Elisabet1 Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 I need some help here. Son did Horizon's math until preAlgebra. He started on the preAlgebra and got half way through, but hated it. I personally felt it jumped around a bit in explanations and did not have tons of time to go back through and re-explain. I needed something laid out better. This son has Aspergers. He is quite smart, but no tolerance for frustration. I want a complete program for him, but not at the expense of him hating school. I have Jacob's Algebra, but felt it was too wordy for me. I found a Forester's Algebra, but he is complaining and dragging his feet every day. Now he is going non-verbal over it. Should I perhaps actually try the Jacob's with him? That is what his older sister did. Another thing I did with my olders was, Keys to Algebra to supplement the Jacob's. Or should I consider something like MUS? Is MUS thorough enough? He wants to major in computer science eventually. I do not want to invest anymore money and I am completely not in to hopping around programs. But I do not so much mind switching one last time. Or maybe Khan Academy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaffeineDiary Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 I have no experience with the programs you mention other than Khan Academy, which I liked very much. But the reality is there is no shortcut to math beyond "do the math." Any good algebra course is going to involve the kid having to do a lot of algebra which, if he wants to eventually do computer science, is going to be an absolute requirement. Algebra is basically a precursor or prerequisite to everything interesting about mathematics. So I think the challenge here isn't finding the right curriculum, but finding the right motivation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 <snip> This son has Aspergers. He is quite smart, but no tolerance for frustration. I want a complete program for him, but not at the expense of him hating school. <snip> He wants to major in computer science eventually. <snip> @OP "no tolerance for frustration" + "He wants to major in computer science eventually" WILL NOT FLY... He will either need to learn to be extremely patient and to have a lot of ability to be frustrated, or, he should forget the idea of majoring in Computer Science. The work involves a lot of tiny details and all of them must be perfect or the system won't run properly. I am a Retired Software Engineering Consultant. GL to him! ETA: He must not go into the College of Engineering in a university if he is weak in math. There are a lot people who were Engineering majors in their Freshman year who are majoring in something else in their Sophomore year. Mastering Algebra is the key... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaffeineDiary Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 Yeah. Software development is basically a career whose entire existence is bathing yourself in frustration to the point where you decide to fix it yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 Yeah. Software development is basically a career whose entire existence is bathing yourself in frustration to the point where you decide to fix it yourself. Thank you for making me LOL. :-) Yes, it takes a lot of perseverance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elisabet1 Posted August 26, 2014 Author Share Posted August 26, 2014 @OP "no tolerance for frustration" + "He wants to major in computer science eventually" WILL NOT FLY... He will either need to learn to be extremely patient and to have a lot of ability to be frustrated, or, he should forget the idea of majoring in Computer Science. The work involves a lot of tiny details and all of them must be perfect or the system won't run properly. I am a Retired Software Engineering Consultant. GL to him! ETA: He must not go into the College of Engineering in a university if he is weak in math. There are a lot people who were Engineering majors in their Freshman year who are majoring in something else in their Sophomore year. Mastering Algebra is the key... He is actually already programming in C++ and Java. So I was hoping that this program might not be a good fit. I have not had the time to sit and teach to him like I did my daughter, so it would be nice if the program could be a little more independent but still be good quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaffeineDiary Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 Programming is a little bit like cooking, in that it's easy to do something nice for yourself, but challenging to do something great, exactly the same each time, that scales up to serve hundreds of people per day. Just because someone can make an omelette doesn't mean they'd make a good line or head chef. Not trying to bag on your kid, but: if this is what he wants to do for a living, the algebra will be important, and he'll have to be self-motivated to learn it. If you have an iPad, pick him up DragonBox Algebra 12+. It won't substitute for actually learning proper algebra, but perhaps it will help him see the game-like element in solving equations, which may get him over the hump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 He is actually already programming in C++ and Java. So I was hoping that this program might not be a good fit. I have not had the time to sit and teach to him like I did my daughter, so it would be nice if the program could be a little more independent but still be good quality. Kudos to him for learning C++ If he doesn't already have a Linux box, an old and very inexpensive Intel PC with CentOS Linux on it, and he can install and use EVERYTHING that Engineers have on their workstations in their offices. Linux is free and he can use everything, legally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 If he has any strong desire to go into Engineering (Computer Science will be under the College of Engineering in the university) being able to deal with frustration on a daily basis is critical. It is solving one issue after another. One must think of it as like solving a puzzle. One step at a time. The great thing, for me, was shipping a system that works properly and having the customer (government or commercial) be happy with it. And, when my (pregnant) wife and I watched the launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis on Kennedy Space Center (STS-101 on 19 May 2000) I knew that if I had worked on that vehicle, that my part of it would have been about the size of a pack of cigarettes. Lots of Engineers worked on tons of issues to get that vehicle designed properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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