A self-ed question regarding Algebra II

[Shahrazad]

I hope this is the right forum to post this in. I'm in university at the moment and am almost finished but the area I continuously struggle with is the required college algebra class. I didn't have to take any remedial classes as I scored very high on the ACT and was placed immediately into College Algebra. Basically, I sail through Algebra I and geometry material and then once I get to Algebra II material in the class, I tank. It is ridiculous. If you look at my grades, you will see basically A-B on first couple of exams and then straight down to Fs on the remaining ones. I definitely learn best being taught directly and seeing an actual teacher do the explaining and work. I'm horrified to admit that I've taken the course 3 times (and all 3 times online) and have not been able to pass it. I think this is probably exacerbated by the fact that I moved around a lot at the end of HS and didn't really get much Algebra II exposure then. It might seem that I just need to take the class in person (and yes, I probably would do fine if I could) but it is extremely hard for me to do this as I have to consolidate to classes that can only be taken in person as I have 2 small children and no family or childcare other than DH who is professional school. So basically, I am looking for a resource I might use to self-teach at home that will do a better job than the lame self-teach materials that the actual class is using (basically, they give you the book, you read it and are expected to know how to do it but to be honest, I find the book to be extremely ineffective since it often does not contain examples or explanations of how to do the type of problems that the assignments and tests require) so I can go ahead and pass using my own material. I am so tired of this, I'm not used to doing poorly in school and have always excelled. My husband is surprised because I've always been the one things come easier to and I think most people around me are beginning to doubt that I will ever be able to graduate if I can't beat this one basic math class.

[AngieW in Texas]

My 17yo thinks the very best explanations she has ever had were in Kinetic Books. They have an Algebra II program and it isn't horribly expensive. There is an introductory video for each lesson and most of the problems have immediate feedback. Many of the problems have stepped help, so you can see exactly where you went wrong. The only issue with Kinetic Books is that there isn't a solution manual. The end-of-unit problems only have an answer key (and the answer key is only for the odds, but the odds are more than enough to do). This isn't a problem if you have somebody who can help you with the problems that you miss, but it doesn't appear that this is the case for you.

http://homeschool.kineticbooks.com/

 

You might try finding a local tutor.

[dbmamaz]

also check out Khan Academy - free videos, a lot of people say he has helped them pass college classes

[Julie in MN]

We've also used Kahn on particular topics, and free is so nice.

 

I'm a fan of Math Relief for algebra. A very "Mr Rogers" sort of teacher who is very clear. No copying down problems, since they're already on the page. No wondering how he got an answer, since every answer is fully worked out. If you still need help, you can email or call them.

 

You didn't say if price was a concern, but this is my recommendation. I've used it with kids behind or ahead. I've lent it out to someone studying for the GMAT. He's just gifted in making algebra clear.

Www. MathRelief.com

 

Julie

[mom2bee]

I highly recommend this textbook. The CD doesn't work (it was meant to do something like give online access to somethign) but the book includes loads of examples and each one is worked out step by step with explanations in the margins. This series really helped me tremendously when I was in Algebra all the way to PreCalculus and I liked the books so much that I bought Elementary Algebra and College Algebra (I had bought Intermedia Algebra, but its just repeat of Elem. and the beginning of College Algebra so I donated it.)

 

(I'm not certain what Algebra II material is, but if you need to, you can get the Elementary Algebra book from the same series. Its a great set of books and I enjoyed them.)