I Just Threw Away $200by Valorie Delp | More from this Blogger 25 Sep 2007 02:49 AM Learn from my mistake. I might has well have wadded up ten $20 bills and placed them in the trash. I will admit, it was painful. So I'm sharing it here so that those of you who are newer to this can heed the advice of a 'veteran' (I'm not sure I have kids old enough such that I could be considered a 'veteran' yet. . .) A few years ago when I was looking for something to help teach my daughter French, (clearly before I had a well thought out plan) I took the advice of one solitary friend to buy Rosetta Stone. She said it was the best investment in foreign language that she ever made. . .blah, blah, blah. . .her kids knew tons of Latin because of it. . .blah, blah, blah. . .the price was totally worth it. . .blah, blah, blah. So I did it--I bought the whole thing, two whole years of French for $200. Gulp. What was I thinking? I don't know. I was thinking that she needed a native and fluent speaker to listen to. I was thinking that I wanted her study of foreign languages to begin early and follow a pattern and structure. I was thinking I wanted her to be fluent by the time she was finished with high school. I was NOT thinking that I would hate it. You're likely guessing where I'm going with this. I did hate it. But this is not a blog about why I hate Rosetta Stone. In fact, it has worked very well in helping my friend teach her sons Latin. (Latin--the dead language.) It has worked very well for her and for others I have spoken to (like the sales guy at the home schooling book fair.) But alas, we found little use for it because (um. . .duh) I could just speak French to her and voila--she's picking it up. (Um. . .again. . .duh!) So I tossed the Rosetta Stone. Truth be told the CD's were scratched beyond recognition so it wasn't usable or sellable or anything. Well, that's not true. I used it to teach my children that the word for trash in Spanish is la basura and the word for trash in French is la poo-belle. But that's it. So how do you avoid buying fodder for your trash can? Research lots of options. Talk to lots of people. If they don't like something find out why. Their reasons may not be an issue for you. If they do like something, find out why. The very reason they like it might turn you off completely or may be a wrong fit for your child. Remember that in the world of home schooling curriculum, someone else's trash could be your treasure and vice versa. The truth is, many, many roads lead to Rome in the home schooling world. I'm going to go lick my wounds now. Maybe I could teach my children the French and Spanish phrases for, "I just wasted a ton of money. . ." Related Articles: How to Avoid the Curriculum Flip Flop What Exactly Are You Trying to Accomplish? Check here for more information on curriculums that are out there! Learn more about Valorie Delp  Hello everybody! My name is Valorie and I am one busy lady! When I'm not writing or editing for families, I am busy trying to get my brood of 5 in line. Relevanthomeschooling tags User Comments  Mary Ann Romans (26876) 25 Sep 2007 11:22 AMI always wondered about those Rosetta Stone things. Thanks for the article.  Valorie Delp (49340) 25 Sep 2007 04:20 PMWell. . .that's not to say that they are bad for everyone. It was bad for me. I speak French so I don't really need audio components like they're offering but also, if you read the fine print in the packaging (and I mean really fine print) it says that it is an excellent resource to go along with a regular curriculum. The authors of Rosetta Stone didn't originally intend for it to be the curriculum unto itself and well. . .it shows. Valorie Delp (49340) 26 Sep 2007 07:03 AMAre you trying to make me cry? LOL Yes it is. When I bought it I was thinking it was 'the curriculum', that it would last at least two years of beginning language study and of course whenever I buy curriculum I tend to think of it getting used 5 times. (Or at least twice if not more.) So when you think about $200 over two years. . .that $100 per year divided by getting used 5 times is $25 bucks--that's not bad at all. Of course that is if you like it. When it'se useless it's just $200 down the drain. UGH Nola Redd (7081) 30 Sep 2007 06:01 PMOn a side note, our library offers RS for free; I haven't really looked into it yet b/c my kids are so young, but it's interesting to note that you can find it at a free location in some areas. So we may still check it out, since it'll cost us nothing. Like you said, research is key! Thanks for the blog! Valorie Delp (49340) 01 Oct 2007 04:59 AMOh thank you for mentioning that. Our library, does not offer it for free but I definitely would recommend it as a subsidy to a regular foreign language curriculum especially when the parents don't speak the language. AnuRay (5) 14 Mar 2008 10:08 AMI used the Library RS, and it is good, because it is FREE. But RS is getting pulled out the middle of this year from our library. It is not a curriculum in itself, and that bit of info I did not know was helpful. So what do you recommend for me to teach French and Japanese? I don't know either of the languages, but my kids feel that they need to atleast get an intro into it. Valorie Delp (49340) 14 Mar 2008 02:57 PMI love, love, love The Easy French. Japanese is a little trickier. . .although I also like Living Languages (the children's versions). How old are your children. And yes, that's just it. . .RS is a great supplement to a traditional foreign language curriculum. . .but it's in the itsy bitsy teeny tiny print where it says that which is frustrating. You will NEVER have a fluent speaker from using just Rosetta Stone. Akins (5) 13 Aug 2009 01:56 PMHow did you not learn how to speak using rosetta stone? Ima answer that for you real quick. First off, buy the wholeeeee software set. Its 499....dont tell me thats expensive when i paid 212 in total for one chinese class and i still need to take 3 more. second. Its not the phrases your learning that's important, its learning how to use the language and conjugate off the top of your head. I used rosetta to learn chinese before i entered the class room. Its pretty much a breeze but i still need to take the classes for the degree. (international business).... Anyone who doesn't learn from this is either guessing the whole time and not paying attention to the images...or..... Didn't buy a whole set... I swear if you can learn a language...which allll of you did..you speak english right?...then this stuff will work for you.... All you need to do is put the head set on, pay attention to the sounds and the sites, and play with it... Just play it like a game. I bet you learned alot from it and didn't even realize it... I hate seeing articles like this when it clearly works. Not everythihng is a gimmick. No your not going to be fluent from rosetta. just like you wont be fluent from just taking classes. but you'll learn the language and have enough to teach yourself by getting out into the world....jeez... Valorie Delp (49340) 13 Aug 2009 03:39 PMThanks Akins, I think you're missing the point of the article. I still hate Rosetta Stone-it even says that it is a vocabularly supplement to a more traditional program. It is a more traditional program that I think is more effective. But as I said in the article-I know people who love it. To each his own. Discuss this article
|
Homeschool categories |
