TKDmom Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 I'm starting to look at algebra options and there are soo many. Does anyone have any experience with a kid who hates math, but paradoxically, does really well with it, and (sort of) likes AOPS? Right now, my dd12 is working through AoPS Pre-Algebra. It drives her to tears frequently, but that's not really a new thing for her with math. She says she wants to stick with AoPS. I just tossed it at her one day to see what she thought of it, while she took a short break from MEP. I really like MEP--she learned a lot with it, and got caught up to grade level while we used it. But she seemed to think it had too much repetition and "useless" material. Also, she thinks she wants to go back to PS for high school, so the non-American scope and sequence bothered her. With AoPS, she feels like the challenge is really good for her and stretches her. She also wants to just stick with one program (even if it makes her cry). I'm not totally sold on going on with AoPS for Algebra. It seems like PreA has been teaching a lot of "tricks". I can see the how their point is to understand math thoroughly, instead of just plugging numbers into standard algorithms, but dd seems to be looking for the trick in nearly every problem. Also it takes soo long... I don't want her spending half the day growling at her math book, and I'm worried that it will be even more time-consuming as she gets to the higher level maths. OTOH, she has gained confidence with math since we started their PreA book. I'm considering TPS for Algebra. Not totally sure if she'll be done with the PreA book by then, but she did fairly well on the placement test, and we've still got 3 or 4 months to prepare. I am comfortable teaching upper-level math, but I think she would do better with outside accountability, and I'm willing to pay for that. I've seen a lot of other Algebra book names thrown around. I had a friend encouraging me to look into Jacob's (I think?) when we were chatting the other day. I don't really know anything about any of them, though. Can you share experiences with Algebra? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 I've got a bright kid who claims to "hate" math despite doing well at it. I've tried enough different programs with her over the years to know that she dislikes the subject, not the program. The past few weeks she's been bouncing around between the introductory algebra chapters in Horizons Pre-Algebra, Lial's Beginning Algebra, and Singapore Discovering Math 8A. When I pulled out the Singapore book the other day, she moaned "I *HAAAAAAAATE* Singapore!" I pointed out that it wasn't as if she liked Horizons any better. Her response was, "math is either easy but tedious or interesting but hard. Horizons is easy, but tedious. Singapore is interesting but hard." So there's no pleasing her either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted May 1, 2014 Author Share Posted May 1, 2014 I've got a bright kid who claims to "hate" math despite doing well at it. I've tried enough different programs with her over the years to know that she dislikes the subject, not the program. The past few weeks she's been bouncing around between the introductory algebra chapters in Horizons Pre-Algebra, Lial's Beginning Algebra, and Singapore Discovering Math 8A. When I pulled out the Singapore book the other day, she moaned "I *HAAAAAAAATE* Singapore!" I pointed out that it wasn't as if she liked Horizons any better. Her response was, "math is either easy but tedious or interesting but hard. Horizons is easy, but tedious. Singapore is interesting but hard." So there's no pleasing her either way. :lol: Yes! That's exactly how my dd sees it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dassah Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 Oh, boy. This sounds like a conversation we have had many times out our house. Interesting but Hard Math (Singapore) vs. Easy but Tedious Math (CLE or TT). I've been trying to find the perfect balance this year between the two for Pre-Algebra. Have you considered Foerster's Algebra? I've spent time reviewing it and it has step by step instruction to help with the balanced (and complex) word problems. I think we've settled on that one. You are not alone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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