Wow, this is a seriously negative thread.
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Originally Posted by Linda on the move
Yep. In some states, kids need to do all the work and turn it all in. In some states unenrolling is more complicated than others. And if the reason you did it was to get all the cool stuff, turning all back in can be painful.
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If you're talking about variations by state, then are you really saying anything about K12 or even about charter schools aside from "they're all different?"
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I'm not knocking it, really. I'm just saying that if someone is going to use it, they should do their research and go in with their eyes wide open. |
A reasonable sentiment, but wow is it ever being expressed with venom.
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just curious -- for those who use it and like, how long have you been using it and what grades are you kids using? I wonder if the grades one is using makes a difference, or just the charter you are going through. |
My son has worked through kindergarten, first, and most of second grade as well as half of the third grade math course.
Some of the differences have to do with the schools, but I'd be willing to bet that many have to do with the teachers. K12's philosophy is fairly clear, and favors a far more flexible approach than some of you are describing. One of the things that I heard over and over again, both from the school and from K12, was that we were
not supposed to do everything. K12's curriculum is designed to meet the needs of many different kinds of learners, but it is mastery-based. This means that each lesson has an objective and several activities which are designed to help different kinds of learners meet those objectives and master the material. There are stories, there are worksheets, there are projects and activities, and very few are 'necessary' for anything. If your child has mastered the objectives, you don't need to do anything but cross your t-s and dot your i-s.
Bean's Schedule, for those of you who are interested:
Monday: Math. We usually spend 15-30 minutes working on lesson material (math is very easy for my son). He completes at least one assessment, and goes back to whatever he was doing before I called him to do schoolwork. I count at least an hour of time for math, depending on how much work he does and how many other math-related activites he does during the day.
Tuesday: Language Arts. 30-45 minutes on assignments, at least that much time reading (usually not curriculum-related), and library time in the late afternoon/early evening. I count an average of 180 minutes for LA.
Wednesday: Art and History. Bean hates doing art, so we really play up the art-history connection and spend a lot more time on discussion and artists than we do on drawing/painting/etc. History is LOTS of fun for Bean, so more often than not I have to tear him away on these days. He spends an average of 60 minutes on schoolwork these days (more than Monday or Tuesday) and I count at least 120 minutes, based on what he's done, any other history discussions we have, and documentaries we may watch.
Thursday: Science. This is another day when I have to pull him away from his schoolwork. He spends an average of 60 minutes on schoolwork, again, but engages in many supplementary activities. I count at least 120 minutes of school time on Thursdays as well.
Friday: Music. These are short days; We usually do a lesson or two and then spend the rest of the day running like crazy people. 45-60 minutes, depending on his mood.
All the rest of the hours that I count are only peripherally related to the curriculum, if at all. For us, the benefits far, far outweigh the drawbacks right now.