It’s true. Four hours a day writing tests. And other questions answered.

Uncategorized

I received this series of questions:

Hi there – As a way of introduction, I am fairly new to homeschooling. Last year, was our first year of homeschooling and we used Classical Conversations. My son is going into Challenge I (9th grade). I would like to have his foreign language credit be Latin. Although, CC’s pace is much too fast for a newbie to Latin. I was told Visual Latin is the closest to CC. What are your online classes like?  Pre-recorded or live?  Is there a difference in the curriculum available?  Are there assignments? If so, how do they turn them in, or do parents grade them? I am looking for a “class” type to be taught by an instructor. Finally, how do I enroll if this is the right fit?

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.  – Jessica

Here is my reply:

Hi, Jessica!

Visual Latin is more designed for middle school students.  It is designed to help Latin students with any Latin curriculum.  So many Latin courses are based on books.  They can be quite dull.  We designed Visual Latin to take some of the pain out of learning Latin.  The series can be used with any Latin book, including Henle Latin.

The company that produced Visual Latin has its own subscription program which includes Visual Latin.   You can check out their website right here: Compass Classroom.

Unfortunately, Visual Latin is not included with a subscription to my site.

The Latin classes on my own site (www.dwanethomas.com) are “next-level” classes.  They are designed for students who have completed Visual Latin and who want something more.  Or, in the case of Henle Latin, the classes are designed for students who feel they need extra help with that notoriously tough course.

I always recommend Visual Latin first.  Then, if students want more, I recommend Lingua Latina.  I only recommend First Year Latin by Robert Henle for those in Classical Conversations.  There is a teaching guide for those using Visual Latin to work their way through Henle Latin.  Here it is: https://www.compassclassroom.com/henle-latin-teaching-guide-pdf

From here on, I will tackle your questions in order.

What are your online classes like? 

This blog post will help you with that question: https://dwanethomas.com/could-i-see-an-example-class-3/

Pre-recorded or live?

 
The classes on my site are mixed.  I teach live five days a week.  You can find the live class schedule here: https://dwanethomas.com/class-schedule/
Once I teach a class, I leave it up on my site.  Students have access to those classes 24/7.  The classes are organized by book, or by topic.  I try to keep the system as simple as possible so students can focus on learning languages.

 Is there a difference in curriculum available?

I have taken students through the first two Henle books and through three-quarters of book three.   Someday, I will finish the series.  Not sure when.
I have also taken students through Lingua Latina by Hans Ørberg.  I love that book.  It is just as tough as Henle Latin, but it is really a lot of fun.
 

Are there assignments?

That depends on the parents or the tutorial.  If there are assignments, my site will help.  For example, if CC assigned exercise 256 in First Year Latin by Robert Henle, and a student found the exercise confusing, they could simply watch the class I taught on that exercise.
As for grades, you do not have to worry about that part.  I spend about four hours a day writing tests for my site.  For example, there are tests for every chapter of First Year Latin and Second Year Latin by Robert Henle on my site.  Took me several years to write them all.  There are also tests for every chapter of Lingua Latina on my site.  Students take the tests on my site and receive an instant grade.  You do not have to do any grading at all.  Also, if students are not satisfied with their grades, they can take the test again.
It is my goal to make the grading process as easy as possible for moms.  Homeschooling is hard enough already.

I am looking for a “class” type being taught by an instructor. 

I’ve been doing this for a long time.  Unfortunately, I am not teaching any beginner classes live next year, or in the near future.  You would have to rely on the classes I have already taught.  They are still up on my site.  There are forums where students can as questions and can interact with other students.  All that said, if you are looking for live instruction, my site may not be the place.

how do I enroll if this is the right fit?

If you do decide to join up, simply go to this page: https://dwanethomas.com/join/
Let me know if you need more help.
Hope you are having a great day!
Dwane Thomas