Tiramisu Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 I may wind up deleting this post so please don't quote me. :) I'm putting this post of different boards so I can get various perspectives. Dd will be a senior and is planning on studying music in college. The schools that have her specific major are generally not competitive and she already has met the admission requirements of the ones she's considering. Her SAT's are good enough to get some scholarships at those schools, but not great, so she'll practice more and re-take them. What I'm wondering about is whether she should take pre-calc this year. She has taken up to algebra 2, which she finished sophomore year. I'm worried that she'll look like a weak student without it, having only two years of math in high school. Last year was just SAT math prep after she hit a wall with TT pre-calc. If we attempt it again this year, we'll try MUS. The thing is, she doesn't need pre-calc and she's not interested in it, and I would almost like her to spend the time on what is more relevant for her future. My struggle is that I always have in my mind a "rigorous" academic plan. Though dd is bright, intellectually curious, reads a lot, and can express herself well, she has a lower processing speed and CAPD, verified through testing. This means I have to be careful not to overload her. When she's overloaded, there's more of a chance that communication will go awry, leaving her confused and frustrated. On top of these issues, she feels physically unwell rather often. We have done medical testing but have never found a clear answer. Recently, she's had increased nausea and significant weight loss, so we've started looking into what is causing that. This means, on top of the normal stuff, we have no idea what the next school year will look like. So, is it worth throwing pre-calc into the mix? FWIW, I have younger dc so I have their needs as well. I'm open to any helpful feedback and suggestions. Thanks for not quoting. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RamonaQ Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 What are the math requirements at the colleges she is interested? Would she be prepared enough without pre-calc? I know for my sister, who went to a liberal arts school and had a non-science degree, she was still required to take calculus. I am wondering if you do go the pre-calc route if you can find support? Could your dd work with a tutor? Is there even a high school student who could be a study-buddy and do homework with her? (likely you would have to pay them..) Just thoughts about how to find additional support..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted July 25, 2012 Author Share Posted July 25, 2012 What are the math requirements at the colleges she is interested? Would she be prepared enough without pre-calc? I know for my sister, who went to a liberal arts school and had a non-science degree, she was still required to take calculus. I am wondering if you do go the pre-calc route if you can find support? Could your dd work with a tutor? Is there even a high school student who could be a study-buddy and do homework with her? (likely you would have to pay them..) Just thoughts about how to find additional support..... It seems like the schools she is looking at require two years of math and/or up to algebra 2. She'll probably have to take either a basic college math class or statistics for the major she's looking at, definitely not calculus. I think I could probably find a tutor for her if I had, too. Since MUS is more like introduction to pre-calc, a high school student might work. Thanks for the suggestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Personally, I would skip the pre-calc and give your dd more time to study for the SAT if she will really retake it, and give her time to do some kind of interesting senior project, or give her time to practice her instrument more with the goal, for instance, of giving a senior recital for friends and family. Make this last year of homeschooling something special and unique -- let go of the rigorous model and dreams of calculus and celebrate what she excels in. I am speaking from experience here -- one of my kids never even took Algebra II, but he is thriving in his chosen major in college. I am so happy he had the opportunity to do some unique projects his senior year and we have no regrets of courses not taken in high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TippyCanoe Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homebody2k Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Honestly, I'd look at the university she wants to attend and discover the math requirements. Outside of signing her up for a class to improve her SAT scores, I'd be making sure she was prepped for the math she'll see in college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 (edited) . Edited July 26, 2012 by Apryl H Sorry, meant to be a new thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 If you really want her to do math, I'd think about having her do statistics instead of precalculus. The content covered in statistics is much more important to a non-math person than what is covered in precalculus. FWIW, I didn't do math in my senior year of high school and the highest math I did was Algebra II (and I got a D). I ended up majoring in biochemistry and working as a scientist for 10 years. Of course that was back in the dawn of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted July 27, 2012 Author Share Posted July 27, 2012 Honestly, I'd look at the university she wants to attend and discover the math requirements. Outside of signing her up for a class to improve her SAT scores, I'd be making sure she was prepped for the math she'll see in college. Taking a look, statistics is probably the most likely math class she'll need at her number one choice. If you really want her to do math, I'd think about having her do statistics instead of precalculus. The content covered in statistics is much more important to a non-math person than what is covered in precalculus. FWIW, I didn't do math in my senior year of high school and the highest math I did was Algebra II (and I got a D). I ended up majoring in biochemistry and working as a scientist for 10 years. Of course that was back in the dawn of time. It is definitely likely that she will have to take a statistics class if anything, but I would need something REALLY homeschool friendly. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 If you can't get the statistics (which I think is an awesome idea) to work out, check out the BJU Consumer Math. It would be a nice level for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted July 27, 2012 Author Share Posted July 27, 2012 If you can't get the statistics (which I think is an awesome idea) to work out, check out the BJU Consumer Math. It would be a nice level for her. I think I found a statistics course that might work since it's not for math majors. It's a free online course but there's a book you can also get in print. I found it through the Hoagie's Gifted site. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Is there some reason you're tantalizing us and not providing the link? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted July 27, 2012 Author Share Posted July 27, 2012 (edited) Is there some reason you're tantalizing us and not providing the link? :D Here you go, my dear. ;) http://sofia.fhda.edu/gallery/statistics/index.html And another http://www.learner.org/resources/series65.html Unfortunately, though, the reviews aren't all too hot. :glare: Edited July 27, 2012 by NJKelli Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 I checked my amazon wish lists to see if I had anything saved for statistics and found this. http://www.amazon.com/Real-Investigations-Astound-Teachers-Students/dp/0967991587/ref=wl_it_dp_o_piT1_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2KPWZXSX6RXCF&coliid=I220TZ0SV1CLFN Not exactly the same, but might be interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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