Anthony had been homeschooling his son for a few years, and tried a lot of different curriculum programs for the various subjects. By the time his son was in 10th grade though it was becoming apparent that Ryan was not getting grammar and all the parts of speech and sentence structures. The frustration was growing, and so were the learning gaps. Anthony was getting desperate. As you read his story below you’ll hear how they tried many programs, and only as a last resort considered the ACE English. I remember when he reached out to me after reading some success stories at PACESuccess and asked me to recommend an action plan. We did, and just a matter of months later the turn around was so dramatic that Anthony had to write and share his story!
Here’s Anthony’s email to me:
“We always stayed away from ACE because we had heard so many bad things and so many negative videos on YouTube and other places. Out of desperation, our son, now in 10th grade, was still struggling so much with Grammar. Writing he was starting to really understand, but not grammar… We tried the BJU, A Beka, Rod and Staff, Christian Light, LifePacs, Monarch, Applications in Grammar – we even invested in Analytical Grammar, in hopes that he would get it.
“I talked with Tim after seeing his Pace Success site – and he gave me an action plan using ACE Paces. My son is on 1092 of Level 8 Grammar. Does that sting? You bet. But here’s the thing…. just this past month, we discovered that his understanding of grammar right now in 10th grade is better than the average 10th grader in local schools!
“We will be continuing to use the ACE English for the next few years with him. So this simple program that we thought was not worth our time turned out to be the program that saved our son’s high school path. We know ACE works, and better than us, HE knows it. He experienced it working.
“For those that are not sure about jumping in with ACE, I will add that we have done Charlotte Mason with a touch of textbook, Notebooking, and Unit Study combination. ACE has proven to be the path we should have done for our son when we first started. He loves it. He jumps in, gets it done independently, puts his PACE on our grading rack, and goes on about his day. He enjoys the ACE PACES and the success he has experienced as well as the feeling of being in charge of his education progress.
“Ryan is looking forward to pursuing a job in Homeland Security after graduation and further training after high school. We are happy we found this ACE English to fill in a learning gap and help our son move ahead in achieving his life goals.”
Want to start ACE English with a teen?
If you feel like you are in a similar situation with Anthony and are wondering what plan I recommended that he follow, I would point you to my article on interpreting the Diagnostic Test. There’s a section at the end about helping 9th to 12th graders get into the English curriculum.
You can use ACE for just one subject
Anthony didn’t choose to ACE for every subject, but he found that using it for the subject of English really met a need for his son. Maybe you have a favorite history or science curriculum that you want to stick with, or a math curriculum that you are loyal to and know works for your child. ACE is flexible enough that you can choose to use it for specific courses or subjects alongside other curricula. I would just recommend that you give the program a full year or two commitment. Jumping ship in the middle of the year or switching every year can cause serious learning gaps for your student. Please read Renee Ellison’s article about why she stopped switching curriculum every year and decided to settle down with ACE.
Other articles that might be of interest
- 12 Reasons to Use ACE (and stop changing curriculum every year)
- How to Interpret the English Diagnostic Test
- How to use PACE with teens
- 7 Reasons to use the ACE PACES
- 5 People who should NOT use the PACE curriculum
- Reasons students like the ACE curriculum
- Tim’s Top Ten Tips for Teaching Teen Testosterone
I truly do not understand the negative comments about ACE. I’m dumbfounded by them. ACE is thorough, structured, complete, and incorporates Biblical character traits and knowledge in a way I have not seen in other curricula. It flows through the curriculum instead of being an add on or stand alone subject.
Shelley, I totally understand your confusion. Sadly people who have had a bad experience feel more compelled to complain loudly than people who have had success feel to express their satisfaction. And people must click on the negative reviews more so they get higher rankings in searches. Sad. Let’s spread these good stories far and wide 🙂