons and not at a pace where they are just trying to get things done.
2. The concept of "dwelling" on a lesson is the idea that we don't just get something done in order to say we have done it, but that we aim to do a task for its own sake, for mastery of that task. If you are always rushing through lessons, you give the kids the impression of a task to get out of the way, not a task that is worth doing for its own sake. In other words "enjoy the process" it is AS important as "the destination."
3. It is impossible to say how long it will take your kids to be comfortable with the material in Aesop and Homer for Older Beginners. That would be your judgment call, both in terms of what you want them to master, but also in terms of what they can ingest and retain. You may want to speed things up to get to the next level, just be sure they got out of it what you wanted them to get out of it.
4. Our four day structure is set up so that the student has a fifth day every week to do field trips, catch up, etc. You have all the flexibility in the world to double up or get done whatever you want.
>>>>On a personal note, I would love to know what your PhDs are in - Literature? Classics? Education? My oldest daughter has read the classics on her own for years and will devour these books as I buy them. I thought she might be interested to know what the co-authors majored in! >>>>
I am afraid that our Ph. D.s may disappoint gravely if you were looking for classics and literature.
Tracy Gustilo who co-authored the first three core books with me has a Ph. D. in ecology with a minor in philosophy. My Ph. D. is in low-energy theoretical nuclear structure with a minor in solid-state physics.
Lene
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Post by Jeannette on Jul 2, 2009 10:45:10 GMT -5
Thank you so much, Lene! I feel more confident to go at the girls' pace now. I will start two at Aesop, Homer, and Poetry for Older Beginners, and one at Aesop B (she is 4th/5th grade, and another post said it was alright to start at B for a 4th grader)
As for the PhDs, that's just perfect! My daughter is a Computer Science/Criminal Justice double major with great interest in Literature and Philosophy, so it's wonderful that two such science minded ladies have been able to raise children and simultaneously create a program that is re-introducing clear thinking and clear writing to a functionally illiterate generation. With 5 daughters, I have wondered if they would be able to raise families and still use their educations without compromising their children's need for Mom. Thank you for showing us it can be done!
Jeannette
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