choirfarm Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 These have been some of my discussions with my oldest the past few weeks: Scenario 1: Mom.. I just don't get xyz concept from AP Stats. It isn't covered in the book or at least the way this problem on the practice test does it. So I go to my stack of AP books, alternate textbooks and we look it up in the index. To me, it looks like Greek. I don't understand a word. Oh.. well, yeah that helps a little bit. So I get on google and find some other sites on the subject. OH!!! I get it it... and he proceedes to go on and on... Scenario 2 Alg. II Son, you put the i in the wrong place. IT is supposed to be under the square root symbol on these problems. No, it isn't mom. Look see. He's correct. It is beside the square root. Mom, I write it in front of it so I don't get confused and think it is under it. Oh.. well what are you studying anyway. What is i? It is an imaginary number mom. He said something like the square root of -1 or something. I don't know. He went into this long discussion about how cool it was and how interesting and fun and why you might need to know it and how it is useful. His literature loving, musically inclined mom just smiled and pretended to know what he was talking about. I declined to say it was imaginary and who cares. If they don't exist then why are they there!!! Just pretend they aren't.. Grin... But seriously, it does concern me. I seem him next year doing Chalkdust PreCalc and probably AP Chemistry. He will probably do fine on his own, but if he gets stuck.. I won't be much help. I wish he could be in a fabulous high school class with a fabulous teacher who loves his/her subject and can talk to him endlessly about it. Instead he is stuck with a mom who doesn't have a clue. christine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I can relate, except I understand the math/science (even i - useful to show direction for a quick answer), but am not so up on the English and History. My middle son loves it ALL. Our local school is crummy, so that's not an option for my high academic guy. He'd be as bored there as anywhere else (he said so, and was in ps through 6th grade, so knows what it is like - he tutors his peers at church). CC was interesting to him, but he was still top of his class and he said it was far easier than he expected. I'm thinking a good college will be where he feels like he fits in academically. My oldest thoroughly enjoys where he is going and the deep intellectual discussions that he can get there. Meanwhile, middle son is enjoying his self-study and we enjoy the discussions involved. With our location and finances, it's our best choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leanna Tomlinson Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Ummm.........maybe you two need to move next door to each other? Seriously, God was amazing in providing for me this way. My son was in Chalkdust Pre- Calc and I was.......pretending. Thankfully Dana Mosely has a help line. ;) I did not know what I was going to do. God sent a homeschool mom with an engineering degree and a lonely son to our church. My ds is going to her house two mornings a week for Calculus and Physics. She won't even let me pay her, although I do insist on sending an occasional meal. Like my husband always says, "You don't get an answer if you don't ask!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda in MA Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Christine, I love the subject of your post (the blind leading the seeing)! My oldest passed me by in high school in a couple of areas, and he's still going... It's a wonderful thing, really. Probably a little uncomfortable for you, but great for him to feel competent and capable and maturing. As long as you have some ways to get him help if he runs into a road block, I bet he'll be just fine. The internet, tutors, friends, on-line teachers, etc. are all good sources of help. When he's at a university and is sitting in his dorm room trying to tackle his homework and gets stuck, he'll need to figure out how to search out the help he needs. You are training him for that now. A knowledgeable teacher won't be there for him all the time, he'll need to find his own way -- the internet, tutoring center, friends, prof's office hours, etc. Good job, mom! Brenda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 . I wish he could be in a fabulous high school class with a fabulous teacher who loves his/her subject and can talk to him endlessly about it. Instead he is stuck with a mom who doesn't have a clue. It could be worse. he could be in a high school class stuck with a teacher who does NOT know what he is talking about. Not unheard of in math. Can you find a mentor for him? Or another student working on the same material? Study groups are the best way to learn complex subjects, it is the interaction and the talking about it that makes things a lot clearer. If these are not possible, it may already help him to get a chance to explain it to you. Even if you don't fully understand, it will help him sort his thoughts. very often, I have students who start asking a question and then say "never mind" - as soon as they tried to put it into coherent words, the answer became clear to them. So, talking to you can be beneficial for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 It could be worse. he could be in a high school class stuck with a teacher who does NOT know what he is talking about. Not unheard of in math. :iagree::iagree: I never had a good math teacher in high school. My dh actually ignored the teachers and did his work straight from the book. Then when the teacher couldn't get something to work he asked dh to help him:eek:. I think having someone willing to walk along side and help find resources is far better than either one of the ps's we experienced, and they were both considered "good" schools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I felt the same way, but ds turned out fine! He ended up pursuing an English major. He lives at home while attending a local college, so I finally get the benefit of an English person at home!! We love Dana Mosely, he is so helpful. Ds couldn't do the CD Algebra 2, that is where we had to scale back to BJU. Ds did science back when you could email (and even call) Dr. Wile for help. I still remember sitting across the table from ds when he was talking to Dr. Wile for 30 minutes and Dr. Wile was repeating the concept until ds could say it back. I just make sure the more difficult subjects have support, then he and now dd get the benefit of a great teacher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnandtinagilbert Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 We definitely gave in (just last night) and admitted ds is officially smarter than his mom! I actually made it through Calc...like 19 years ago and didn't retain a thing. I am praising the Lord he is getting it so far. You two should be neighbors!:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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