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HS Math - How do you get through it?


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I am a bit anxious about teaching my children HS math. I honestly don't remember much of it in High School, and I only made it to Geometry! You know that great public school education prepared me well!:lol: Anyway, I know that there are DVD's ect. out there, but I am still wondering if there is anyone out there who is not great at math, but was still able to get their children through math? A tutor is out of the question at the time due to funds:confused: Please tell me that we CAN get through math!!!!!

 

We are and have always used Saxon Math.

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I'm pretty good at math (made it through calculus II) but I forget a lot of what I learned in the higher grades. With using Saxon, my dd has been able to learn on her own, so my abilities, or lack thereof, haven't been an issue. Are your children learning directly from the lessons in the book, or are you teaching the lesson to them? If you're teaching them, you may want to start to gently ease them into learning the lessons on their own. That way you'll find out if it works. If they need something more, there are a few teaching DVD options. If you find that they need a teacher to help out on occasion, you can enroll them in a class which will give them help from a math teacher when needed. We have the benefit of an awesome math teacher through Seton. :)

 

IOW I wouldn't let your own math limitations stop you from hsing high school. :)

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I have completely switched all of my children to Teaching Textbooks for this very reason. My daughter had used Saxon up to Algebra II but we used Jacobs for Geometry this year. It was a complete flop. It is a great text but I am not good at math. My daughter is but I decided she needed a "teacher". I can't help her when there is a problem I don't understand. To be completely honest I don't have the time or patience to teach myself these concepts so I can work with her. So now my oldest daughter is using TT for Geometry. She really enjoys it.

 

I know there are many negative opinions about TT out there but for us it is the best choice. I'm so glad there is an affordable math program for families who need it.

 

God Bless,

Elise in NC

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We are not TT fans here. (yes, we've tried it, but we all have our opinions). My eldest is one who was able to learn math from a textbook most of the time, and did until she transferred to ps (attitude issues; she was fighting with me all the time and wouldn't work at home; academically she is thriving working in the structure of a classroom.) One option is to have your dc take from Jann in TX; she teaches online high school math. I don't have her link on this computer, but you could PM her about it. If I can keep any of my dc home for high school (I do give them some choice at that age) I hope to have them take math with Jann.

 

There is also ChalkDust which is expensive, but had DVDs and if you buy it new you can get telephone support.

 

Other options include part time at ps or CC. Some states and/or CCs allow high school teens to take CC classes free.

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You could start learning the math yourself and see how it goes. I know this is what my dad did for my younger brothers. He did get a tutor for them (me) when they were in Saxon Advanced Math, or maybe it was near the end of Algebra 2, if I hadn't been available I think he would have kept working on it himself. One of my brothers is a very successful engineer. The other one did well in his math courses(only 2 I think).

 

I have a degree in math, so obviously I'm not in the same postion as you are. But this is the same attitude that I have taken with other subjects; learn whatever I can myself. With more than the average number of children it may make even more sense to try to get to the point that you can teach it(I have 8 children). I did this with Latin and went through Henle 1 and 2 with my two oldest. It takes a lot of time but it pays dividends later! The years I was learning Latin, I took the book everywhere, every appointment, every trip, everywhere I would have to wait. I asked questions on line. With math you could probably find someone local that could answer questions.

 

This might all be a crazy thought, but I thought I would mention it. I'm sure there are people that have done it with math. I hope they find this thread and tell you about it.

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If I were you, I'd start teaching myself math. (In fact, I WILL be you in a few more years!!!! And that's my plan!!!)

 

When I was 32, I went to college for the first time. I had to take a placement test, and the test would have Algebra I and II on it. I managed to scrape by in highschool with Cs in math (15 years previously). But I didn't want to take remedial classes, so my dh managed to find me an Algebra text book (he works at the college, but you could use your kids' homeschool math texts.)

 

For the next 2 months before I took the placement test, I worked through the math book. It was a teacher's edition, so every other math problem had the answers in the back. I did every single problem in that book that had an answer. If my answers were wrong, I re-did the lesson and re-did all the exercises until they were right.

 

When I took my placement test, I was in the 99th percentile for math.

 

 

If I don't farm out math to my kids, I plan on buckling down and learning math on my own. Maybe you could try that and see how far you can get. With proper motivation, you can probably learn it. Math isn't as hard as an adult with motivation, compared to when you were a teenager stuck in school with NO motivation.

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If I were you, I'd start teaching myself math.

:iagree: I use TT Algebra I and I study along to understand why ds gets a problem wrong. Or how to better explain it. Or when to go to Hippocampus or PurpleMath for supplemental lessons. It does help.

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