Lanajay,

I am so very sorry that you didnt receive the type of educational experience that you could have perhaps enjoyed. I attended an ACE program from grade 1-6 and from 10-12. I felt that I wanted to attend public school where I could wear what I wanted and have more freedom at school. I was bored with the education which I received at the Public School and didnt progress at all on my knowledge base. I reentered ACE and graduated. I have a BS from a large public university, a MS and a EDS from a well respected private college.

I feel that the cubical which I studied from helped me develop independent study skills. Also, correcting my own mistakes,setting daily goals and memorizing things have helped me to teach college students and councel others. I am very spiritual and feel that God allowed me to have my life experience for a higher good. Everything about ACE isnt perfect nor is any other Educational program. Perhaps I got lucky with my Supervisors and the ability to take what I needed from that strict religious base and leave the rest behind. My younger sister wasnt so lucky with ACE. She was born in 74 and in the early 80s here undiagnosed ADHD in combination with the ACE program was a dissaster for her education. I hope for you the ability to keep doing good from all of your life experiences and may you find peace with this and all experiences that this wonderful life has to offer.

Peace and Blessings,

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grounded
Lanajay,

I am so very sorry that you didnt receive the type of educational experience that you could have perhaps enjoyed. I attended an ACE program from grade 1-6 and from 10-12. I felt that I wanted to attend public school where I could wear what I wanted and have more freedom at school. I was bored with the education which I received at the Public School and didnt progress at all on my knowledge base. I reentered ACE and graduated. I have a BS from a large public university, a MS and a EDS from a well respected private college.

I feel that the cubical which I studied from helped me develop independent study skills. Also, correcting my own mistakes,setting daily goals and memorizing things have helped me to teach college students and councel others. I am very spiritual and feel that God allowed me to have my life experience for a higher good. Everything about ACE isnt perfect nor is any other Educational program. Perhaps I got lucky with my Supervisors and the ability to take what I needed from that strict religious base and leave the rest behind. My younger sister wasnt so lucky with ACE. She was born in 74 and in the early 80s here undiagnosed ADHD in combination with the ACE program was a dissaster for her education. I hope for you the ability to keep doing good from all of your life experiences and may you find peace with this and all experiences that this wonderful life has to offer.

Peace and Blessings,

Thank you grounded,

I'm glad to hear your education worked well for you, but am very sorry to read about your sister.

I was much more fortunate that many others who posted. I only had 2 years involvement with ACE.

One of my brothers had undiagnosed dyslexia. He was beat with the paddle on a daily basis by the headmaster, and then beat at home for his poor progress. I don't blame the ACE program for his treatment, but rather the people and parents who are attracted to this type of isolated learning setting, and who abuse power under the guise of religion. I have no doubt that there were and are ACE schools that have instructors who are committed to the education of students and do not mistreat them.

I don't give my name because you don't need to know it. This is a forum designed for people who grew up and still live with the effects of having ACE in their lives. You ain't Judge Wapner. And this ain't The People's Court.

I took home homework every night. Looking back, it seems as if I had childhood ADHD. Or perhaps it was simply a case where sitting in that cubicle ruined any ambition of meeting goals, if all that was bound to happen the next day was nothing but the same old crap. You say your students rarely take home homework. Let me bring you in on a little secret. Perhaps they are cheating the system. Are you in the Learning Center at every minute to monitor whether or not they don't look ahead in the score keys at the scoring station? Take me for instance. I had an English Literature PACE I worked in Year Nine. The book was "Foxe's Book of Martyrs." The book was almost as thick as a King James Bible. But the questions I had to answer were from a completely different edition, more like a young reader's edition. I know. I looked at the publishing information. Completely different publishers. It didn't line up. I knew it was screwy. But I didn't make a big deal about it. I simply let it sit in my office with the study guide tucked away inside the library card pocket. One day on one of his rants, our principal went thru the learning center and was picking up things out of our offices. And he would do that kind of crap. Anyway, he picked up the book. He found the study guide I had concealed in the book. He roughly slammed it down on the top of my "office" and ordered, "You'll have that finished before the weekend." Over the weekend I worked about eight hours on it. But only halfway. I wound up giving bullcrap answers and correcting them with the right ones the following week. I told him some crap like "I almost finished it, but I have a little more to do. Can I use part of my lunch to go back to my office to finish?" Anyway, he approved. And that week I wound up taking more answers from the scoring station than ever before. I screwed the system. I studied the answers. I took the PACE test. I passed with something like a 90%. All because I screwed the system. AND REWARDED!

What is my point? I screwed the system. And got rewarded. That's indicative of the whole system. You have to know how to cheat to survive. ACE teaches kids it's ok to cheat the system. If your students rarely take home homework, then you need to be aware of the possibility of them cheating the system. WAKE UP AND SMELL THE FECES!

Just want to say hi to you databass and am glad that you are posting your experiences with ACE.

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lanajae
Just want to say hi to you databass and am glad that you are posting your experiences with ACE.

I find it quite therapeutic to reveal my experience with nine years in ACE.

Nine years of ACE is hard to reverse. Re-educating myself on life outside of ACE has been a struggle to say the least. Last year I found a 12-step program known as Adult Children of Alcoholics, or ACA. Despite the fact that I did not grow up with alcoholic parents, the program also aids in the recovery of victims of religious abuse.

I had a pretty good account of every year I had to endure in ACE. I put it out there on a myspace page but some people told me I left some people's real names in it. I quickly took it down to protect their privacy and didn't think to make a backup copy of it. To make a long story short, my laptop took a dump before I made any kind of backup. So I lost the entire 9-year account. That really hurt.

I got so fed up with ignorant people who continually back the ACE curriculum that I could no longer be quiet about my experiences. As mentioned in previous posts, I didn't turn out that bad. Served in USAF. Right with God and reasonably active in my local Baptist church (affiliated with the Conservative Baptist Association). Married with 3 daughters. College degree. Gainfully employed. No criminal record. But I feel like the exception. Many who went to the ACE school didn't graduate from college. Only a few graduated from an accredited 4-year college. And only a few are somewhat spiritually active. I get sick of people who push ACE like it's the best thing since sliced bread and have not been an actual student of ACE. Because people like that don't have a clue. And that's why I encourage each one of them to... "WAKE UP AND SMELL THE FECES!"

You said "I screwed the system. And got rewarded" I believe your bitterness is part of your "reward." It is obvious that you really want to get over your ACE experience. That's good! You may wish to read "Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting out of the Box." This has NOTHING to do with ACE but I have found it helpful in meeting many of what life hands to us.

sbuerer:

You said, "I believe your bitterness is part of your 'reward.'"

Again, you are attempting to attack a member personally.

Last warning.

databass is simply saying that ACE's program is based in memorization and speed. Kids correct their own work, so all anyone had to do was memorize the answers, take the test and pass. There is no learning involved. The goal is to rush through as many PACE packets as you can and be rewarded for completion by being allowed to spend time out of your cubical.

If a child isn't skilled at memorization, and there are many who aren't!, the next option is process of elimination. The child continues to get answers wrong, but after many attempts, will eventually get all answers right and pass. Meanwhile, there is punishment for this option.

There are parents who feel discipline (aka building character) is #1 on their list and education is a secondary. Character building in this system is similar to a LGAT, the child must be broken down and made aware of their failures. The child can either continue to be a failure or learn to cheat. It's that simple. They can't learn without being taught. There are no teachers to teach.

Of course, there are former students who felt this system worked well for them. They are kids who excelled at memorization, liked working independently, and enjoyed the reward system. They test well, and if they enjoyed reading for pleasure outside of school, they often developed writing skills on their own.

rrmoderator

I am not attacking anyone. Is it not OK to state the obvious and make suggestions in resources we have used? I am confused. What are you questioning and suggestion is an attack?

lanajae

Thanks for you excellent explanation.

Having been in the learning center as a student and growing frustrated by the rules which were outside of my usual mode of operation, I can see how some might be frustrated and try to circumvent the rules. The rules help on grow and are there for ones own betterment as well as the deference of others in the learning center. Kinda like getting ones Driver's License. But most people take the effort to do it because they want the result.

Except for memorizing the monthly scripture passage, there is little memorizing in ACE. About the same as in any school where learning takes place. I grew up in the 1950s and we were required to memorize several passages. ie. The Preamble to the Constitution, Twas the Night Before Christmas, etc. In my church high school youth group, we had Bible Quizzing and memorized many verses, The Four Spiritual Laws. and Romans 12. Memorizing does not come easily to me but is mostly taking the effort and focus needed.

Let me give you a definition of success: The Progressive Realization of a Worthwhile Dream or Goal. We take the dream or goal, break it down into manageable bite-size steps, and head toward that dream. Sometimes we slip and fall or get distracted. We just fall (or fail) forward. I use this principle all the time in business. Each and everything I do leads me toward or away from the dream or goal. This is called the "Slight Edge" truth from a book of the same title. This is the truth is used in an appropriately run Learning Center. It was the middle 1990s when I was last in a learning center as a Supervisor. The goal setting and rewards and consequences truths I learned in my ACE supervisor training and used in the learning centers have helped me immensely in the outside world. I am currently growing a multimillion dollar company.