This year, I will be following a very simple rule for managing the studies of Premium Students. I want to share this rule with all families because I don’t believe it’s difficult to follow. My goal is to make study so simple in the CLAA that no Premium Student Plan is needed. We’re not there yet, but we’re getting closer.
Here’s what I recommend:
1. Limit the Number of Courses to Twelve
Many parents get excited about having free access to all CLAA courses and enroll in more courses than a student needs. Your child is not going to finish 20 courses in a year, so don’t bother. Worse, a long list of courses will likely overwhelm and paralyze your child, hindering him from getting much of anything done.
So, limit the number of courses that are ever open on your child’s dashboard to twelve. Between 5-7 of these should be necessary modern grade level courses, and the others should be classical Catholic courses.
Note: If a student has more than twelve open courses on his dashboard, I recommend you take time and remove the extras. See step 4 below to learn how to do so.
2. Follow a Regular Study Schedule
School-age children are supposed to be studying as their full-time job. Homeschool parents who talk about their children finishing their school work by noon are neglecting much of the studies their children should be working on. Follow them at your own risk (but remember you were warned).
Students should be studying at least 25 hours per week–and they need to do so.
When we consider that there are 25 (at least) hours per week for studying, we can divide those hours to provide about 2 hours per course. So, we should commit 2 hours for each of the 12 courses on a student’s dashboard and work steadily through the tasks for that course, week by week through the year.
I know that students and parents will disagree and say that they prefer to do it this way or that way, but to make progress through all subjects, maintain morale and put a student in the best position at the end of his studies, this method is best. If you don’t establish and maintain a regular schedule, you are NEVER going to make significant progress in studies.
3. Devote Additional Time to ONE Course
Outside of the regularly scheduled hours devoted to each of the student’s courses, all additional time that is available should be devoted to whatever course is nearest to completion–to finish that course as soon as possible.
In the screenshot below, we can see that a student is 73% percent of the way through Catholic Bible I. (I understand that course is in development and may not have all lessons added and that these progress numbers may be inaccurate. We’re working to fix this as we continue to fill out the curriculum. If you have questions about a course’s progress, contact us.) Therefore, any study time he has beyond his normal study schedule, he should devote to finishing that course.
4. Hide Finished Courses
When a course is finished, it should be hidden from the dashboard. To hide the course, simply click on the three dots on the right side of the course row (see above) and select “Remove from View”.
5. Add a New Course
When a student finishes a course and it is removed from his dashboard, he may add another course. Parents and students will need to discuss what course this should be, and it may be a good idea to ask for some advice when making the choice.
Once added, this new course begins to get its scheduled time each week.
6. Continue Until Finished
This prioritized process can continue from the beginning to the end of a student’s years in the CLAA. I believe this is the most effective way to manage homeschool studies in the Academy.
As mentioned above, this will be the rule I will be advising Premium Students to follow. I hope to see ALL students (or as many as possible) following this approach.
If you have any questions, please get in touch.
God bless your studies,
Mr. William C. Michael, O.P.
Classical Liberal Arts Academy
mail@classicalliberalarts.com
