AK_Mom4 Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 do you let them stop there? DD17 just finished Calculus AB - supposed to be a year-long high school course, but she finished it in one semester with a solid "A". It was quite a bit of hard work. She would like to stop there and fill in with another elective starting in January (she is a senior) and then pick up with Calc 2 in college. I'm sort-of wishy washy on this one. On one hand, she did a whole year of work. On the other hand, taking a semester off math seems like a bad idea (use it or lose it). What are your thoughts? If it helps, she plans to study music on college, so no issues with math credits there.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennynd Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 If she is not plan to study anything relate to math.., i don't know if i will push her to do more. Calculus seem plenty enough for music major. .. You sure she doesn't want to minor on some science/engineer? Seem a bit waste if she is so good in math Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth in WA Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 I'm a meanie. My kids do math year round, and there is no end. Finish one book? Time to start the next. Calculus AB is a one year high school course, but so is Calculus BC, which includes the AB topics and usually is taken without taking AB first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 I'm all for doing math without breaks, but for a music major, I'd think calculus would be plenty. OTOH, if she plans to take calc 2 at the university (which I can't imagine being required for a music major), taking a semester off will make it harder to get back into things. I would recommend that she either study calc 2 now, or do some light review (not even a for credit course) to keep her math fresh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Normally I would strongly recommend against a semester off. Given her senior status, demonstrated talent and intended major, though, I'd recommend spending once-a-week reviewing calc AB and let her do the elective otherwise. Choosing an AP exam practice workbook, even if she's not planning on taking the exam and going with placement testing at the colleges instead, might be a good bet. Otherwise she could just choose problems from the review sections -- I'd choose them towards the end of the sections, i.e. the more difficult problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 What other classes will she take in the spring? Is she planning on taking the AP exam? If so, she will end up doing a fair amount of math in March and April to review for the exam. I am a pro-math person, but I can definitely see a music major stopping math after calculus. If she were my child, whether or not she continued in math would depend on what else she wanted to do. Will she take music history or music theory or basket-weaving 101? If she has a distinct plan for the space in her schedule, I'd let her drop math, but if she doesn't I'd probably encourage her to continue! (All of my other kids did calculus 2 in high school, but I'm not sure my future music major will get beyond calculus 1) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 I'm all for doing math without breaks, but for a music major, I'd think calculus would be plenty. OTOH, if she plans to take calc 2 at the university (which I can't imagine being required for a music major), taking a semester off will make it harder to get back into things.I would recommend that she either study calc 2 now, or do some light review (not even a for credit course) to keep her math fresh. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belacqua Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Can you do a semester of another kind of math? Number theory or probability, something like that? Or computer science? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Will she be taking the AP test in May? If so, then she'll get plenty of review in preparing for the test and I wouldn't worry about her forgetting it all. Hopefully she'll consider keeping up with her math in college and maybe choose it as her minor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moira in MA Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 If it helps, she plans to study music on college, so no issues with math credits there.... My dd1, who was seriously considering music as a major, was really glad that she did Calculus BC rather than AB. She found the second semester material way more interesting. Just a data point for you. hth ~Moira Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choirfarm Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Will she be taking the AP test in May? If so' date=' then she'll get plenty of review in preparing for the test and I wouldn't worry about her forgetting it all. Hopefully she'll consider keeping up with her math in college and maybe choose it as her minor.[/quote'] I agree. As a music major, I could choose between College Alg, Precalc or Calc to get my 3 hours of math. I chose College Alf. If she takes the AP exam, she won't even have to take any math. Look at her degree plans and see how much math she has to have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Calculus AB was NOT a year long course at my high school. You either did BC or not at all. If she really wants to major in music (as opposed to say music ed) I'd have her continue and take the AP exam and eliminate the course in college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 She needs to continue to review math even if she doesn't make more progress. Maybe a slower pace for the rest of the year because many schools have Freshman take math placement exams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted December 17, 2011 Author Share Posted December 17, 2011 I showed her the replies. She is now open to the idea of doing the AP Review starting in January and also the Calc 2 work (though not with the goal of finishing it by spring). Other than her music, she has a US Government course, German, and a lit class, so fitting in the review won't be too difficult. Thank you, all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhotoGal Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Just wanted to chime in that I took BC in high school and then took Calc 2 in college (even though I could have taken the credit for it). I was really glad I did. I learned even more and had a great start to college (and got an A). I ended up tutoring Math as a part-time job in college and was a great job. Anyway, just wanted to share my experience. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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