<p>I posted this over on the AP forum, but no responses. So I thought I would try here. Has anyone's kid taken an AP course through CTD (Center for Talent Development)? How did it work out? Did the format work out well? How much contact did they have with the teacher? Im thinking about pulling my daughter out of her not-very-challenging 11th grade English class and allowing her to take AP English Literature & Composition through CTD instead. Any input from anyone whose kid has done a CTD AP course would be appreciated</p>
<p>Bump… anybody? No AP courses through Northwestern’s Center for Talent Development?</p>
<p>Hi there: My son took a CTD AP course over a summer session a few years back (we don’t live in Chicago). I believe it was European History? He enjoyed it and learned a lot, but at a very fast pace considering it was over three weeks or so. The teacher was fine if I remember and wrote a personal, detailed evaluation of his work at the end. I would recommend the program, but then our only experience was with the residential summer program. Hope this helps!</p>
<p>Intparent - you have to remember, this is CC, where everyone is from the east coast or California. CTY reigns supreme and they’ve never heard of CTD! Illinois? Isn’t that the same thing as Iowa or Idaho? </p>
<p>Getting serious, my kids attended the residential programs of CTD. My son did 5 summers there, starting in middle school - some summers he took one course, some summers he took two courses (each course was 3 weeks long IIRC). My daughter did 2 summers there. Our school did not grant credit for any CTD course (grrrr) but they were very pleased with the program (obviously, otherwise they wouldn’t have been repeat customers). I credit CTD for improving my son’s raw writing talent tremendously, and for opening his eyes to some aspects of history, philosophy and religion that went well beyond what he could have gotten in high school. Similarly, my daughter’s CTD class in medicinal chemistry seems to have ignited a real passion for her. They enjoyed the experience of living in the dorms, gave them a bit of a taste as to what college life would be like, and the NU campus is a great campus for that, with the lakefront and the town of Evanston right there. </p>
<p>I’m not clear, though, if you’re talking about doing an online course through the school year, or doing a residential course over the summer. My kids only did the residential summer courses, so I can’t help you with the online. Those classes certainly were advanced compared to a typical high school class, though, that’s for sure.</p>
<p>My daughter took psychology at CTD the summer prior to 9th grade. She then studied her text book and an AP prep book and scored a 5 on the AP exam her freshman year. My son tried to take algebra 2 through CTD Gifted Learning Links during 8th grade. It was awful! It was basically an old-fashioned correspondence course via email. There were no video lectures or java quizzes that would give you immediate results. It was only a list of assignments from a text book, an instructor’s email - “let me know if you need any help” and quizzes and exams that had to be scanned and emailed or mailed to the instructor. There was no instruction. We wasted $850 on the course before we realized that it was not going to teach our son. Be VERY careful that you know the format of this course if it is an online course. Also know when the refund deadline is so that you can get your money back if it isn’t working out. We learned the hard way.</p>
<p>Intparent - if her current class isn’t very challenging, personally there is something to be said for having a breather / easy A in a schedule as far as I’m concerned, esp if she has a heavy honors / AP course load in other courses. I was always the supreme gunner but as I get older, I’m realizing life’s not a race and really, if a kid has a hard schedule and one class turns out to be easier than thought - well, maybe it’s a good thing, not a bad thing.</p>
<p>It really depends on the kid. For some kids, an easy/boring course is the kiss of death. The assignments just won’t get done, or won’t get done well, which is not good when it comes to the grade.</p>
<p>Amen! Also, if her current English class is easy, why not do some extra reading (of her choice) on her own? If she is a strong English student she can probably just take the AP exam and do well without the extra work of taking an online class.</p>
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<p>That’s a learning opportunity in itself though. </p>
<p>Anyway, a supposedly-“smart” kid who is in an easy class, who then chooses not to do the assignments or blows them off and thus foregoes an easy A he could have had … isn’t really all that smart, IMO. Smart people work situations to their advantage - which means that you go ahead and do the assignments you could do with one hand tied behind your back and get that easy A. People who aren’t that bright make excuses that they were oh-so-bored and that’s why they blew it off. Not impressive!!</p>
<p>I was agreeing with Pizzagirl. Must have cross-posted with IJustDrive.</p>
<p>Wow, went away for one day for a college visit, and came back to lots of posts. Yay!</p>
<p>To answer a few of the questions, we would be looking at the 9 month online version (not the over the summer program). She is an “easy A” English student (scored 740 on the CR section of the SAT as an 8th grader with no studying if that is at all telling – although I know that does not necessarily translate into solid analytical and writing skills). But the pace of this class is just glacial, and the teacher said the other day, “I think we are moving through the material too fast, we need to slow down”. D was almost in tears when she told me this (and she does not cry easily). She does not want an easy A, she wants to stretch her brain. She just got back from a summer program (of her choosing) where she took 2 college classes, so I think she is particularly unhappy about the slow pace of this class. </p>
<p>This problem is compounded by the fact that her school does not “track” for English. All 9th, 10th, and 11th graders take the same classes. They do track for science, math, and foreign language, though (or we probably would seek another school). So she has kids in her English class who are still a bit uncertain about what a noun is. I have asked the administration to consider tracking for English (this same year and teacher also made my older D crazy for similar reasons). But the English department teachers are resistant, they think it is good for the lower level students to be stimulated by the discussion contributions of the better students. But it is very painful for the faster students… and this particular teacher seems to teach to the middle/lower end of the class, making 11th grade especially tough.</p>
<p>Not sure we are going ahead with the CTD course, though, as her school has block scheduling – so only 2 quarters of English, but almost 80 minutes a day of class plus lots of homework, since they only take 3 academic classes per quarter. By the time she could start the CTD course, she will be almost at the semester break. She and I talked this week, and she is going to stick it out. She may ask to do CTD next year, though. We will discuss again when she is registering for her fall classes. Thanks for the tips on asking a lot of questions about the format and understanding the refund process, too.</p>
<p>Oh, and she is getting an A in the class right now. But it isn’t making her happy, and English is usually one of her joys in life.</p>
<p>I’m sorry your talented daughter isn’t enjoying her English class. I hope she can just get the busy work done quickly and move on to the novel of her choice. ;-)</p>
<p>Another thought - Look at the laws regarding gifted education for your state. Ours is posted on our state dept of ed website. It may be possible for her to be exempt from English class based on her test scores. Then she could take a college class or more classes in an area of your school’s strength. After my son scored a 34 on English and Reading on the ACT at the end of 8th grade I talked his high school into letting him take the top 10th grade English class instead of 9th grade. Now he’s taking AP Eng lang as a 10th grader. It’s a pain but it is possible to get schools to accommodate gifted kids… sometimes.</p>
<p>Thanks, Apollo. She goes to a private school, so they are not bound by some of those same rules as public schools in our state (which also is not one of the better states with gifted legislation). I would go have the conversation with the school anyway if she could start that course right away… wish I had thought ahead (remembering D1’s experience in this class) and approached the administration at the beginning of the school year. Another problem is that this teacher assigns tons of homework, but it is sort of busywork (very simple questions about the novel they are reading, for example, but a high volume of questions). Lots of blogging about how they “feel” about what they are reading, too. I didn’t really believe there could be busywork in 11th grade English until I looked over her assignments with her one day last week. “Pablum”, D proclaimed as we looked it over. Unfortunately, she is right… the novel is a suitable level for 11th grade English, but the homework assigned is simplistic (but lengthy).</p>
<p>This is harder for her because the 10th grade English teacher is whip smart and teaches to the higher level in the class. I always feel sorry for the students in the lower half of his class, but both my D’s thrived. It just feels like such a step backward/down this year. Sigh. She sat in on an English class at a top 20 LAC today, and loved it… I suspect she will be blue on Monday to be back in her class here again.</p>
<p>She read a couple of “outside” novels over the past two days (driving to and from the college we went to). But it is not the same as reading and discussing in an engaging environment. She will live, it is just one year. But we will both be happy to see 11th grade English in the rear view mirror.</p>
<p>online course =self study + some TA help.</p>
<p>I’m the TA for my kids’ online courses. some instructors are not good.</p>