Questions about Foersters and Dolciani for an independent learner

[Storm Bay]

Although she enjoys reading Gelfand's Algebra with me, my dd needs something to augment her math program that she can learn independently. While we've been looking at Chalkdust for Algebra II for those days when working together is not going to work (she's a very intense child who is nearly 13), could she do either of those on her own the way she has done with Lial's (for the most part.) ie can she learn by reading or does it scream for a teacher. Not only is Chalkdust expensive, but I'm not at all convinced about Houghton Mifflin's textbooks.

 

I will be going to a homeschool convention for the first time and will be able to look at textbooks, but it's not likely I'm going to find a 1965 Dolciani there. However, I just might get that one if she can do a lot of it on her own as I grew up during New Math.

[In The Great White North]

independently. That wasn't the plan, but when we started homeschooling, we discovered that he really did NOT want to sit at the table with mom and do schoolwork. So he did it more or less independently. I was there for questions, and insisted on checking his work (difficult when he doesn't believe in showing his work either!), and grading tests.

 

Algebra II wasn't as easy, so we got Life of Fred for explanations from a different viewpoint. It is totally self-explanatory and at an easier reading level, but doesn't have enough practice to stand alone IMO.

 

He did Jacob's geometry that way too.

 

I've never seen Dolciani so I can't comment on that one.

[Blue Hen]

My oldest did Dolciani Alg 1 and 2 totally on his own. I love math and really wanted to sit down and teach him but he wanted nothing to do with that. He is working through Foerster's Pre-Calc and again, doing it totally on his own. Next year he'll work through Foerster's Calc book.

 

For the Dolciani go to Abebooks.com and order the least expensive, oldest Dolciani. I have two Alg 2 textbooks and we ended up using the one from '85. The newer one had a few calculator exercises that DS liked.

[Gwen in VA]

My kids also worked through Dolciani almost completely independently.

 

I did grade the work. Then we would go over missed problems together, but I have probably only had to actually "teach" a handful of concepts -- and this is for 2 1/2 kids! (Ds2 will start Dolcani algebra 2 in the fall -- which explains the 1/2!)

[Jane in NC]

I love math and really wanted to sit down and teach him but he wanted nothing to do with that.

 

Chuckling over that comment.

 

My son did most of Algebra I independently, but with Algebra II/Trig he now waits for me to give my inevitable preamble. (Envision teenaged boy rolling eyes.) There is usually something that I want to comment on, some connection that I want to draw. He has since moved over to the the Beckenbach/Dolciani Modern Trig book which is requiring more commentary on my part given its proof heavy nature. He'll often ask if he is on the right track with something.

 

A mathy kid can certainly work through Algebra I/Algebra II independently. In doing so, he learns a great skill that most college freshmen do not possess: that of knowing how to read a math text book.

 

Jane

[Storm Bay]

Thanks, all. I'm going to look for Dolciani, ideally from my generation. I went to high school in the 70s, but started doing New Math in fifth grade. I have no idea if I did it all the way through as I really didn't pay much attention to it after the initial fervor of switching ended.

 

I learned Algebra from textbooks, then got turned off math by an idiotic (okay, trying not to cuss here) system that I went through that refused to allow me to work on my own with occasional help (as soon as I had one question it was back with the class) but allowed a pair of twin boys to go 3 grades ahead. It was when that last happened that I never tried again in math. I'm not saying that my reaction was the best one, of course, but in my eyes there was no point anymore. Evidently I had greater passions. I'm happy and am going book shopping today! I'll still look at Foerster's anyway at the convention. Perhaps I'll finally do Calculus sometime. They didn't do that in our high schools in BC, at least not back then.

[Jane in NC]

I learned Algebra from textbooks, then got turned off math by an idiotic (okay, trying not to cuss here) system that I went through that refused to allow me to work on my own with occasional help (as soon as I had one question it was back with the class) but allowed a pair of twin boys to go 3 grades ahead.

 

Now you know, Karin, why this math geek was glad that she attended an all girls high school. Math truly was my first love.

 

Jane

[Storm Bay]

Yes I do. Had I been encouraged I would have loved math, too. But I'm guessing you didn't tell off teachers you didn't respect, either;)

[Storm Bay]

Well, I went to Amazon first since I already have an account there and ordered both the 1965 and a 1975 Dolciani texts. With shipping it came to a bit over $30, but I want to see both and it's a lot cheaper than the other things I considered. I can live with just having the odd answers since I don't usually make dd do all the problems. Of course, if some kind soul worked those answers and posted them somewhere that would be great, but I don't expect that. I'm just grateful I can get the Gelfand's one.

 

I ordered the Algebra 1 first, even though she's done that to give her an introduction to it. I have two other children coming up the math ranks, so it won't go to waste.

[In The Great White North]

but Abe is usually less than Amazon. I know Foerster is $1! I used an older version, which was just fine.

[Charon]

Chuckling over that comment.

 

My son did most of Algebra I independently, but with Algebra II/Trig he now waits for me to give my inevitable preamble. (Envision teenaged boy rolling eyes.) There is usually something that I want to comment on, some connection that I want to draw. He has since moved over to the the Beckenbach/Dolciani Modern Trig book which is requiring more commentary on my part given its proof heavy nature. He'll often ask if he is on the right track with something.

 

A mathy kid can certainly work through Algebra I/Algebra II independently. In doing so, he learns a great skill that most college freshmen do not possess: that of knowing how to read a math text book.

 

Jane

 

 

One day, I am going to write a book called simply "MATH". It is going to be one long series of of five problem groups with little more than a paragraph every now and then. It will be even more sparse than Schaums but designed in five problem sets to have standard problems, additional problems and the next problem set. Every now and then there will be a string of problems that starts from some point and ends at the derivation of the Quadratic formula, say. It will go from elementary arithmetic all the way through a rigorous treatment of calculus. It will be one book and it will have probably a little more than twenty thousand problems.

 

I will dedicate the book to my friend Song Xi from when I was in school who went into actuarial science and once said of the (infamous) 150 exam (with a reasonably thickish chinese accent): "6 exams. That's all the problems. About six exams and you have done them all -- probably some of them twice.... OK, see you later...."

[Michelle in MO]

the lectures of Richard Feynman on physics? Years ago, when I read a biography about Feynman (entitled Genius), he supposedly once gave a lecture on "Math" that was considered quite phenomenal by all who heard it. He simply started with very basic math (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) and worked his way all the way through the upper-level maths, showing step-by-step how one concept built upon the next. I have no idea if this lecture was ever recorded, like his lectures on physics were. But, if it was, I would absolutely love to buy such a recording. Several years ago for Christmas I bought my father Feynman's lectures on physics for Christmas, and he absolutely loved them.

 

Anyway, this is a bit of a thread hijack, and I apologize, but Charon, your statement about writing a book called "MATH" made me think of this. Please, please write that book, and when you do, please let the rest of us know about it, OK?

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

One day, I am going to write a book called simply "MATH". It is going to be one long series of of five problem groups with little more than a paragraph every now and then. It will be even more sparse than Schaums but designed in five problem sets to have standard problems, additional problems and the next problem set. Every now and then there will be a string of problems that starts from some point and ends at the derivation of the Quadratic formula, say. It will go from elementary arithmetic all the way through a rigorous treatment of calculus. It will be one book and it will have probably a little more than twenty thousand problems.

 

I will dedicate the book to my friend Song Xi from when I was in school who went into actuarial science and once said of the (infamous) 150 exam (with a reasonably thickish chinese accent): "6 exams. That's all the problems. About six exams and you have done them all -- probably some of them twice.... OK, see you later...."