Online Essay Writing Class

By Anne Weiland

 

Last fall, my son Marcel, age 12, began his first on line class.  Taught by Matthew Turnbull (using Fritz Hinrichs’ server, see gbt.org), the one-year course covers the span from writing paragraphs to writing essays.  Mr. Turnbull combines the reading of high-quality literature with plenty of writing practice to give students a rich experience in the world of words.

 

The reading has included Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe.  Weekly reading assignments are discussed in class with students sometimes assigned to summarize a chapter or discuss a given character.   The students’ (ages 12-17) comments range from insightful to irrelevant, and from poignant and touching to hilarious.  The stimulating experience of reading and discussing great literature with peers and an enthusiastic, knowledgeable teacher is difficult to reproduce at home.  

 

Reading is a springboard to writing.  Using some of the Institute for Excellence in Writing materials and some of his own, Mr. Turnbull teaches style, structure and logic, all critical to good writing.  Students have a writing assignment every week, which in itself is a help in improving students’ skills.  Essays are spread out over several weeks.  He provides helpful comments on every assignment, letter grades only if requested. 

 

So how has this experience been for us?  On the whole the class has been a beneficial addition to our homeschool.  My son has had tons of writing practice (see his first essay below), and has stretched in his reading ability as well.  I really never imagined having my 12-year-old son read Pride and Prejudice.  I absolutely love that the tough assignments come from someone other than me!  My role in the class has been to help him with his writing, especially in the outline phase, and I’ve also taken the time to read along with him.  My only reservation is that the technology can be a distraction and a hindrance.  “Okay, can you hear me?…I got booted off again…”etc.  A live in-the-flesh classroom would be ideal.  Unfortunately, Mr. Turnbull lives in Washington State and I don’t know of a live class here that would measure up to this one.  The intangible benefits of having a teacher outside our family who has similar values, spiritual and academic, and is speaking into our son’s life, are undoubtedly worthwhile.  It’s worth putting up with the technical difficulties.