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I need infor on AskDrCalahan's Alg II with Trigonometry (please forgive earlier post)


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I'm looking at Alg 2 for my son. He is currently doing TT and we both don't care for it. We think he will want to do something in the computer science field so I need it to be meaty. Can someone tell me any information about this program. Did you like it? If so why. Did you dislike it? If so why. What are it's pro's and con's? Thanks

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My son is ahead by two levels in math and he has always sailed through any math course. This one has been extremely difficult for him. Dr. Callahan is easy to watch but my son comments on how what he demonstrates in the DVD for the lesson many times has no examples of what will be covered in the book! I feel like math needs to be practiced to learn it, and there are not nearly enough practice problems for a student of 14 (which my ds is!) The books breaks up the practice in Three sections (A - easier problems, B - more difficult, and C - harder and more appplication problems) I finally have had him do all the A (even though there are only answers to the odd in the back) and all the odd of section B. There are lots of problems in the book to practice but Dr. Callahan only assigns some in each section. The book course works from the assumption that your student has already had experience with some Algebra II because there were things assumed that my son had never touched on (he went through Jacobs Alg. and Geo.) This course is set up as a college course. There are onlyl about 8 problems on each test.

 

He has struggled and learned this year and that has been good. But, it also has made his confidence drop dramatically and he now does not care for any math! Every chapter has been a struggle. His former math teacher looked at the college text that is used and she said she did not get into some of that stuff my ds was asked to do until higher up in college - she was a math major and has a grad degree in mathmatics!

 

It is a hard program and could be used by a very bright student (or older, maybe) who loves a challenge.

 

We have a friend who is also using it and her ds has struggled a little less than mine and found he could get through the Trig part easier than the Alg. II.

 

I have decided that my ds needs another year of Alg II/Trig to prepare for the SAT...so we have signed him up for the Functions, Statistics, and Trig class with The Potters School. I also feel he needs a live class in which to discuss problems and a math teacher who can guide him through the tough stuff.

 

Sorry so long! Let me know if you need any more info on the program!!

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