What To Do to Schedule CTT Students Older than 16

I was asked what should be done with older students, re Connect The Thoughts. First, if your student is age 15 or younger, they can do the whole Upper School lineup and finish when they're 18 or younger. If you are willing to really do summer school, handling a history and science course during summer, a 16 year old can do everything as well by the time they finish their 18th year.

The program consists in Upper School of History I-IX, Science I-VII, and Creative Writing I, III - V. History X-XI; Science VIII and Creative Writing VI courses are all "Masters" courses. ( Creative Writing II is for Lower School students, essentially.) Students trying to get through High School do not need to do these. That said, if they seriously want to understand history, go into the sciences or writing, they should do these Master's Courses, but they can be done after the student completes HS.

That brings us to 17 year olds and older. They cannot do the entire program by the end of age 18. That said, it is somewhat arbitrary to assume that a student must finish their education by age 18, isn't it? If a student needed one more year, and if giving them that year meant they received a competent and compelling education, wouldn't most parents accept the need for the extra year?

For those 17-18 year olds who absolutely will not go past age 18, here's what I recommend, based on two 20 week semesters per year, plus a 6-7 week summer school. And note - the student MUST do some math program, and Physical Education on top of these recommendations:

17 Year Olds

Semester I - All Basics, each one done without distraction until complete, including (in sequence) How To Do CTT Courses; Information - Right Or Wrong; US How To Research. Follow these by starting Science I, and when you arrive at the point of the course where it's indicated, start History I, as well as Creative Writing I. When completing History I, start History II. Completing Science I, start Chemistry, Science V. When the student finishes Creative Writing I, start III. If possible, do Manners.

To find out about study essential courses like Information - Right or Wrong, and Upper How To Do Research, click here.

To find out about our Upper School Science courses, including looking at free samples, and free videos explaining this part of oiur program, click here.

To find out about our Upper History program, including free samples of each course and free videos explaining this part of the program, click here.

To find out about our Upper Creative Writing program, including free samples of each course and free videos explaining this part of the program, click here.

Semester II - Complete History II. Complete Chemistry, start Science VI, Biology. Work CW III.

Summer School - Finish Biology, select a history period that interest the student, between History III - IX, and start that course. Complete CW III.

Semester III (last year) Complete the history course the student started in Summer School, and start another of the student's desire. Do Physics and Astronomy, Science VII. Do CW IV.

Semester IV - Finish the history course started in semester III. Do CW V IF interested in writing only. Do the course Plans and Ambitions. IF the student plans to be an artist of ANY kind, do Artist's Basics.

To find out about our Artist's Basic's course, look at a free sample, and watch a free video about it, click here.

For an 18 year old

There's only going to be two semesters. That's pretty rough, and you should focus on life preparation, I believe. Try:

Semester I - Basics courses, including How To Do CTT Courses; Information; US How To Do Research. Do Science Basics (Science I) and a History course selected by the student between History II - IX. Do CW I quickly, and start III.

Semester II - Complete CW III, do IV is possible. Do a science course of the student's choice. Complete the history course if not done. Do Plans and Ambitions. If the student plans to be an artist of ANY kind, do Artist's Basics.

That's about it. Now, if you're talking about continuing adult education, to quote The Wizard of Oz - That's a horse of a different color. Continuing Ed should be controlled by the student and their interests. An "under-educated" adult could always do the whole line-up, to fill in the gaps in their education. But an adult should be allowed to select their areas of interest and be allowed to study in those areas. The courses are there, and in Upper School, they are based largely on University-level materials and concepts, so they can be used effectively by adults.

Hope this helps!

     Steven Horwich
     Connect The Thoughts

 
 

On Scheduling What to Study Day by Day/Semester by Semester

Just read a post about students doing several lessons a day of one or two subjects. I think this is great! I advocate an "OPEN SCHEDULE" approach as a rule, unless a student needs an unusual amount of structure. By "open schedule", I mean: -SEMESTER-LONG TARGETS are established and agreed upon by parents/tutors and students. These targets could even be year long, and might include a year of math, x number of history courses, science courses, writing courses, current event courses, books to read, etc. The goals should be REASONABLE AND REAL, but STEEP ENOUGH TO CHALLENGE.

-On a DAILY basis, the student determines what they wish to study. (They do NOT decide how long they wish to study as a rule. There are usually legal requirements. i.e. - in California, it's 4 hours per day, 180 days a year, plus some other requirements.) This allows students to focus on subjects they're winning at, and make excellent progress. So long as ALL the semester or yearly targets are met, this freedom provides the student a higher responsibility level, and a sense of ownership in their studies. So long as the student is learning and progress is made each study day, it's all good. (Don't forget to get a lot of physical activity in there, like sports, dance, whatever! It's generally required to some degree.) I discuss this in the free document on currclick entitled How To Do Connect The Thoughts Courses Course . You can see that document here , and I'm going to post all it's contents shortly on the CTT site as well. Anyway, bottom line, STUDYING IS FOR THE STUDENT, NOT THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, PARENT, TUTOR, OR ANYONE ELSE. If the student has some control over the process, they will enjoy it more and invest more easily into the work, just as I or you would.

     Steven Horwich
     Connect The Thoughts