StaceyinLA Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 I have been looking at Mr. Chandler's supplemental materials for Foerster and I am impressed. I have never contemplated using Foerster because of the lack of supplements. I believe my son would really benefit from a tougher math program, and now, with these great dvd's, I think we could use this. What are people's opinions of Foerster's texts? Anyone?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denise in PA Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 My sixteen year-old son recently completed Foerster's Algebra II/Trigonometry text. This is a challenging text - at least for me - but my son really learned advanced math well. I checked with the publisher's web site and learned this text is considered an honor's course level (which I included on my son's high school transcript). Probably Foerster is not for every student - certainly not for my liberal-arts daughter who has a disdain for math. If your student has the math aptitude then Foerster is a wonderful choice to stimulate and stretch his/her brain. My son studied algebra I with Harold Jacob's text, however. Foerster's Algebra II/Trig text includes thorough chapter reviews, SAT-type questions, and excellent thought-provoking test questions. This is no easy course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SusanAR Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 I'm a big Foerster's fan. Both dc used the algebra I text, and ds will begin the Alg II/trig in the fall. His explannations are clearer to me than any other text I've seen, and there are more than enough real-life problems that require the student to utiliize several math concepts to arrive at the answer, not just the concept being taught. Susan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon in MD Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 It is definitely tough, but I think it is worth it if you have a child who is into math. I will say that last year was hard for us, doing the pre-calc course on our own at home, but we did complete it. I wish I had known about Chandler's materials at the time, I would have given it a shot. In fact, if he had materials for the calculus course, I probably would have purchased those. We switched to Chalkdust for next year because I felt like I had reached the limit of what I could do, relearning along side ds. I didn't want to tackle Calculus on my own, alone. If it weren't for that, I would have gone with Foerster all the way through. One piece of advice, from Foerster himself, is use the Al II/trig book just for Al II and then pick up with the pre-calc/trig text for the next course. It is designed to teach the students how to use the graphing calculators. Please don't misunderstand...they don't use the calculator as a crutch, rather as a tool to do some pretty cool things. And the last chapter of the pre-calc book gets their feet wet for calculus too. I'm already missing dear Foerster....I really hated to change to something else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 I love it! 4 of my kids so far have gone through his alg 1 book. It creates an incredible upper math foundation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaJuana Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 It's the best algebra book that I have ever seen, and I've looked at quite a few of them in comparison to Foerster's. I've used the Foerster books with all of my children. The explanations are clear and easy to understand. The concepts are presented in an orderly and logical way, a way that helps the student to learn to think mathematically. Another of its strengths is in the wide variety of application and word problems. Some of them are not "tidy;" some of them do not come out even. Some of them require considerable depth of understanding of a newly-learned concept in order to use it to solve the problem. It is not an easy textbook, but with slow and methodical study, I think most students can manage it. I think it's really important NOT to rush through the book. My kids have taken anywhere from a year to a year and a half to finish each text. If I had a student who struggled, I would take even longer. There are plenty of extra problems to allow extra practice in sections the student finds difficult. Algebra II and Trigonometry is a much more difficult text, and I suspect that many parents would need help to teach it. By the time a student has finished both textbooks plus a geometry course, there are not many topics left before a student is ready for calculus. The Math Without Borders videos seem like a fabulous idea for parents who need a bit of help teaching math. I'm glad someone decided to make them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denise in PA Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 I agree with Sharon in MD about teaching the Trigonometry portion of Foerster's Algebra II/Trig text for the following year. When you student is ready for precalulcus then resume with trig. Foerster's precalculus text provided excellent graphic calculator instruction. Just a side point... I so appreciate home school moms like Sharon. Last summer I too was searching for an algebra II text for my son - who likes math. Her posts were invaluable to help me wade through the plethora of math texts. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon in MD Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Thank you so much Denise....you are very kind. I'm glad I could help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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