ACE education

[Wolfie]

So there is a coworker who has been a bit of a problem at work. So, I did what any normal person would do, and googled her. I discovered her husband runs a Christian school, that uses this curriculum, does anybody know anything about it. (there is also a section on his school's website that accuses public schools of causing moral decay and promoting socialism. Seriously. Why the hell is she working as a teacher in a public school if they have these views, but it does give an idea of why she is such a problem. Such a Christ like attitude..... :roll: )

aceministries.com/

aceministries.com/aboutus/pdf/Great_Commandment_Commission.pdf

ETA- she also has one of those high pitched "sweet" voices like Michelle. No kids though.

[ILoveJellybeans]

Is that the one where everyone sits quietly in their own little cubicles and dont talk to teachers or students, and mark their own work?

[terranova]

ACE was quite the thing when I was homeschooling, back in the early '90s. There were not many secular HSers here at the time so we spent a lot of time with the Christian HS group (apparently doing a lot of singing, because where else would I have learned "God said to Noah"?).

Interestingly, I ran into one of the Mothers a few months ago and we got to chatting. Her kids are approx 16-30 now, and she told me she regretted using ACE back in the day as it didn't have a broard enough subject base. I remember this family being very fundie, long hair, long skirts, lots of music and church several times a week. So perhaps ACE has fallen a bit out of favour, atleast here in NZ.

[nelliebelle1197]

Where are you in NZ? My husband is from there!

[Wolfie]

Aha, found this, a little more info on the lack of quality. http://leavingfundamentalism.wordpress. ... education/

[terranova]

Top of the South! :)

[Wolfie]

And it's listed here..... duggarsblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/duggars-on-homeschool-curricula.html

[dawniecakes]

I think the few years I spent in ACE-based schools gave me the love of cubicals! Haha! It was perfect for a self-pased introverted kid. (I did ACE kindergarten, 2nd grade and 9th grade).

9th grade was the worst so I promptly went back to public school in 10th. Their "math" curriculum is absolutely atrocious, and everything else is revisionist and bases every event in human history on the Bible instead of actual HISTORY. Don't even get me started on their version of "science."

It's all memorize and fill in the blank with their "facts." No critical thinking required.

My husband had to suffer through 12 years of it. At least his parents let his younger brother and sister go to public school after 6th grade once the finally realized it wasn't a well-rounded education. Instead, it's mind-numbing and repetitive.

Plusses: They have little kids use these speed-reading modules, at least in my day. I learned to read at age 3 and can read really fast.

[nelliebelle1197]

Top of the South! :)

He is from the Hutt Valley aka the place of bad hair days. We go back once a year. Are in you on the wine trail right now? :dance:

[Snifter]

Where are you in NZ? My husband is from there!

Sorry, but I never see much talk from/ of people in NZ on the net, so gotta say it... I live there :)

The ones normally that are fundie like are brethren I think (same thing? dunno?)

[terranova]

Sorry, but I never see much talk from/ of people in NZ on the net, so gotta say it... I live there :)

The ones normally that are fundie like are brethren I think (same thing? dunno?)

We have a stack load of Exclusive Bretheren aorund here, but they've stopped homeschooing since they opened their own school a few years ago. I don't know if they would have/do use ACE, it may be too wordly for them. The ones who still do homeschool may use their own curriculum. I went to school with a EB girl who has since left the sect.

[tropicalmama]

Its funny that this has come up this week, I have been calling schools and gathering info packs because I plan to start homeschooling my daughter next year.

My husband used a distance ed school in our state and they used ACE, we had been planning to do the same until I spoke to a different distance ed school that offers a cirriculum they have written themselves. I asked why they had left ACE...it turns out that as Australia rolls out the national cirriculum and learning outcomes ACE will NOT meet standards, and if you use it you will have to suppliment to meet the learning outcomes so this school had written a cirriculum that will meet and exceed the learing outcomes. The lady I spoke to mentioned that although she had used ACE for her own children she is encouraging people to move away from it now and find different choices. Australian unis don't accept it any longer and ACE graduates need to do a "bridging course" to gain uni entry.

*I know there are some shocking SOTDRT spellings in here!! I am rushing to go and eat dinner!!*

[Snifter]

We have a stack load of Exclusive Bretheren aorund here, but they've stopped homeschooing since they opened their own school a few years ago. I don't know if they would have/do use ACE, it may be too wordly for them. The ones who still do homeschool may use their own curriculum. I went to school with a EB girl who has since left the sect.

Yeah, Same as to where I live, well use to live and where I grew up. What area?

I had some brethren in my primary school then they would from year 6/7 go to their own school (about 10/15 years ago?), exclusively their kind.

[terranova]

Yeah, Same as to where I live, well use to live and where I grew up. What area?

I had some brethren in my primary school then they would from year 6/7 go to their own school (about 10/15 years ago?), exclusively their kind.

Top of the South :). When I was in primary and intermediate, 20+ years ago there were a few, but I only remember maybe 2 or 3 in 4 years. I'm not sure if they all homeschooled or just chose to go to other schools. They didn't build their own school until the mid 2000s I believe.

I have heard from a friend who is a teacher and knows people who've taught at the EB schools that they are terribly strict towards their teachers. For example, if the teacher is single, the board of trustees will show up at his/her house late in the evening, say 10pm, to check they do not have a live in partner.

[Snifter]

Top of the South :). When I was in primary and intermediate, 20+ years ago there were a few, but I only remember maybe 2 or 3 in 4 years. I'm not sure if they all homeschooled or just chose to go to other schools. They didn't build their own school until the mid 2000s I believe.

I have heard from a friend who is a teacher and knows people who've taught at the EB schools that they are terribly strict towards their teachers. For example, if the teacher is single, the board of trustees will show up at his/her house late in the evening, say 10pm, to check they do not have a live in partner.

Oh wow, I never knew that, there is a whole cluster (multiple families, they also have massive families, and so I beleive don't use contraception either) of them around Rodney (Auckland) and further North. So I guess Brethren are Fundies? no? Sorry if im wrong here...

[ThatSnark]

I had no idea about this ACE stuff, so I googled ACE schools + my state name.... holy cats. They're all over the place here in North Carolina, and I was sad to learn that a friend of mine pulled her daughter out of an ebil (but yet highly competitive) public magnet program to plunk her down in an ACE private school. Now I'm sad to know that this young lady will be morally upright but not likely to be capable of more than balancing her headship's checkbook. Ugh.

I found an interesting blog post from an alum of an ACE school: brucegerencser.net/tag/accelerated-christian-education/

He claims that abuse, or "breaking the spirit," is at the heart of the curriculum. Awful.

[Wolfie]

So people will pay $300-$400 for a subpar education, when they could get one that meets the state standards for free. (That is actually the tuition at this school. Probably because they don't have to hire teachers and can stuff them in a room to work alone. This does not raise my opinion of private schools at all. Buyer beware.)

[apple1]

"Accelerated Christian Education" (ACE) is an oxymoron if there ever was an oxymoron.

[skrmom]

Is that the one where everyone sits quietly in their own little cubicles and dont talk to teachers or students, and mark their own work?

yes, you are correct. Each student spends the day in a cubical with no interaction with other students. For each subject, there is a series of workbooks. The student reads several pages of text, then answers questions regarding the text they just read. After the workbook is completed, the student takes a test on the material covered. If he/she passes with an 80%or better, he/she advances to the next workbook. If not, the student erases all the work they did and redoes the workbook until a score of 80% or better is achieved. There are no licensed teachers, only 'supervisors' who mainly control discipline. Even turning around or getting up without permission is punished by after school detention. There are no science labs, clubs, extra-curricular activities such as a school newspaper, soccer team, chess club etc. I can't begin to imagine how boring each day must be.

[ILoveJellybeans]

That sounds like the most boring thing ever.

[artdecades]

Bumping this thread for this new article. I wasn't sure if I should start a new post or not.

http://www.alternet.org/belief/33-jaw-d ... curriculum

Not breaking link because its a news site.

These questions are mindblowing. Asking 9-10 year olds to define "plunger" and "wisdom" and whether Louis Pasteur was a person or an airplane.

[Ariel]

Bumping this thread for this new article. I wasn't sure if I should start a new post or not.

http://www.alternet.org/belief/33-jaw-d ... curriculum

Not breaking link because its a news site.

These questions are mindblowing. Asking 9-10 year olds to define "plunger" and "wisdom" and whether Louis Pasteur was a person or an airplane.

Personally, I'm gonna go with airplane. It just feels right.

As a teacher, if you're going to do multiple choice, have at least one good distractor-answer that's actually plausible. Good grief people.

[ILoveJellybeans]

I think the average pre-schooler is in at least 7th grade by their standards.

[littleblueheathen]

I went to an ACE school in the 70s in Alabama. It was mind-numbing. My classmates and I learned sign language to communicate when the supervisors weren't looking. A friend (also a student there) and I were accused of practicing witchcraft because we were interested in Kirlian photography ( auras) and EVPs (we set a tape recorder to record in her house when nobody else was home and left for an hour or so, with very interesting results)We were not members of the church that ran the school and wore pants at home, which caused no end of problems. I can honestly say that my education was in no way furthered by the experience, and it took me a while to catch up academically (summer school) once I returned to public school. The emphasis seemed more on control and indoctrination than academics. Girls were not allowed to take algebra, geometry, physics or typing until they had passed a semester of Home Ec. The only thing I really learned there was rebellion and a distaste for religion.

[Janes Heir]

I just started reading about ACE's problems the otherday. In a way it actually made me feel better about being behind in maths and sciences and finishing (public) high school late. It wasn't so much about my being a terrible student as the horrible ACE modules I took for several grades that provided no foundations in knowledge or study skills.