The problem with blocking math is not with completing the course in half a year (many are able to do so) but that if it is not followed by another math course, retention decreases drastically with an 8 month gap rather than a 4 month gap. If the plan is two math courses per year, it's just fine! If the plan is one per year, I'd recommend strongly against it.

Seriously, if he doesn't get his apps in on time or does a lower quality job and doesn't get accepted/doesn't get a scholarship as a result, what will the result be? Well, he'll have to postpone the 4-yr school and go to community college. What will happen when he procrastinates in college and does a lower quality job/doesn't submit things on time? It will hurt his GPA, which follows you a lot further than where you did your freshman year. It's much better that he work on the consequences of procrastination *now*. You're doing the right thing by giving him the rope.

Hey LuvingLife, You also don't have to complete calculus in order to receive some benefit at university. If you only get through limits it will still give you a great leg up. Limits are one of the harder things (imo) for calc 1 students to understand, and they're at the very beginning of the course.

We have a string in the kitchen year-round. The overhead lights are annoying and generally only used if we're cleaning. The string in the kitchen provides enough light for practical purposes while still muting it some.

If you have any doubts as to whether to place out of calculus, discuss it with someone in the math department upon entry. They will likely be able to assess your knowledge and make a recommendation. Also, many universities have sample calc 1 finals available -- it may be a good idea to acquire one from where you plan to attend and make sure that you're solid on your knowledge (90%+, I should say)

I'm currently on my own "re-learn german" quest, so ... what I've been doing is finding translations of works that I have read and enjoyed in English, but have not read in some time. This means that I won't know precisely what each sentence says, or even what happens in each chapter, but I do have a general idea of the plotline, and I also know I'm going to like it :D. I'm still working at it -- my vocabulary stinks -- but I figure once I get a bit better at it I'll switch to books that I don't already know.

I really wouldn't like the idea of shifting into Saxon at the Advanced Math level. If she's doing well with Lial, why not continue with their precalculus?

Math for Smarty Pants and the I Hate Mathematics Book. I credit these more than anything else with developing the enjoyment of mathematics which caused me to major in it at university. Also possibly consider side-stepping to something like MEP, since it's free you could try a few worksheets.

Ask the professor. It's almost totally up to him.

:lol::lol::lol:

Many of the college students I see do not really understand why fractions work. Consequently, when they forget the algorithm that they are supposed to use, they remember *an* algorithm and simply apply it. For example, they invert and multiply when really they are supposed to be multiplying the fractions. Purely in my opinion, memorizing algorithms fades more quickly than understanding what the algorithm means, why it works, AND how to use it. For the classes where I simply memorized algorithms without really understanding them (calc 3, organic chem spring to mind), I have no real recollection of how to solve those problems today. For the classes in which I understood what was going on and didn't need to memorize (calc 1-2), I could still solve the problems even after taking 7 years off from math. In high school math, when the teacher taught the quadratic formula, I could do 100 math problems all of which involved the quadratic formula, and still get it wrong on the test. When the teacher taught completing the square, not only could I get all the test problems correct with that, I suddenly understood the quadratic formula. YMMV. Maybe you're really good at memorizing. I'm not.

When I have had open book tests, they were distinguished from closed book tests in that there were absolutely no problems that could be answered by clever memorization. Every single problem was an application or extension of the homework/textbook examples, and the average grades were far lower. Study skills were STILL necessary as you would need far more practice applying the book's examples to novel problems. On a closed book exam, usually some of the questions are very straightforward and very similar to example problems. Very few of the math classes at my current university have open-book exams. One of my courses gave a take-home exam which took almost the entirety of spring break to complete, and I was still dissatisfied with the results. Your friend is full of crap and her kids are going to be pretty unhappy when they get to university and discover that they haven't been told the truth.

It might be a good idea to share where he is at the moment in math and science. For engineering school: It is absolutely imperative that he is totally, completely, 100% rock-solid in his algebra and trigonometry. He should be taking math every year, with a rigorous course (there are too many courses to list each individually). If he has the opportunity to take the AP calculus, that's very good -- but don't skimp on the algebra and trig to get there. If he isn't making solid B's (say 85% on exams with very few conceptual errors) at the end of precalculus, I'd rework precalculus rather than rushing to calculus. If he's weak in algebra/trig, he'll be floundering all the way through. The biology course should be decent, the chemistry and physics courses should be very solid and involve math as the courses he will be required to take at university will involve loads of math. If he has the time and opportunity to AP in Chemistry or Physics C (I wouldn't do Phys B as most engineering schools require calc-based physics), this could lighten his first year's courseload as engineering courses are notoriously overloaded. Many engineering schools now require or strongly recommend economics as a general education course. It may be a good idea to get some exposure before engineering school. Some exposure to computer programming, in any language whatsoever, but serious programming, would be a great idea as most of the engineering schools do *lots* of programming to solve complex problems.

Here's a list by Laura Corin on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Ideas-for-Studying-Chinese-history-ages-6-14/lm/1XHCU8PVLXH9K/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full Many of them are too old, but they're pretty well labelled and the ones that are too old for your kids may be good references for you as well.

That's what I started out doing too. After you've done this a lot of times, varying it and measuring by eye gets easier -- and you can start saying 'oh, about that much fat' etc. I also add a thinly sliced garlic clove in the butter-melting stage, because I like garlic!

FWIW: I read eagerly and enthusiastically at 4. My sister at 7 due to undiagnosed vision issues. One of my brothers at 2, the other at 9. All of us read just fine now.

Pro of calc first: She'll do it right after adv math and so won't have forgotten the trig by the time calc comes around. Con: If she needs calc in college she'll have had a year to forget it, unless stats involved calculus. Pro of stats first: Calculus knowledge will be fresh in college. Con: Relearning the trig may be difficult. Also, you'd have to change publishers sooner. If you can find a stats course that uses some calc, doing calc as a jr and then that as a senior would be my first choice -- but I don't think any of the commercially available home-study courses use it. (I could be wrong). I really liked the book I used, but it came after calc 3 and I don't think Saxon goes through that -- also, you'd pretty much have to learn it yourself in order to teach it.

You're *supposed* to understand teenagers? :D

I almost lived off white sauce my first year of grad school. White sauce, frozen vegetables, can of tuna, lots of rice.

The larger the class, the easier it is to hide. When I TA'd for large classes, we had issues with cell phones going off constantly and not knowing whose it was. Really annoying rap music as the ringtone, too. When I've taught smaller classes/recitations, I *have* had students openly doing crosswords/sudoku in class, but not anywhere near as much talking, and when there is talking it's usually whispering to a neighbour along the lines of (what page are we on again?)

Pretty sure she's deliberately trying to be obscure there. :P

Honestly, unless you're giving your kids A's without asking them to do anything that is NOT memorization, I wouldn't worry. In PS, you can get through most of elementary just through being good at memorizing. If you're used to doing this, when you're first asked to NOT memorize but actually think, you may crumble.

I believe this was a deliberate misstatement in an attempt to decrease the magnitude of the age gap.

People say this frequently. Have you checked what the survival rate is of these diseases, even if treated? As far as I can find, the survival rate of unvaccinated who manage to acquire tetanus is about 85%. (This is in the US, in countries without Western medicine it is far higher). Survival rate of symptomatic rabies is incredibly low and the few survivors have been left with serious brain damage, although the standard treatment is the post-exposure prophylaxis. Diphtheria is far less worrisome as it's pretty much restricted to humans and now quite rare in the US. I'm not saying (btw) that you *should* go against your religious beliefs regarding vaccination, but the idea that because it's treatable by antitoxin you don't need to worry about it at all is false. If you're not vaccinated against tetanus, it's even more important to keep a good watch over open wounds and especially puncture wounds, especially if you live in areas which have historically been used for livestock. If you're not going to vaccinate your animals for rabies, it's important to make sure that they don't, for example, chase raccoons or bats, and look for early symptoms if they've been out playing.

Many times I respond 'maybe' with the caveat that 'I know something that I have to do will be scheduled about that time, but it's not scheduled yet. As soon as they have it scheduled I'll call and confirm.' Then I do. If I cancel it's something like 'car won't start this morning, sorry'