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Please help me decide Algebra: Lial's or Dolciani


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You might check your library system to see if they can get you some of these texts on interlibrary loan that you keep reading about. Or go to amazon and just buy copies. Honestly, there's a sense in which you just really need to see them all, side-by-side, to understand the differences and know what will fit your dc. I don't think it's a pat answer. I've been buying texts to look at. Got Lial a couple days ago and don't like it at all *for my kid*. That's terrific that it's great for someone else's. But if I had banked on board reviews and not bought anything else, I'd be totally disgusted right now.

 

If you're not a math person, I think (and this is just my opinion) you might find something like Foerster a better fit than Dolciani. It has clearer explanations than Dolciani (when I put my copies side-by-side), and there are teaching videos to go with it from Math Without Borders. Lial's could be great for the right student. It's pretty busy, with lots of text on the page, and I felt like it was something *I* couldn't deal with. (And my student is the type who needs me there, despite the age.) But you can pick up a Lial for under $10 total, so it's an easy thing to preview and sell off.

 

Another other one you might look at (beside the usual big name haunts obviously) is Streeter. I just picked up a whole bunch of the Streeter texts on amazon, so hopefully they'll be here soon. I got one through the library, and what a breath of fresh air! Same low price point as Lial, same large page size, but it's not cluttered at all. Derek Owens, who teaches online classes, came to the boards here mentioning Streeter as an alternative to Dolciani. I'm not saying it's equivalent, mercy. But not every child needs Dolciani. And I have my Dolciani stuff if I want to bring those C level problems and whatnot in. For our purposes, I'm thinking Derek is right, that Streeter might be a good choice.

 

Was that helpful at all? I've had no problems selling off the stuff I bought to preview, so you would be fine there too. I mean literally it ends up costing you nothing, and then you have it in your hands to decide for yourself. And I've been surprised how much the library could get me.

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