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Math fanatics - advise me


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I have a 14yo who tested really high on the CogAt.  I've not thought of her as mathy, but, in retrospect, I don't think I was paying attention.  She will finish Saxon Algebra 2 (with Geometry) this summer.  I can move her on in Saxon, using Nicole the Math Lady, because I can't teach math beyond Alg 2, and if we're being honest, my husband cannot reliably teach advanced math daily due to other responsibilities.  He can be a resource, but it's hard to "jump in" 30 years after doing higher math.  

Alternatively, she is allowed to attend our community college via dual enrollment for free.  I hesitate.  DD (now 19yo) had to deal with some pretty serious sexual harassment one semester but she is good at confrontation and while it did need to be elevated to be nipped in the bud, it was a lot for a homeschooled 17yo at the time.  This dd looks much older than 14- cute, curvy, terribly sweet, outgoing, and very naive.  I admit I'm a little freaked out by the idea of CC for her.  Keep in mind we'll have sent our other four into the world at this point and our 16yo son starts classes next year too, but different campus.

I really think, at some point, she needs an adequate teacher in math and that is NOT me.  She's a STEM kid.  She also has the option of taking science courses at the CC, but I'm less concerned about teaching science at home as I've done it before and we have lab courses offered within the community.

Thoughts? Considerations?

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If it helps  3 of my 4 went through Calculus with Saxon. The youngest is a college junior majoring in math. The oldest majored in EE, the middle did IT. All did well with their math classes at college. If you feel hesitant about her going to the CC, you can feel confident about continuing the Saxon.

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There's another math service I became aware of not too long ago - Kathy Warman Tutoring - not so different from Nicole the Math Lady's set up, but she does AoPS or Foersters, so slightly more mathy leaning textbooks. In case you wanted live help potentials.

In a general sense, I'll second the Derek Owens though.

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1 hour ago, 8filltheheart said:

Lots of options between DE and no teacher. Derekowens might be a good fit...$29/mo for self-grading. There's zero benefit for  a STEM major to DE below cal.

DO also offers $10/student off if you have multiple students. I'm not sure if that applies to self-graded.

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I have seen the most recos for Derek Owens and Teaching Textbooks.

Would you be willing to consider an online DE math option? You said that your 16 yo son will start in a different campus, is there any possiblity of sending her to the same campus as him so that she has someone to look out for her if the need arises?

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My dd took PreCalculus at our CC when she was 14. It was a positive experience. Yes, just a class but it was a good first math class to take at the CC. It was 6 credits and to complete it in one semester she had to put in a lot of hours and be very disciplined. She went on to take Calculus and Statistics and it served as a good transition. 
 

Derek Owens is a good option as well. I also like the idea of finding an online class through your CC, if you can find a professor that is highly rated and the ratings are specifically for an online course. We had great success with dd’s online stats class - the prof was great and had the online format down.  
 

I’m sorry your other daughter was harassed on campus. I really hope that is a rare occurrence. 😞

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10 hours ago, 8filltheheart said:

I'm stuck at there is no benefit to DE.  Precal isn't going to transfer in as credit toward a STEM major.  It will just be a math class wherever it is taken.

While I agree that it would not transfer, I disagree that that means " no benefit to DE".

None of the 32 credits my DD took at uni while in highschool transfered to her college, but she reaped great benefits from being in a class with qualified teacher and peers. There are benefits from simply being in a college class as opposed to self study at home that have nothing to do with transferability.

Edited by regentrude
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OP: what do you know about the quality of the math instruction at that college? What kinds of students, where do they go?

Math levels vary tremendously between colleges, and a STEM student won't be served well by taking easy math classes. Since this is highschool level math, I would be careful to investigate at what level that is offered - this is a student population for whom this is a remedial class since they finished highschool without mastering highschool level math.

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2 hours ago, theelfqueen said:

I think "it's free" is a benefit. 

Maybe.  Maybe not.  DE comes with transportation and time costs. (For us, the time costs were huge.)  DE grades are permanent and follow a student forever, even if they don't transfer in for cr toward the degree.  (May not be an issue, but 14 is a young age to have your first college classroom graded experience.) The lack of monetary cost does not mean that there is not cost emotionally as the student is only 14 and would be on campus most likely in a classroom of lower performing older students who didn't take a high school level course in high school.  (which also goes to the quality issues that Regentrude pointed out.)

There are options where she can be taught without DEing (which seemed to be the OP's main concern.)  If cost is a serious concern, Thinkwell precal can be purchased via a group buy for $68 for 12 mo access whenever they have group buys.  (I have never had a student use the precal program, but 2 have used the cal one.  One scored incredibly high on the CLEP exam.  My college freshman opted to not test out of cal and she says that Thinkwell is on par with her classroom experience.)  No math peer interaction that way, though.  (That hasn't been an issue with my kids and math, so no thoughts on how much that matters for the OP.  Only she can assess those types of needs.)

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A solution we ended up with this year for my senior was to hire a tutor. He will likely major in Math and had done well working through the AOPS math books on his own, but for Calculus I felt like he needed more than I could offer. 

We hired a recent college graduate who had been homeschooled and was a math major. She meets with him once a week on Zoom and they have worked through the AOPS Calculus book together and are now working on the Intermediate Counting and Probability Book. The main benefit has been that he really enjoys having someone to talk to who really gets math. It’s a pricier option but has been worth it for the year. 

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5 hours ago, stripe said:

Where did you find the tutor?

She was someone that we knew the family from our homeschool co-op and I knew she had majored in Math and had an interest in teaching.

I think other people have found similar situations through local homeschool groups or with local colleges where a current student might be interested. With so many people able to do Zoom or other online options, you don’t have to find someone local. 

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