Interestingly, some of my students in proof-based classes have said "I learned a lot more about grammar/writing a clearly structured argument in this class than I did in freshman comp".

I would recommend what foxbridgeacademy did -- using them as pre-algebra and pre-geometry. Go ahead and transcript them as algebra and geometry (that's what the PS does, after all, and it sounds like he needs the credits) and then transcript the second run through as something like "transition/bridge to algebra 2/advanced algebra", all of which I've seen used by the PS. I think this will do a lot more to keep college options open than trying to find/jump into an algebra 2 that he can complete after power basics. I question taking them at the same time; I would definitely prioritize algebra if he starts to struggle. It might actually be easier on him to finish PB algebra, then do a second run through algebra while doing PB geometry.

Have you ever seen Moise "Elementary Geometry from an Advanced Standpoint" in person? I know the high school version used to be highly recommended on these boards prior to AOPS becoming popular, and it *looks* very interesting. I don't see a version under $40, though.

Wow. That would definitely be a reason I'd adjunct ... even if I did quit my day job and become an entrepreneur.

The Walch class really isn't enough to prepare for a standard algebra 2. How much math has the student had and how did s/he do?

Out of all the topics, this is the one that I never took a class in after high school. I have little familiarity in what's covered in the standard high school syllabus. But I know we have some experienced educators out there and someone has to have taken a second class in geometry. I'm looking for the (proof-oriented) book that made you sit back and notice how awesome geometry was. Ideally aimed at a second class in geometry, but if it were something that could be done as a first course by a motivated/talented student, that'd be fine too. Thanks.

You can totally do this. And if you have specific problems, you can totally PM me. This was one of my favorite classes ever. But if you are terrified, what about auditing? I mean, if it's just for personal enrichment ...

You can easily make an argument for 1, or for 1/2. Both are done. Some (schools) do 3/4 credit for 4-5 credit college classes. In most cases, I'd say 1. I might go for 1/2 if it were one of the very bright kids who has accumulated a ridiculous number of credits if you tally them that way -- I'd avoid recording 12 credits/year even if they did take 18 credits/semester at a college.

Ditto. But it's worth a try, for anyone -- to try both ways and see which works better.

I have seen many students use Mathway. I will caution you that most do not use it appropriately -- they simply type the problem in and copy down the answers. As a result, they get the problem correct on the homework but are unable to perform on the tests. I would suggest that if you use an app, you use it to give hints to the student rather than simply explaining the answer. I would rather see a tutor or see you buy a cheap algebra book -- Lial's or other developmental college class textbooks are VERY cheap on amazon, and if you got beginning/intermediate algebra combo edition you'd be able to look up pretty much any type of problem in the index.

I know that my blood sugar was absolutely wild, spikes and crashes, and it had healed significantly before I even started losing weight because I started incorporating a high amount of activity (for pleasure -- found something I liked to do -- not for exercise) into my life for a few years first. I honestly don't know if I could have been successful without support if I hadn't already had that healing.

It's interesting, because on a different forum for academics that I read, a former poster was a professor of early childhood education. She would rant at some length about the complete inappropriateness of current educational methods, and how the research showed that they were all wrong. A lot of the research about early academics and frequent testing is promulgated and funded by the same people who design the direct instruction and testing programs. There are also a lot of problems when study subjects are followed for only one year (they DO make good gains in THAT year) as opposed to longer periods. It's the same thing with math instruction. We know that conceptual instruction with appropriate practice is far superior for long-term gains. But test-taking drill and "this is how you do it" produces better gains for most students in THIS year. So we do that because every year we are faced with the prisoner's dilemma situation where we must increase the scores for this year, and the long-term is less important. It's ridiculous. It's also really easy for people to get many voters/school boards to buy into "we need to increase the test scores" under the guise of accountability/failing schools/etc., and implement this "new program" which produces great gains in that year, many parents are happy because they see scores go up, and ... yeah.

You know, I've watched a fair number of seasons of a weight loss show from the UK (Fat doctor, if anyone cares) and what struck me was: 1) The genuine compassion that the doctors seem to have for the patients. 2) The fact that all of them seem to say "Golly, I wish we didn't have to do this, I really hate doing this, but it's the only intervention that has a decent chance of working once someone gets to super-morbidly obese stage". I watched this show a long time ago but I really felt it gave me a lot of insight into the problems faced by someone who has reached the stage of BMI 50+ (mine was in the obese range but topped out around 35).

I'm not low-low carb but I frequently eat that way, so I'm going to share and hope some of it is useful. My staples (and the things that I buy the most of when they're on sale) are vegetables. Frozen broccoli/cauliflower/spinach, unless they're in season and cheap, are a large portion of my freezer (I eat far more vegetables by weight than meat, so saving 25c/lb on vegetables makes a lot more difference than saving $1/lb on meat). Cabbage, when in season, is also a major purchase. (I am kind of a Scrooge when it comes to spending unnecessary money on food). Canned tomatoes are not low-low carb but go a long way to increasing palatability of other foods. The cabbage soup diet is a stupid diet, but the soup from it is pretty good as an adjunct to a more reasonable diet, and of course you can modify it however you like. Celery is also great in season for bulking up soups and stir-frys. Carrots again are not low-low carb but are not exactly high-carb either and great for bulking up soups. Onions and bell peppers are a bit pricier (so I won't eat a pound a day or anything) but lovely for adding some flavor. I also quite like mashed cauliflower/carrots mixed with indian-style spices (cayenne, ginger, mustard, garlic, turmeric, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper). If I need protein (or am out of milk), I frequently use unflavored whey powder instead of milk. I add it after I've mashed the veg, just when you would normally add liquid, and the mash gets all nice and creamy. As far as meat, I often get chicken leg quarters on sale and roast the whole bag, then divvy them up. I tend to roast dark meat to falling-off-the-bone (nice for shredding), so I get a large amount of goop in the pan, which is part ultra-concentrated stock and part schmaltz. I pour it into a container (usually a cottage cheese container) and let it sit in the fridge until completely congealed. Then I separate the fat/stock. The fat gets used instead of other fats for frying (I told you I was a Scrooge -- but don't try it on toast, ugh -- eggs are delicious though), and the stock gets added to whatever soup/bean dish I make next. Again, lentils are not low-low-carb (and paleo seems to have an issue with them) but they are not super high carb, very unprocessed, super filling, cheap, and an excellent source of fiber, so they frequently get used to bulk up soup.

If anyone wants to try this now, I very highly recommend the website cronometer.com. The base website is free, and all (like, ALL) of the nutrients are listed, as long as the item is in the usda, nccdb, or a few other databases. The website will do an analysis for you over the last week, but if you want to track something for longer than that, it exports into excel. It's perfect for the data-driven nerd.

Yes. One very interesting thing I haven't seen yet -- a while ago, a researcher came to talk to our school of public health to give a talk on "diabesity". There are some really interesting scientific results with social cohesion and obesity -- some have found little correlation but other studies have shown a higher degree, particularly among the elderly. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4675740/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2622771/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4794461/ I forgot where the link was (sorry) but they were talking about interventions specifically targeting social cohesion rather than targeting diet/exercise in any way as being a promising direction with some interesting early results -- not just in activity/bmi but in other areas as well.

Gosh. I don't think I could get away with recommending this to my students. I tell them to try hard candy to distract them, but ...

I think assuming someone who shares for perspective/venting on a pseudonymous message board is abusive is a hell of a stretch. Frankly I'd rather have someone venting to a pseudonymous space on the internet than venting to mom friends who might know the kid in question, which is what people in my mother's generation did.

In 2005. Counterexamples in Analysis When She Hollers (Cynthia Voigt) Double Your Money in Antiques (????? That must have been for someone else)

Sounds like a winner. Even if you lose no weight, you'll still be fitter!

These cookies are dairy free and good and easy to make without a mixer -- http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/crackle-top-molasses-cookies-55351 I add more spice but the basic chemistry works. Flourless peanut butter cookies work too -- 1 egg, 1c peanut butter, 1c sugar (brown if you like), vanilla/cinnamon if you like, and I add 1/4t baking soda as well.

Yeah, I kinda do. One big reason it bothers me is that I'd given up on the idea myself until a friend convinced me to join MyFitnessPal and give it one last shot. I probably wouldn't have been ready to give it a shot if my fiance hadn't just dumped me for a really stupid reason. I think that we need to not lie about how rough and slow it is, though. I see people getting frustrated because "I have eaten on plan for an entire month and only lost 5 pounds!" and in reality that is a perfectly reasonable and sustainable rate of weight loss. We see those idiotic magazine covers with "Lose 15 pounds in a month!" and we think that is attainable without either a starvation diet or starting with a tremendous amount to lose. We also need to be realistic about how challenging maintenance is, too. It is just not a "I finished my diet, now I can go back to eating just like I did before!" unless you want to be dieting again next year. That's like "I cleaned my house, now I'm done!"

Yeah. It's like being an alcoholic who has to live in a bar and drink just enough beers to get hydrated, but not enough to get drunk.

Fat shaming is absolutely a thing. We are jackasses to fat people even when they are eating perfectly normal amounts of food (or just happening to exist in our space). But where we don't see an issue is non-fat people engaging in generally gluttonous behavior. We (in general, not in specific) joke about "food comas" after festive meals as if the only purpose of a holiday was to eat until you felt sick. Not as "Oh, this was delicious, all of it, Granny's stollen always makes me think of her ..." but "I ate so much, my belly hurts, I need to go take a nap to digest". We celebrate the "cool girls" who are slender and can ALSO put away half a pizza and a six-pack (never mind how much she starves herself later) but we shame the fat girl who does the same thing and mock the slender girl who has a single slice of pizza, a single beer, and a salad. Please note, I am not saying to shame people for their food choices -- I think that, quite honestly, what a person eats is between them and maybe the person who cooks/pays for food (if I am paying for food and you are eating triple servings, I am going to start stocking rice and beans ...) -- but I don't think that over-indulgence is something to be lauded or even normalized. I've been working on altering my own behavior with respect to this as well. I grew up in a family where my father would joke about curling up on a hot rock to digest after eating a pound of pasta, and I really don't think it was good for my relationship with food -- I don't want to pass this down to another generation.

Yes. And in the evaluations too. At many places these go to the professor AND the department chair. If they were a great professor other than having no clue how on earth you were doing in the class, mention that too -- it's even more likely to be noticed if it's "Professor Slowass was an engaging lecturer and I enjoyed the class, but not having homework returned was not helpful with my learning and I would not register for a class with this instructor again."