TKDmom Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 I posted this in the logic stage forum, but I decided I'd tiptoe over to High School for advice from some of you more experienced ladies. ;) 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...
kiana Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Jacobs is good, but if she *wants* to continue with a more challenging program and has been successful so far (especially the confidence gained) I'd be strongly inclined to let her do it. In other words, if it ain't broke ... FWIW, a lot of people think that the AOPS pre-algebra is more challenging (for its level) than the courses above it. I wouldn't expect it to be *even more* time-consuming in the higher levels. If you do end up switching, Jacobs *is* a good choice, and Foerster is another good choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted May 1, 2014 Author Share Posted May 1, 2014 FWIW, a lot of people think that the AOPS pre-algebra is more challenging (for its level) than the courses above it. I wouldn't expect it to be *even more* time-consuming in the higher levels. That's very good to know.Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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