jamijoy Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 My son used Saxon Algebra 1 at home, then went to an Honors Geometry class through a virtual school for one semester (but has to finish up at home due to computer technical reasons...he is now using Jacob's Geometry), and our plan was to use Saxon Algebra 2 at home next year. Now I'm thinking I may want to stick with honors math classes now since he did well during the time he took the online class. Which homeschool Algebra 2 textbooks (not online) would be considered honors? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Honors means so many different things that it's impossible to say. Did you feel the Saxon algebra 1 was too simple/easy for him? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dereksurfs Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Could you share which virtual school you used for Geometry? I'm just curious. AoPS is considered by many to be *honors*. Yet it's discovery approach, level of difficulty and other factors make it not ideal for the majority of students. Derek Owens offers online honors math classes. For those with computer/internet issues he also offers DVDs I believe. Is your computer issue something which is insurmountable for the foreseeable future? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamijoy Posted January 18, 2015 Author Share Posted January 18, 2015 We used Florida Virtual School for his online Geometry Honors class. When our laptop died, we bought a new laptop with Windows 8, and we couldn't get everything imbedded with the geometry lessons to work reliably even after speaking with their technical support, so we had to end that class online. He did well with it and had a 92% when he stopped using it. He "got it" but it was harder to fully understand than Algebra 1. It was heavy on proofs right away and he'd have to spend a lot of time and thought on understanding the lessons. (I don't remember ever learning about proofs in my high school geometry!) He didn't care for the online format of math either, mainly because if he didn't understand something, there wasn't a teacher right there and he had to wait until he was available, so we will not go to another online math class. He does Spanish online and enjoys it, so I'm going to respect his wishes on this one. It looks like, for math, that he does best with me there re-learning it with him and explaining it. And I'm good with that. Saxon Algebra 1 was not too easy for him and by grading only his tests, he had a 86% average, although most of his mistakes were not in the algebraic part of it, but in simple math mistakes. He understood it, usually without any problem. We both liked Saxon Algebra 1. I've looked into AoPS and while he is strong in math, it didn't look like as good a fit, although I've never actually looked at a textbook for it. I think part of it is how esteemed it seems to be on this forum and I don't want to give him something so challenging that he doesn't do well. He's strong at math but not a genius. :) The reason I'm interested in what math texts may be counted as honors is for his transcript. He will be my first high schooler (this fall) so I'm a bit nervous about it now that it really counts. I do feel like Saxon is a good math education for him, but I want to make sure I find what's best for him to get into the college he wants to go to. I'm not sure what weight an honors class will have on a homeschool transcript, since I'm sure they will look more closely at the course description anyways. And I guess, besides that, the college he wants to go to right now (Univ. of Florida) requires the SAT 2 tests for the main subjects. Thanks for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dereksurfs Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Proofs should be a part of any honors or college prep Geometry course. Unfortunately the trend has been to dumb down geometry over the years, hence leaving out or minimalizing one of its core components. There is a good article discussing the current problem here: The Modern Day High School Geometry Course: A Lesson in Illogic. So your son's experience with 'honors' Geometry sounds like a good one in that it included proofs from the very start. The fact that he struggled but did well is exactly the kind of thing which helps him grow. However the lack of teacher availability is a definite problem with the program itself and unfortunate. The reality is that not all online math courses are created equal. I can tell you that my son's class at Wilson Hill Academy is just the opposite of what you described regarding teacher availability. In fact *every* class starts with 30 minutes out of the 90 going over student questions and concerns with their homework. And the teacher is available for further questions when needed. So that is definitely not an issue with all online math courses. Back to your question of texts. I consider Wilson Hill Academy's texts to be those which an honors course would use. For Geometry they use Jurgenson Geometry which is a highly regarded classical Geometry text. The book masterfully weaves proofs throughout the text from the very beginning. For Algebra 2 they use Dolciani which is highly regarded as well. As far as calling it honors, I don't know. Typically honors implies more rigor which is actually standard for some texts like AoPS, Jurgenson, Dolciani, etc... I think it would depend also on how many challenge type problems would be given. Derek Owens, for example, uses the same text but gives harder problems to his honors students. But yes, the place to start is with a well regarded classical math text used by other similar honors type programs. Here is what WHA uses for example: http://www.wilsonhillacademy.com/academics/algebra/. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Dolciani (mentioned by Derek) and Foerster are good and solid choices which will prepare a student for any major he chooses, including mathematics. I think your intuition that AOPS isn't for him is probably right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkT Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 We used Florida Virtual School for his online Geometry Honors class. When our laptop died, we bought a new laptop with Windows 8, and we couldn't get everything imbedded with the geometry lessons to work reliably even after speaking with their technical support, so we had to end that class online. A word of technical advice for the future - install Chrome and/or Firefox as an alternative browser. Have a dual boot Linux (via CD or USB) option available - Ubuntu is a good choice. I really dislike Windows 8 (my mother's computer came with it and I have to help her with issues). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkT Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Proofs should be a part of any honors or college prep Geometry course. Unfortunately the trend has been to dumb down geometry over the years, hence leaving out or minimalizing one of its core components. There is a good article discussing the current problem here: The Modern Day High School Geometry Course: A Lesson in Illogic. I like Barry Garelick's online articles and he replied to my e-mail questions about an article he wrote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dereksurfs Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 I like Barry Garelick's online articles and he replied to my e-mail questions about an article he wrote. Wow, that's great. He seems like a passionate math educator. I really like the points he makes about the importance of proofs. It seems so easy for curriculum developers and educators to miss these important concepts currently. The classical Geometry text by Moise and Downs he referenced looks interesting as well. I hadn't heard of that particular book before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Wow, that's great. He seems like a passionate math educator. I really like the points he makes about the importance of proofs. It seems so easy for curriculum developers and educators to miss these important concepts currently. The classical Geometry text by Moise and Downs he referenced looks interesting as well. I hadn't heard of that particular book before. It's a real classic for someone who wants a genuine axiomatic treatment of geometry. I agree with him about the importance of proofs ... even if they are not tested, they should be presented in other classes than just geometry. Far too many students view algebra as a collection of unrelated algorithms to be memorized, with formulas like the quadratic formula revered as if they had been passed down on a collection of stone tablets. These students begin to flounder when they run out of memory to memorize all of the formulas they have been taught without understanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Foerster's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 The classical Geometry text by Moise and Downs he referenced looks interesting as well. I hadn't heard of that particular book before. It is used by some of the high schools here. Mountain View city library has it as reference (used in library) in their Teens room so if you happen to come north it's worth dropping by. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.