FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. What does Talisker mean? Talisker is a Gaelic word translated, "of the rock", which symbolizes the two foundations upon which this tutorial service is based: 1) Jesus Christ - "the Rock of all ages," 2) Classical education - the "Rock" of Western culture. 2. What is the recommended minimum age for the tutorials? Great Books I: 14, General Science: 12, Physical Science: 13, Biology: 14, Chemistry: 15, Physics: 16, Algebra: 14, Geometry: 15, Advanced Algebra: 16. Being older is no problem, being younger often is. 3. How much time do the courses require outside of class? This depends, of course, on the student and the lesson. However, all these courses have taken students an average of 5-8 hours per week for regular assignments. Great Books requires papers which will take an additional average of 5 hours. Allot your child an hour and a half per day for each course to begin with until you see how they handle the load, and then you can adjust accordingly. 4. Does Talisker Tutorials follow a regular academic year? Yes, it generally runs from about the week after Labor Day to the week after Memorial Day (September through May). The exact schedule is given to registered students early in the summer when the academic calendar is settled on. 5. How long are the courses? In terms of time per week, they meet once a week for one to two hours for the full academic year. In terms of years, Great Books is a four year course, Science can run from 2 to 5 years depending on whether the student is science-oriented or not, Math can run from 2 to 3 years depending on the students vocational/academic goals. 6. How much do the courses cost? For the 2004-2005 academic year, all courses are $200.00 per course per semester (two semesters per year). See the Tutorials page for more information. 7. What about grades/evaluation? At this point in time, Talisker Tutorials does not give grades. This stems from a number of reasons, including disparity of ages among students in the tutorials, the variety of expectations among homeschooling families, the disparity of homeschool regulations throughout the various school districts, and primarily because Talisker Tutorials aims to provide a support service, not a replacement school, to the people who are ultimately responsible for the students' education - the parents. To this end, Talisker Tutorials does several things to help parents establish grades for the work their children do in the tutorials, should they need grades for transcripts, etc. 1) Evaluation of exams in Math and Science according to the percentage correct. 2) Evaluation of lab notebooks. 3) Brief written evaluations of student’s papers and participation in Great Book by request of the parents. 4) Brief overall written evaluations at the end of each semester by request of the parent. Washington State approved credit and a GPA, leading to a recognized high school diploma, can be offered by Talisker Tutorials through Cascade Independent High School. 8. Do you offer summer classes? Not at this time. We are hoping to run a summer program on location in the San Juan Islands of Washington by the summer of 2006. 9. What if my child is younger than the minimum age recommended for Great Books, but is a good reader? There are always exceptions, of course, but generally it's not a good idea to start students in the Great Books tutorials much younger than the minimum suggested age. The reason is that there are more things to consider than simply intellectual ability; emotional and spiritual maturity move at different speeds than intellectual maturity, and many of the ideas and levels of discussion in the Great Books require a bit more emotional and spiritual stability than a younger child usually has, even if they have no trouble actually reading the book. 10. Where do I get the books and lab equipment that are required? Most of the Great Books can be ordered through the Talisker Tutorial Bookstore, in association with Amazon.com . The Math texts and Solution Manuals are ordered through ScottForesman. However, the math texts alone can also be purchased through Amazon.com (see the Links at the Talisker Tutorial Bookstore). The science texts and lab equipment are ordered by Talisker Tutorials through Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc. 11. May I substitute other editions or translations for those listed on the Great Books pages? For some of the books, no. There are some that require a certain translation or edition because of its importance for ease of understanding or accuracy of translation or because the value of an editor's notes. In some cases, yes, although it's better not to, because the student will be hindered by not having the same edition, and therefore the same page numbers or line translation, as the rest of the class. In the Talisker Bookstore, an asterisk marks those books for which the student must have the exact translation or edition listed. 12. When may I register? Registration for the Fall 2004 tutorials is open from mid-March to mid-April for current families, and opens April 15 to the public. New families may send a registration form and fee before April 15, but should be aware that current families have first choice of classes until then. For more information and to see the registration form, go to the Talisker registration page. 13. Why do you use Amazon.com, and can I purchase the required textbooks somewhere else? Talisker's association with Amazon.com is a valuable one, for two reasons: 1) Amazon has very good discounts that make purchasing through them attractive, even with shipping and handling, and they are usually very fast - this is good for you: 2) Talisker Tutorials gets a percentage of the sales on books ordered from Amazon.com through our bookstore - this is good for Talisker Tutorials. 14. In ordering from Amazon, I follow your instructions, putting an item in my "shopping cart" and returning to your book lists to select another; but when I'm ready to order, only the last item is in the basket! What happened? It's probably because you have a "no-cookie" option selected on your browser. That means when you leave Amazon.com, their system cannot save your shopping cart with a cookie. If you have IE 4.0, you can enable cookies, or be prompted before accepting them, under View | Internet | Options | Advanced | Security | Accept, Prompt, or Disable cookies. If cookies are disabled on your browser, the only way my bookstore account can receive credit is if you submit separate orders for each book. This is inconvenient for you and costs you more in shipping, but is otherwise satisfactory. If you are concerned about "cookies" on your hard drive, set your browser to show an alert before accepting cookies. In IE 4.0, go to View | Internet Options | Advanced | Security, then check "prompt before accepting cookies." In Netscape, go to Options | Network Preferences | Protocols, then check " show an alert before accepting cookies." This way, when you are in a place like Amazon.com, you can accept the cookies necessary to make a multiple-book order, then refuse them on other web sites. 15. Is there a discount for the second student in a family? Not at this time. 16. Amazon says they do not have the book I need for one of your tutorials. What should I do? Please write to Talisker Tutorials. I should be able to provide you with alternate sources for any of the books we use if Amazon can't come through. Barnes & Noble is another good place to try. 17. Can my child enter Great Books 2 without having gone through Great Books 1? In general no, but there are exceptions. No, because later literature is so dependent on earlier literature and much of our discussion of later works presupposes familiarity with earlier works. Furthermore, if the reason for wanting to enter GB2 without doing GB1 is the age of the student and the limited time before college, I recommend that you begin in GB1 and skip the last year of Great Books rather than entering in a later year and skipping the first one. This is because the student is less likely to have a good exposure to foundational Greek and Roman works in his later studies than he is to modern works. There are exceptions, because if the student has already read the majority of the books in the list in another setting and is familiar with them, the same purpose is served. Children's versions do not count! You need to contact Talisker if you wish to do this, so that we can discuss your situation first. 18. I'm keeping records/transcripts of my child's high school work in preparation for college - how should I list the Great Books tutorials? I asked this question of parents of the students in the 1999-2000 tutorials and here is a representative answer: "Kim Stamper (Anacortes School District) was impressed with the courses! Bottom line... she awarded us more credit than we had originally applied for (applied for 6, she gave us 9.5!). Interestingly enough, she felt that GB was also 'worth' a credit in Philosophy (History - 1, Literature - 1, English - 1). And she was familiar with the Chicago Math program and gave that 1 credit in Algebra 1, and a .5 credit for Algebra 2." Of course this depends on the quality and level of work for each student. But then that goes without saying. 19. I've missed important e-mails that you've sent out about dates of things, etc. How can I find what I've missed? The 3 most important pages for keeping up on important information about Talisker Tutorials are 1) the Atrium, which you will receive when you register, 2) Talisker Tutorial News, and 3) the Tutorials Page. 20. What if we wanted to split the cost of the microscope kit for Biology with one or more other families? Would the students be able to fulfill the requirements for the labs by sharing the equipment? Yes, and I would encourage this type of cooperation if cost is prohibitive. You could probably share a microscope kit with 4-6 students. If anyone is having difficulty coming up with the finances to purchase the optional, but highly recommended lab equipment... please contact Talisker Tutorials and I will post a message on the news page. If you find a cheaper microscope... please make sure that it is of the same quality as the one we offer (not all microscopes are created equal).

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