Reefgazer Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 My DD is working through Saxon Algebra I and is basically doing this without my help. She reads the lesson, works the problem set, and then I check it, and she follows up with any necessary corrections. She has been doing this since Saxon 8/7. She consistently scores in the 90s on the tests. Is this OK that she is just rolling along on her own without guidance from me? I bought the teaching DVDs in case she had a problem with the lesson, but she doesn't like them and if she is stuck on something or doesn't understand the lesson (rarely), she said she prefers that I explain it to her and not the DVD. So that's how we roll. I *think* this is probably OK, but I am afraid it's going to come back and haunt me down the line somehow, with her not being prepared for higher math or something. I have hang-ups from my own school years where I was given a math book by my 6th grade teacher and told to have at it. Turns out I wasn't that great a self-teacher and I paid for it by struggling later on in math. So do most middle and high school students self-teach math, and if so, does their math education suffer from this method? Should I be doing something differently? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 I think it's fine. As long as you are actively checking her work and discussing any questions she has. Ds was similar for 8th grade Algebra with Foerster and 9th grade Geometry with Serra. We used MUS (K through Algebra) and I taught the lesson. In 7th grade, we used MUS Algebra and LoF which he read himself. FWIW, math is a strong subject for ds, and I have a degree in math. Ds was not above cheating in some subjects. I think you have to be involved enough to be sure that the student is working honestly. My 2c. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 Most can't do it, but if she is doing it, doing well on the tests and you know that she is not cheating (even the most honest kids can succumb to temptation) it is clearly working for her. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristie in Florida Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 My daughter is like that. (Last year with Saxon 8/7, and this year with a pre algebra book I don't remember the name of. I took the risk and didn't spend the extra money on videos this year. My husband and I are okay until Algebra 2 to help her and my husband's best friend was a math tutor at the college near by, so I guess we are set. But most of the time she stubbornly waves me away. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 BTW, one of the big things that causes my students at lower levels to fail is that they cannot and will not do anything unless they have an example EXACTLY like that with different numbers. We try and wean them off it through the sequence but it is a real struggle. Being able to read the book and extrapolate from what you've been taught to what you're being asked to do is an invaluable skill. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 Most can't do it, but if she is doing it, doing well on the tests and you know that she is not cheating (even the most honest kids can succumb to temptation) it is clearly working for her. This reminds me that in 9th grade at PS, I signed up for independent study Algebra. By the end of the year, the teacher was teaching most of the students. I was one of the few who did learn on my own. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 What you're doing sounds good, but it might not hurt to use a different text to see if her knowledge extends beyond Saxon. You might pick up an inexpensive copy of Lial's Beginning Algebra (or something similar) and have her do the end of chapter reviews there. She might do well, or you might detect an issue which you can then address. Regards, Kareni 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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