Click here to go to the NEW College Discussion Forum

I'm a new poster but I've been lurking on the College Confidential board since its inception. Great discussions throughout the board! I'm hoping that this homeschool section will be able to offer some guidance re finding a jr year LA correspondence course that will be acceptable to our son's high school. (We are looking for a LA correspondence course because our son may be spending his entire junior year abroad. It looks like we've found a suitable AP US History correspondence course through Northwestern University's CTD/Letterlinks program. Math is not a concern since he is already on an accelerated math track and will be enrolled in math while in Germany).

We are looking for a LA correspondence course with a strong writing component. We are seriously evaluating courses/prgrams from NWU/CTD Letterlinks and the Johns Hopkins Writing Tutorials. I've also received material from the University of Nebraska Independent Study High School. Does any one (student and/or parent) have personal knowledge of any of these programs? Any suggestions for other programs to look into?

I should mention that our son is in Honors LA at his high school. The junior year LA class has a Survey of American Lit for reading focus and continues a VERY strong writing curriculum. (Son would take English in Germany but the Dean of Academics is concerned about the strength of the writing component since English would be taught as a *foreign language* -- the Dean seems to have definite ideas, yet doesn't want to consider having an English teacher at our hs working long distance with our son). On the surface, I think I've eliminated the Univ of Nebraska ISHS program -- I think it looks too elementary. I think the JHU Writing Tutorials may be the best fit with what the Dean desires regarding writing (son would read AmLit books separately from the Writing Tutorials) BUT son needs regular e-mail access for the program and there is no guarantee that he will have regular access (and we won't know his assignmentbefore mid-August and I think it's important to have everything set up before he goes). NWU/CTD Letterlinks offers both internet and snail mail correspondence programs -- but I'm not sure that the writing will be as intensive as the Dean wants. (Evaluation and feedback, editing and multiple re-writing is supposed to be a major componenent (30%) of the JHU Writing Tutorials -- the multiple editing and re-writing is a similar approach that our hs uses).

Note: While the Dean seems to have a definite *picture* in mind he hasn't clearly voiced to us just WHAT he is looking for in an *acceptable* LA correspondence course -- so I want to be able present several different well-researched options when we meet in February.

Thanks in advance for your feedback and suggestions.

By Nathan (Homeschool) on Tuesday, December 18, 2001 - 10:39 am: Edit

Hmmmm, very interesting. While I am in a correspondence school, I am not well versed in other such schools. My school is a private Christian HS out of AZ, and is not what you are looking for.

I've talked to a few people who have taken correspondence courses from a correspondence school put on by the University of Missouri (Columbia?). Haven't heard any complaints about it, and I hear it is pretty strong. I don't know any particulars, but I thought I would mention it. Wish I could be of more assistance, but I'm really only familiar with a couple of curriculums outside of what I've used in the past.

By R Storm (Anonrs) on Friday, December 21, 2001 - 01:54 am: Edit

test

By R Storm (Anonrs) on Friday, December 21, 2001 - 02:21 am: Edit

Nathan, thanks for your reply. I will be checking out the Univ of Missouri and see what they offer.

Before I posted my question, I read through some of the other homeschool threads to see if somehow my question had already been covered. I noticed your frequent, very well thought out and cohesive responses -- you're a very interesting person.

FYI, it's too late to apply this year but depending upon your age you might be interested next year in checking out the program that my son has applied for. It's called the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange. It's a free-ride, full-year (mid-summer to mid-summer) program paid for by the US Congress and the German Parliament. (Families pay the cost of sending their child to Washington, DC and provide monthly personal spending funds). Students are placed with host families; the program is country-wide, so you could be living in a big city or a small town.

The Congress-Bundestag program was established sometime in the 1980's. Each year 300 students, age 15-18, are selected to participate. (Great odds of selection; apparently last year, the acceptance rate was one in three applicants). This is a "goodwill student exchange" so a background in German language is not a requirement (extra consideration is NOT given to those who have taken German language). The web address is www.usaGermanyScholarship.org

Thanks again.

(BTW, I ran the "test" post because when I tried to post a reply earlier this week I received back a message about not being authorized to post in this area -- which I thought was weird since I posted the original question).

By Nathan (Homeschool) on Friday, December 21, 2001 - 10:33 am: Edit

Thank you for the compliment.

Re on the German program: I'm a Senior this year, and am committed to a particular university for next year. Plus, I will be too old next year. I do appreciate the suggestion, and will remember it in case I come across someone who might be interested.

By Dianne MacLean (Dmac) on Saturday, March 23, 2002 - 11:27 am: Edit

In response to your query regarding Nebraska LA course... my son has been using the 10th grade course and we decided to switch to Missouri at the semester. The University of Nebraska represented the course as more challenging than the average high school course, which is what my son wants, and as we are new to homeschooling, we were perhaps a little naive about how the system would work for us. However, what is represeted as "challenging" material, really amounted to sloppy presentation of material on Nebraska's part, with gaps in explanation of rules or material that often does not follow with any other material of the same level. It soon becomes apparant to the user that lack of logical sequence and explanation can not be passed off as more "challenging" material. Even LA tutors that we turned to for help had a hard time following many aspects of the course, and recently the district's homeschool advisor told me they were rethinking their use of Nebraska, and had, during this year, one student who was so confused by the material that her parents drove back to Nebraska to sit down face to face with the prefessor and try to get some clarification. That has been our experience as well. My son has always received high marks, but was frustrated with all of the courses that we took through Nebraska, including advanced algebra and biology.

By Hws56 (Hws56) on Monday, August 09, 2004 - 11:33 am: Edit

Texas Tech offers a correspondance program - can take some HS courses as dual credit - do the college course and cover HS & college credit at once. Haven't done the dual credit ourselves, but have heard great things from friends who have. Their other HS courses have been well planned and explained - assuming the same with the college courses.
Try dce.ttu.edu.
Good luck.

By Wolfpiper (Wolfpiper) on Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 07:28 pm: Edit

A friend of ours did the Texas Tech program for a year, and the HS won't give her a lot of credit, putting her about a year and a half behind.

By Hws56 (Hws56) on Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - 11:25 pm: Edit

Texas Tech program - not writing about the high school course. Sounds like the dual credit HS/TTU courses would work out well for you. Or just the college course by itself. Look at the courses listed in their college correspondance section - http://www2.dce.ttu.edu/ec2k/Heading.asp?heading_id=41
You might be surprised.