In an earlier post (about cutting and trimming Year 2 Rhetoric Literature for Literature or English, Honors or Regular credits on high school transcripts), it notes that without any trimming "about 7 hours per week ... offers a full high school credit for Literature alone." And later, "the 7 hours devoted to English" is mentioned.

However, in an old Tapestry of Grace document "College Admissions, Common Questions Parents Ask" when discussing the Carnegie Unit approach it says, "Using this system, a student who puts in at least 150 hours on a given subject (at a given level--Rhetoric) can then claim one high school credit for that subject."

If a TOG high school student put in 7 hours per week toward Literature or English over 36 weeks, they would have 252 hours per school year. That is very different that 150 hours per year mentioned above.

My older 2 students who are in a private high school have about 135 hours of instructional time in classroom per subject per year, plus many hours of reading literature, doing homework, writing, etc. later outside the classroom. I'm not sure how to compare that to the efficiency of one-to-one tutoring at home and the independent work that is done at home with TOG.

I think there is something here I'm not understanding about how many hours a typical TOG high school student would spend per week in a subject (over 36 weeks) to earn one credit for that year.

Could you clarify that for me? or direct me to another post if that has been discussed before?

Sincerely,

Beth Ann

Beth Ann,

Thanks for the question. I think the issue is that standards keep changing, and there is no one national standard. The result is that there are several valid rules of thumb.

The "7 hours per week" one comes from traditional private school settings. For English, a student typically has a 45- to 50- minute class four or five days a week (the latter is more typical for English), and then homework: up to an hour's worth per class (and if the student is writing larger papers, more). This is how we arrive at the "7 hours per week" figure.

The 150 hours per week Carnegie Unit was I believed, based on class time alone when it was developed. This has always been a hard thing to translate because, of course, we are doing tutorial. Class periods with 20-25 students are less meaty and take longer to cover material. Therefore, 150 class hours is far more than most homeschool students need to spend. This is why I personally always went with the seven-hour model: I was able to combine extensive reading or composition with any class time we spent easily.

In the end, I think that the guidelines we give for TOG should safeguard you from stinting on any credit granting you do. Most college admissions officers are highly impressed with the reading list and writing ability of TOG grads. The guidelines in our new "cutting charts" are for those parents who have children who are either busy with other worthy priorities besides Literature or who have desires for other disciplines more than Literature.

HTH!

Dear Marcia,

Thank you so much for your reply. And thank you for your responsiveness to so many questions - I've learned a lot from hearing others' questions and seeing your answers.

Just knowing that there is a fair amount of variablity in how hours are counted and credits are assigned is helpful info. I will be talking with more experienced moms in my state for insight on their plans and schedules.

I appreciate the flexibility within TOG to be very thorough and, at the same time, to manage days and weeks according to family priorities, each child's special gifts and interests, other circumstances, etc.

Sincerely,

Beth Ann

What is the cutting charts reference?

Not sure if all the year plans use the same titles, but you will find the "cutting charts" information in the Teaching Rhetoric Literature document on the Loom. I know for Year Three is is titled Customizing Your Year and it shows you what assignments you can cut out if you choose to lighten the load. I know Year Two has this info as well and it's called Customizing Rhetoric Literature.

Lisa in AZ

Don't see anything like that under the loom.

Thanks for your reply, though.

I'm sorry you have been unable to find it. As I said it most likely called something different depending on which year plan you are using.

For Tapestry of Grace Year Two, first printing this link will take you to the correct page online for the Loom in which you can find the document that details cutting assignments from the literature program for Year Two.
http://www.tapestryofgrace.com/loom/year2/literaturehelps.php
The title of the doc is Customizing Year 2 Rhetoric Literature.


If you are using Year Three, this page
http://www.tapestryofgrace.com/loom/year3/literaturehelps.php
has a document titled Teaching Rhetoric Literature and Appendix D discussed what assignments would be ok to cut for the year three literature program.

I do not have Year one Redesign so I am sorry but I cannot give you a reference for that year plan. It is possible that such a document for year one does not exist. CJ Somerville could answer that.

Hope this helps more.

Lisa in AZ