Kathleen in LV Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 I am reading a book by John Taylor Gatto, and he mentioned that the most practical aspects of mathematics in everyday life are arithmetic and statistics, yet our schools don't traditionally teach statistics. Thinking back, in high school I took mathematics through calculus, but did not encounter a statistics course until my third year of my college engineering program. I'm thinking statistics may have been lightly covered at some point in PS, but I can't recall it. And, on a daily basis, I encounter infinitely more situtations that require an understanding of at least basic statistics than trigonometry or calculus. Does anybody include an in depth statistics course in their hs curriculum? If so, what do you use? If not, do you use a math curriculum that covers statistics at least to some extent? (I'm asking this on the general board, because I'm not sure at what grade level people might do this.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLittleWonders Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 We will. ;) Dh is a math teacher and teaches AP Stats ... we have stats penciled in for 12th grade around here along with calculus. (Dh might argue that stats isn't really math except that it uses numbers. :lol: We are treating it more of a social sciences type of class so ds#1 can't argue that he's already taking one math class, why does he have to take two.) Dh wants to use LoF for stats with the kids ... he's read through quite a bit of it and says it goes more in-depth and teaches more content that the text he uses that is approved by the College Board. Personally, I remember having some stats instruction in calculus in college, but nothing much until I took a stats course for my master's degree. I rather enjoyed it and look forward to relearning it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest submarines Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 I will, for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in LV Posted January 5, 2012 Author Share Posted January 5, 2012 Dh wants to use LoF for stats with the kids What is LoF? I couldn't find it in a search of the abbreviation thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GailV Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 What is LoF? I couldn't find it in a search of the abbreviation thread. Life of Fred. I didn't realize they had a statistics course. Hmmm, 16yo dd wants to take statistics, but LoF hasn't been very popular in our house so far. We might give it a whirl anyway. She thinks a course in statistics could help her ACT score, btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 I didn't have it growing up. I will be taking my first statistics course this semester in college. Dh, who was a math major, has already told me he will be teaching this to the girls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigs Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Mathematics, Philosophy, and the Real World is a Teaching Company course that is excellent. It has lectures on statistics and geometry. I think it would be a fantastic supplement to either course. It's the best TC course I've seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLittleWonders Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Mathematics, Philosophy, and the Real World is a Teaching Company course that is excellent. It has lectures on statistics and geometry. I think it would be a fantastic supplement to either course. It's the best TC course I've seen. Thank you for the link. Dh wants me to buy it so he can watch it (I want to watch it with him). He loves all things geometry (I think it runs through his blood ;) ) and philosophy and is learning to love statistics. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElaineJ Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Statistics was my favorite math class next to Geometry. It is math I still use today in normal life. I did take it in college, though (as a requirement for my psychology minor). We love LOF here, so I would probably seriously consider that when the kids reach upper high school. Elaine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 We will when he is older. I took them in college and I think that is pretty typical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmoe Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 My oldest took a college Statistics course in 10th-grade. This kid is a math whiz---and statistics is his favorite math. He just couldn't believe the world it opened it. As a freshmen at college, he's taking his third statistics class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi mum Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Dh wants to use LoF for stats with the kids ... he's read through quite a bit of it and says it goes more in-depth and teaches more content that the text he uses that is approved by the College Board. My DH was also impressed with the coverage in LOF Statistics. We are using all the other LOF books so will use the Statistics one as well. DH and I both did high school in New Zealand where it is normal for most students to do math through to precalc in 11th grade and then the mathy students (that would be both of us) did both calculus and statistics in 12th grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIch elle Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 He's a high school senior and is taking stats and pre-cal this year. His school offers stats and AP stats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgo95 Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 DH talks to our kids informally about it now but we will definitely tackle it more rigorously closer to high school. We usually think of it as Stat, not Stats (we're in the US). It sounds strange to me as Stats :D. Anyhoo, that's a yes, we teach/will teach stat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usetoschool Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Don't know if you have ever heard of TED talks but here is a little talk by a math professor that does some of the Teaching Company courses as well. He thinks statistics is really important. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjzimmer1 Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Dh wants to use LoF for stats with the kids ... he's read through quite a bit of it and says it goes more in-depth and teaches more content that the text he uses that is approved by the College Board. . So could you ask you DH about the theme in this LOF book? My son is very accelerated in math and loves this series. However, I was so turned off with the "mature" themes in LOF Calculus (smoking pot, excessive alcohol drinking, spousal abuse) that I'm now afraid to purchase any more books in this series. I'd love to hear what the story line is and see if it's acceptable for my kiddo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annandatje Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 I am reading a book by John Taylor Gatto, and he mentioned that the most practical aspects of mathematics in everyday life are arithmetic and statistics, yet our schools don't traditionally teach statistics. Thinking back, in high school I took mathematics through calculus, but did not encounter a statistics course until my third year of my college engineering program. I'm thinking statistics may have been lightly covered at some point in PS, but I can't recall it. And, on a daily basis, I encounter infinitely more situtations that require an understanding of at least basic statistics than trigonometry or calculus. Does anybody include an in depth statistics course in their hs curriculum? If so, what do you use? If not, do you use a math curriculum that covers statistics at least to some extent? (I'm asking this on the general board, because I'm not sure at what grade level people might do this.) I consider a basic understanding of probability and statistics to be an essential ingredient of sound education, but I may be biased since statistics was my second choice for major/career. In high school, we did some prob and stat work using my old college notes and internet sources. I consider it to be akin to consumer math; we need a working knowledge of it to understand how studies are conducted and evaluated and interpret results beyond sensational news headlines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athena1277 Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Stats was one of my favorite college classes. My oldest is only 9, but I hope to teach her at least a basic level of stats in high school. If nothing else, it helps to better understand the sometimes bad stats put out by the media or other groups who want you to agree with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Always. I start early to give them an interest and then really focus on it in the later years. Each dc will get a credit in Stats before they leave high school. I am a statistics nut. I took extra courses in it in college, and my love was rekindled years ago when I read Innumeracy. My middle dd is very much into math. She cleaned out Ed Zaccaro's booth at the convention of all things statistics, and we have had a ball with them. We also discuss everything in the paper and in new magazines. (We once wrote an email to the local "free paper" to let them know that they had misrepresented a statistic in a bar graph. :lol:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLittleWonders Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 So could you ask you DH about the theme in this LOF book? My son is very accelerated in math and loves this series. However, I was so turned off with the "mature" themes in LOF Calculus (smoking pot, excessive alcohol drinking, spousal abuse) that I'm now afraid to purchase any more books in this series. I'd love to hear what the story line is and see if it's acceptable for my kiddo. I will ask, but just to warn you, he doesn't always pick on that stuff (he reads it for the math and manages to often miss everything else). But when he gets home, I'll see if anything stood out to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 We were very pleased with the AP Statistics class that my teen took through Pennsylvania Homeschoolers. It was taught by Blue Hen, who posts here on the WTM board. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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