Dual Credit at Home: How to Pray for Your Children Printable

[sanantone]

I'm very familiar with Becky Maldrow's company.  She is at all the homeschool conventions demonstrating how her son (COSC) went to law school and is assistant attorney general.  She and I were also co-moderators of a homeschool CLEP group for a while.  It's cool - but she's selling a binder that has a schedule in it for you to follow which CLEPs to take for your gen eds at Charter Oak.  (Week 15, read chapter 6).  The fly in the ointment, in my opinion, is that everything she's saying is true.  CLEP for gen eds- great idea.  Study along high school - fine, no problem.  Attend Charter Oak - ehhh not everyone, but I get the idea, most kids are fine with a distance learning degree in something general.  None of that is untrue, and just that advice alone is very good and can help people save a lot of money (even if they don't use COSC).  I don't even have a problem with her selling her binder - knock yourself out.  I'm a capitalist.  
My problem is that while true, it's also a big fat jar of snake oil.  Like any good snake oil salesman, there is always truth under the hype.  In this case, if you later decide your kid doesn't want to go to COSC,  you've sacrificed their ENTIRE high school education and you can't get that time back.  That's a pretty big ask, to trust her as knowing best for your kid- and assuming its what was best for her kid.  Homeschool parents don't need a product that makes them feel stupid, they need a product to make them smart - they'll be able to figure it out with a little patience.  Hers replaces the parent as the homeschool guidance counselor, a specific pet peeve of mine, and places her in the position of authority in the home.

Are you saying that she's selling a binder for $1096?

That is exactly the program.  It arrives blank and she sends you pdfs for you to print at home each week to follow the schedule (the technical class terminology for this is "drip" she drips the content to you according to her program's structure.)   The schedule uses Speedyprep and Instantcert (memberships not included in her price).  That's it- nothing else.  The plan takes you through 60 CLEP credits, the gen eds for Charter Oak.  
I don't know what she does about the lab science requirement, but a person using COSC has to figure that in at some point, so that's probably on your own.

EDIT to add:  when she and I were both mods of a group (it had many mods- it wasn't one of my groups) I knew of her business BECAUSE when parents asked questions, she never answered them except in the most vague way, and then would share either her website or promote her method.  It's hard to know if someone knows something when they say nothing, so maybe she's uber smart at CLEP prep, I don't know- but you won't know either (unless you send her $1000.)

When I read study plans for 13 CLEP/DSST, I assumed she was compiling study materials at the very least. She's not even doing that. She's just recommending SpeedyPrep and Instantcert. It sounds like she's selling basic lesson plans, and I'm surprised she only "guides" customers through 13 tests for $1100. Why is she only doing gen eds? Do her customers know who you are? Have they read your book? I don't understand how she's staying in business.

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I downloaded some of her free materials, which included a sample lesson plan. She's basically giving people a schedule to follow.

During weeks 1-3, study for the Government CLEP.
Read Ch. 7 of this book on day one.
Go through lessons 1-2 on SpeedyPrep on day two.
Go through the first set of Instantcert flashcards on day three.

Her prayer advice is nothing but a compilation of some Bible quotes. I guess she's doing what she has to do to take care of her 10 kids, but she better pray that she doesn't get sent to hell.

I have no idea what she knows about me, but 100% of what is written in my book is to teach the parent the basic structure of how to inject college credit into their homeschool, not to do it FOR THEM or do it better than them.  So really, I'm not her competition because I don't sell a program and I'm not a consultant.  My FB page has about 13,000 followers and I have 14,500 followers on my blog.  I have 50 FB groups - and 40 volunteers who moderate those groups - all of that is free help.  
Some of my moderators are even members here- because this model is my favorite and this is the BEST place to be.  This is the ultimate in peer review. It's the perfect feedback loop for keeping up to date, and I am completely serious about *my* motivation to help others in this area comes from how grateful I am that I was helped by members here.  It's really that simple.

I'm not a salesman, and people can spend their money on what they want- but when asked for MY opinion, I am happy to give my two cents lol.  I believe parents can figure this out as long as someone takes the time to get them aimed in the right direction.

I was just wondering if there was an overlap in audience. If parents had read your book, they probably wouldn't feel the need to spend $1100 on a guide to complete 13 exams. I'm all for promoting free and low-cost alternatives so that people aren't scammed by predatory companies charging an arm and a leg for almost nothing. I agree that people should be empowered with the knowledge to do things themselves.