I would wear the kickin' jeans. I'm just sayin'

I have used hotmail since 1997 and never had it hacked. I would definitely make sure your password is secure. You can find loads of pages of advice on how to make secure passwords. I would also make sure NOT to click on any links in e-mails without confirming with the person in question that they meant to send you a link. And since you HAVE had your email hacked twice now, I would definitely get a new e-mail address. ETA: I'd also make sure 'automatically display attachments' is turned off.

I wouldn't have the slightest twinge of conscience about that.

Well -- you really have to understand what they gave you. When they gave you the average velocity, they gave you displacement/time in the first place. If you wanted to use the entire distance, they'd have had to have given you average SPEED instead of average velocity. ETA: average velocity is actually really tricky to work with and the whole reason they gave you this problem.

It is not so much the Ivy League schools -- it is the students who took the same track of math classes, but didn't do so well in the math classes, didn't score as well on the ACT/SAT, and are now in the remedial math classes at the state university DESPITE having had algebra 1 in 8th grade and calculus in 12th. I spent a few summers grading placement tests for the remedial classes at my university. Among other things, we got to see the high school transcript. At least a third of them had had calculus in high school and still placed into beginning algebra, the lowest class we offer. Many of them had transcripts that looked something like (for example) geometry, C, algebra 2, B-, precalculus, C+, calculus, C, coupled with an ACT score of about 16. *This* is the kind of student that the people who are saying 'don't RUSH at the expense of understanding!' are referring to. If your student is doing well in pre-algebra, GO AHEAD! Start algebra next year! But if they're getting a C in pre-algebra despite working hard, starting algebra next year is not the best track.

Yes. This. If your student is struggling with important pre-algebra skills such as fractions, YES, you should camp out/slow down. Honestly, an elite school is not going to be interested in a student who got through an advanced curriculum with a C level understanding at each level, and it will show in their standardized test scores. They'll do a lot better in any college math/science courses they need to take with an A level understanding of fewer courses than a C level understanding of many. Honestly I wish my students even had an A level understanding of pre-algebra and Algebra I. If your student does well in pre-algebra and then starts to really struggle in algebra, you can drop back and do a non-algebraic geometry, a more hands-on algebra as a second year of pre-algebra, or other options depending on the child. Maybe a year of math history with regular pre-algebra review. There are lots of people here who could help you come up with options. Don't be afraid to move on IF the student has done well in the previous level! In the public school, you'd HAVE to worry, because they can't pull out the people mid-semester who aren't doing well in algebra I and say 'hey you guys, we're doing something else for a year until your brains are ready for algebra.' This is exactly the sort of flexibility that homeschooling should give. I strongly, strongly believe it's important not to be so committed to a plan that you forget to evaluate how it's working for your student.

I don't think most people would disagree that a student who is doing well in 6th grade math should go ahead and take pre-algebra with the goal of algebra in 8th. The kind of student who needs to stop and think about more pre-algebra before taking algebra is the kind of student who still struggles with arithmetic (especially fractions) and word problems. The kind of student who's working hard for a C in 7th grade pre-algebra.

TV, newspapers, and a lot of political discourse, for a given value of stupid.

No, it was probably someone who wrote down a list of all of the really ugly causes they've defended in the name of freedom of speech and left off the ones where you would've said 'Well duh, of COURSE they should be able to do that.' I really admire you, BTW, for having the courage to investigate long-held beliefs. There are many people who won't even think about something because they *know* it to be true.

Yes. Exactly. I think the WBC have every right to hold their signs. I also think they're vicious thugs and I hope there's a special pit in hell for them to burn in. I don't see these beliefs as mutually contradictory.

It seems kinda weird, personally, to have a date-ish event between a girl and her father. I wasn't raised with this around either, so take anything I say with a grain of salt.

When I am empress of the world, we will separate arithmetic skills (which I really do think are necessary in the long run) from conceptual skills in the same way we separate penmanship from reading.

I think that when you think of discrimination, you are thinking of intentional discrimination. I would agree that intentional discrimination is far worse than unintentional discrimination. But unintentional discrimination does happen.

I'm pretty sure that if the football team were restricted to boys who had fathers, someone would call the ACLU.

I don't agree with that either. Why would you assume we approve of that?

I really, really, strongly agree with this. I don't have a problem with it if they're allowed to substitute someone else who is meaningful to them.

Sounds more like he wants an excuse to not do the problem and/or feels like being argumentative.

I haven't used TT geometry myself, but the reviews I've heard say it's one of their strongest programs. :bigear:

What do you mean by working them all the way to the end? I just had to give many college students low marks in their math quiz, because when the answer should have been 'x + 2' they proceeded to do the problem, write down the correct answer in their work, then write 'x + 2 = 0' and then 'x = -2'. That's an issue. If you mean 'she insists on getting a numerical approximation', that's less of an issue. It is, however, a minor issue in multi-step problems, because there is inevitably some rounding error involved. So if the answer to part a) is 14pi, and the student finds a decimal approximation (which involves some rounding), then uses that for part b, rounds again, uses that for part c, they sometimes get some weird answer when the answer should have been '5'. It is also a bit of an issue because it wastes time during tests, which can become more of an issue during timed tests. We emphasize this at college all the time -- that if the problem says that you do not need to simplify your answer, and you do, you run a risk of not having enough time to finish the exam -- and many do. I would much prefer to see the answer left as '14pi' unless otherwise specified, as that is most accurate, and anyone who needs to know the decimal can figure it out to the desired degree of accuracy.

Ooh, with this added information I would be raising a stink, because your kid will be stuck at the same level as this other kid all the time, and she will always be in the class with the kids the other woman views as less desirable for her dd to associate with. And even if noone calls it that, the KIDS will pretty soon start referring to the class in derogatory terms, because that's how the adult in charge seems to view it. What I was about to reply (and just saw your edit) was ... why on EARTH hasn't one of the TWO reliable female teachers been moved out of the other class and into this one?

I'd rather give a handicap than play to lose.

Quite honestly, I think a good conceptual chemistry course and a *solid* foundation in algebra, especially with word problems, would work just fine. The students who struggle in chemistry *tend* to struggle more with the algebra than the chemistry.

You don't have to do every single course they offer to get the benefit of the program. Going from algebra in 8th grade to calculus in 11th is challenging with any curriculum. Jumping the curriculum level up a notch AND starting to move faster AND throwing in a bunch of electives(number theory, c + p) is extraordinarily challenging and probably not a good idea. See how algebra 1 goes and modify thereafter, based on availability of courses and how your student responded.

Yes, this.

Recommendation: (I haven't used Chalkdust, but I have used the texts for university students) -- every other odd is plenty.