PenKase Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 Hi all, At dc's school, the math curriculum used is Math Trailblazers. Although I don't totally dislike it and do recognize that it's a spiral curriculum, I still feel that it moves too quickly from topic to topic. For example, from January until now, dd9's 4th grade class went from double digit multiplication to three digit by one and two digit multiplication to long division with remainder to fractions and next week will begin decimals. Is it me, or is this pacing just a little bit fast? Out of curiosity, when I brought this up with dd9's 4th grade teachers, they confirmed my theory. They wholeheartedly agreed with and encouraged my afterschooling math. We have consistently afterschooled since the beginning and have seen tremendous benefits as a result. It was nice to hear the positive reinforcement from school. Thought I'd share. Have a great day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYC Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Hi all, At dc's school, the math curriculum used is Math Trailblazers. Although I don't totally dislike it and do recognize that it's a spiral curriculum, I still feel that it moves too quickly from topic to topic. For example, from January until now, dd9's 4th grade class went from double digit multiplication to three digit by one and two digit multiplication to long division with remainder to fractions and next week will begin decimals. Is it me, or is this pacing just a little bit fast? Out of curiosity, when I brought this up with dd9's 4th grade teachers, they confirmed my theory. They wholeheartedly agreed with and encouraged my afterschooling math. We have consistently afterschooled since the beginning and have seen tremendous benefits as a result. It was nice to hear the positive reinforcement from school. Thought I'd share. Have a great day! Thank you for sharing that. I afterschool my children heavily in Math, because many kids in their class are already so advanced in Math (their parents teach them at home), and their teacher does not really teach Math in the classroom. All I see are their homework worksheets, and I hear a lot about them doing pre-tests and post-tests. At first my children were not receiving high scores in Math from their teacher, but after I started afterschooling using Singapore Math, their grades are now much improved. They use McGraw Hill math in their public school. Quite frankly I am disappointed with the quality of education in the G&T program in their public school, which is reputed to be a good school, and I have taken on more work and have been afterschooling when I have the time in other subjects too, such as LA, Science, Geography, and History. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 The fast pace may be due to trying to get the content in before standardized tests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PenKase Posted February 11, 2010 Author Share Posted February 11, 2010 NYC-Makes your head spin doesn't it? The main reason why I continued teaching my children after they began public school was because I saw serious potential holes to their education. Our school district ranks in the middle and I could see how a kid could slip through the cracks when not paid attention to. So, the decision to afterschool came naturally to our family. We have always stressed that learning doesn't only happen in school and since we've done this all along, the dc just accept it. When the time came to pour through math curricula for dds I knew I wanted to find a program that would explain the why behind the concepts and promote a deep level of understanding. We settled on Right Start and now do a hybrid of Singapore and Right Start. Slow and steady has been our pace which doesn't much worry me because we have already seen the impact of our efforts. Good luck to you and yours. BTW-are you in NYC? Pippen-That is exactly what the teacher told me. I think it stinks though because the standards have been the driving force for a long time. I'm not really worried for my dd but I do for those children in her class that are struggling and aren't able to grasp the material due to the pacing. The teacher suggested I bring my concerns to the Principal and I do intend to do so. Have a great day everyone!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYC Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Yes, PenKase, I am in NYC, where it is unbelievably competitive .... but we're going with the flow. I am not in a position to homeschool, but like you, we have been slow and steady with the afterschooling. There are only 24hrs in one day. Best wishes to you and yours too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny Piaaree Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 When my kids were in ps, it seemed like the teachers were getting so rushed that they often had time only to *present* the material. The parents then had to do much of the actual teaching at home with the homework after school. This is one of the reasons I decided to home school. They had my kids for 6 hours a day, yet couldn't teach them thoroughly. I felt that if I was going to have to teach them, then I should have the six hours a day! :D Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PenKase Posted February 14, 2010 Author Share Posted February 14, 2010 NYC-Like you, I am also not in a position to homeschool. I think we've found a sweet spot with our afterschooling although I'd love for the kids to have a shorter day at their ps. In the end, all I desire for my dc is a solid academic foundation and also a love of learning. I'm a native New Yorker! Dh works in the city and commutes from Jersey every day. Jenny- They had my kids for 6 hours a day, yet couldn't teach them thoroughly. I felt that if I was going to have to teach them, then I should have the six hours a day! I second that emotion. When I "homeschooled" my girls this summer it took us a lot less than 6 hours to get through their subjects. More power to you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 Hey you NY people. At least you can have yummy bagels and pick up Chicken Dinners on Fridays... Potato Knishes and all that... I LOVE food in NY... I haven't had it in almost... gulp.... 2 decades!! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BabyBre Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 I've had mixed reactions from teachers when I tell them we're afterschooling or had previously homeschooled. One could care less and ignored everything I told her about my children. One made a half-effort to not blow me off, but also asked me not to teach my dd algorithms and other things that weren't taught in the classroom. But the two teachers we have now are like a dream come true and have welcomed my efforts and input, even requesting conferences with me to see the work dc are doing at home. I feel very lucky this year and don't expect the same treatment next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 One made a half-effort to not blow me off, but also asked me not to teach my dd algorithms and other things that weren't taught in the classroom. Wouldn't it be fun to tell them that you're too busy teaching your children Latin to teach math tricks? And, that you won't teach algorithms... if the teacher won't... (without telling you) and then you can see if the teacher even knows WHEN they are teaching algorithms?? Maybe you should show Singapore to the teachers... :-) :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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