Michelle in MO Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 told me that I've prepared her very well for math! Apparently she's one of this teacher's best math students. If you knew the tears that have been shed in our household because of my woeful inability to teach math, you would understand what a surprise that this is. My dd is in Algebra II as a junior, and I know that some of you have students who are further along in the math sequence. Nevertheless, I'm pleasantly surprised. The school is using the Larson text for Algebra II. Please, this is not to brag about myself at all. I'm sharing simply because somehow in our fumbling around here, something good happened. I give the kudos to my dd, whose brain has matured and who does work very hard in school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 Michelle, I know how much you struggled through the details with your daughter. That diligence pays off! Hugs from your mathy friend, Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacqui in mo Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 What a wonderful feeling! I'm possibly going to send my 14 yo dd to a wonderful private school this fall and I worry so much about what they'll think of her abilities in math and writing. Maybe it won't be too bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penny Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 told me that I've prepared her very well for math! Apparently she's one of this teacher's best math students. If you knew the tears that have been shed in our household because of my woeful inability to teach math, you would understand what a surprise that this is. My dd is in Algebra II as a junior, and I know that some of you have students who are further along in the math sequence. Nevertheless, I'm pleasantly surprised. The school is using the Larson text for Algebra II. Please, this is not to brag about myself at all. I'm sharing simply because somehow in our fumbling around here, something good happened. I give the kudos to my dd, whose brain has matured and who does work very hard in school. Michelle, What curricula did you use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in Central TX Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 I definitely don't see this as a brag; I find it very encouraging! There are many times that I question my ability to teach (sometimes it's individual subjects, sometimes it's homeschooling overall), so it's good to know that even when I think I'm not effective, something good can come from it. ~Beth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle in MO Posted March 7, 2009 Author Share Posted March 7, 2009 (edited) Michelle, What curricula did you use? We used Lial's for Introductory and Intermediate Algebra, and Chalkdust for Geometry. I mistakenly followed up Algebra I with Algebra II, which caused great anguish for both me and my dd, and made her feel like a total failure at math. It was simply too much, too soon. We then did Geometry, which went much better, although even with Geometry I found out it wasn't enough to simply hand the book and DVD lesson to my dd to let her do it on her own; I had to watch the lessons for myself. Sigh. Some kids are great at math and can do well with the Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry math sequence, but it was just not for us. Sometimes I feel like the oldest kid is like the first "batch" of cookies that you bake: they tend to get slightly burned because you've never made that recipe before. Somehow she has survived my numerous mishaps and experiments upon her and has managed to move onward. Thank goodness for small victories! :) One more very important thing: I would be remiss if I did not give due credit to those whom credit is due: the daily encouragement found on these forums and all of the "mathy moms" who are always there to help us "non mathy moms" out of the dilemmas we encounter in attempting to teach upper-level math! Thanks to all of you! Edited March 7, 2009 by Michelle in MO additional thoughts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penny Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 OK, I'm new at this, having only 6th graders next year. I looked on Amazon and saw that Lial's has pre-algebra, introductory algebra, and intermediate algebra. When did you use introductory algebra? Why not pre-algebra? And what exactly is intermediate algebra? Is this considered just plain algebra by everyone else? I would like to get through this without burning my oldest too much by benefitting from your experience!!! Thanks! Penny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle in MO Posted March 7, 2009 Author Share Posted March 7, 2009 OK, I'm new at this, having only 6th graders next year. I looked on Amazon and saw that Lial's has pre-algebra, introductory algebra, and intermediate algebra. When did you use introductory algebra? Why not pre-algebra? And what exactly is intermediate algebra? Is this considered just plain algebra by everyone else? I would like to get through this without burning my oldest too much by benefitting from your experience!!! Thanks! Penny Many people use Lial's Basic College Math at around 7th grade as a pre-algebra course, although in retrospect my girls may well have benefitted from both Lial's BCM and Lial's Pre-Algebra. Jann in TX is very proficient with the Lial's texts and will probably be able to give you better information than I can. If you do Lial's BCM (Basic College Math) as your pre-algebra course in 7th grade, then you would continue on with Lial's Introductory Algebra in 8th grade, which would be the same as Algebra I (just a different name). Unless you're very proficient at math and your math skills are recent, I would recommend reading the lessons for yourself, just to keep up with your student. My recommendation for the next course would be a good Geometry course in 9th grade; we used Chalkdust for Geometry and my oldest did pretty well with that course. Some kids can do Algebra I, Algebra II, and then Geometry, but I think that sometimes depends upon the actual text used and what the text means by Algebra I and Algebra II, and it also largely depends upon the student's proficiency in math. Remember---I'm speaking as a very non-mathy mom, but I think it's best for most students to do Algebra I, then Geometry, and then Algebra II, followed by Trigonometry and then whatever comes next. Lial's Intermediate Algebra is the same as Algebra II; you would definitely want to do their Introductory Algebra first before tackling that text. Both are pretty meaty Algebra I and Algebra II texts; even the Algebra I was a far superior text to the one that passed for Algebra I at our local p.s. After doing some investigation there, I found out that only the "better" math students received access to better texts, which left the average math students with less-than-desirable materials. I don't understand that. Why not give the more average students the better texts when they're ready? I don't know. Of course, what works for one family may not work for others. Dolciani is a highly regarded algebra series on these boards, and Chalkdust is also well-liked by many non-mathy moms because the instructor is so good. In our case, much of this was by trial-and-error! Hope this helps! This board is the place to come for answers to your questions. So many of the moms here are so proficient in the Great Books and other literature, math, science----you name it: this is the place to come for very helpful answers. I couldn't have made it as far as we did (we stopped homeschooling at the end of last year) without this high school forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msjones Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 My husband is usually impressed by the math skills of his previously-homeschooled students. He says they (usually) seem to know how to learn, how to study, how to ask good questions, and to be more mature than the traditionally schooled kids. Just thought I'd throw that in there as an encouragement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penny Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 Many people use Lial's Basic College Math at around 7th grade as a pre-algebra course, although in retrospect my girls may well have benefitted from both Lial's BCM and Lial's Pre-Algebra. Jann in TX is very proficient with the Lial's texts and will probably be able to give you better information than I can. If you do Lial's BCM (Basic College Math) as your pre-algebra course in 7th grade, then you would continue on with Lial's Introductory Algebra in 8th grade, which would be the same as Algebra I (just a different name). Unless you're very proficient at math and your math skills are recent, I would recommend reading the lessons for yourself, just to keep up with your student. My recommendation for the next course would be a good Geometry course in 9th grade; we used Chalkdust for Geometry and my oldest did pretty well with that course. Some kids can do Algebra I, Algebra II, and then Geometry, but I think that sometimes depends upon the actual text used and what the text means by Algebra I and Algebra II, and it also largely depends upon the student's proficiency in math. Remember---I'm speaking as a very non-mathy mom, but I think it's best for most students to do Algebra I, then Geometry, and then Algebra II, followed by Trigonometry and then whatever comes next. Lial's Intermediate Algebra is the same as Algebra II; you would definitely want to do their Introductory Algebra first before tackling that text. Both are pretty meaty Algebra I and Algebra II texts; even the Algebra I was a far superior text to the one that passed for Algebra I at our local p.s. After doing some investigation there, I found out that only the "better" math students received access to better texts, which left the average math students with less-than-desirable materials. I don't understand that. Why not give the more average students the better texts when they're ready? I don't know. Of course, what works for one family may not work for others. Dolciani is a highly regarded algebra series on these boards, and Chalkdust is also well-liked by many non-mathy moms because the instructor is so good. In our case, much of this was by trial-and-error! Hope this helps! This board is the place to come for answers to your questions. So many of the moms here are so proficient in the Great Books and other literature, math, science----you name it: this is the place to come for very helpful answers. I couldn't have made it as far as we did (we stopped homeschooling at the end of last year) without this high school forum. Michelle, Thanks so much! Jan did pm me and she is EXTREMELY helpful. This post from you is also helpful. I printed off both and am about to search amazon for some cheap copies. Thank you for being one of those great moms willing to share your experiences! Penny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacalm Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 THanks for sharing. The last year has been "hellish" for me with my ds12 when it comes to math. But what can I do? I can't make him more than what he is doing already. I didn't notice this though but all of a sudden, he is starting to work on his math faster. Still makes a lot of mistakes, but he is able to catch and correct it right away. The writing of the problem still a problem; I can't read it. He writes his problems superimposing numbers on top of each other without bothering to erase that it looks like hieroglyphics. But at least, his mind is slowly getting the "synapse" connections so i guess one thing at a time. Thank you for sharing your encouraging testimony. Precept upon precept, line upon line, step by step. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie in AR Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 Great job by both you and your dd, Michelle! That is very encouraging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 This is very encouraging news! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhondabee Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 I definitely don't see this as a brag; I find it very encouraging! There are many times that I question my ability to teach (sometimes it's individual subjects, sometimes it's homeschooling overall), so it's good to know that even when I think I'm not effective, something good can come from it. ~Beth :iagree::iagree::iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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