Switch from RSM to AOPS
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Anonymous
| I know there have been many posts about this in the past, but my kid is really questioning the RSM (Geo 7_3) program and wants to try AOPS. Kid complains about how the teachers aren't really explaining the material well and moves very quickly through the concepts. Anyone switch kids from RSM to AOPS during middle school math? If so, can you give benefits and drawbacks? |
Anonymous
| AoPS expects your kid to understand the basics very quickly. It's not a "teaching fundamentals" school. It's more of a "assume you've read and understand the material before class. Now let's go deeper". For example, AoPS will spend a lot of time on Power of a Point, which isn't really taught in depth in school. |
Anonymous
| Can he move down the level 2? If level 3 is too quick (or has a bad teacher), just changing the class might work. |
Anonymous
| My child who did AoPS breezed through it without reading ahead. They could do the problem sets usually in an hour per week. However, once they got to Intermediate Algebra, it required more effort, two, sometimes even 3 hours of work per week to gain a solid understanding of the material. |
Anonymous
Is this Tyson’s location? Bc my kid is complaining about the same thing! I’ve had to review geometry in order to explain the concepts to her. Maybe RSM needs to be made aware! |
Anonymous
| I would let the Teacher know that your child is struggling. They might need to drop down a level. |
Anonymous
Yes, it's the Tysons location. He complains that the teacher is the issue. Kid is a strong math student so don't think the issue is the honors vs advanced program. I think the RSM Tysons branch struggles with finding good teachers. They had a really strong Algebra I Honors teacher last year but the teacher isn't teaching anything this year at this location. Kid has been pretty consistent with wanting to try AOPS next year. For parents with kids in AOPS, what do you think of their teaching staff for middle school and high school curriculum? |
Anonymous
The teachers at AoPS are, on average, better than the vast majority of FCPS math teachers. Each teacher's ability to cover the material at depth depends on if you're talking about the depth needed to (1) get good grades in school math, (2) ace AP tests, or (3) prepare for USAMO+. For (1) any of the teachers will do, because DC just need to follow the textbook. For (3), there are probably only 1-2 teachers there who can reliably teach USAMO level math (although at that level, DC should look at AoPS online offerings, which are often taught by former USAMO winners). |
Anonymous
Don't all kids who struggle complain that the teacher is the issue? I think the issue is that he needs a teacher at all. RSM3 and AoPS are meant to challenge kids who don't need teachers to learn. RSM1 is for those kids who struggle enough that they need a good teacher to hold their hands. |
Anonymous
AoPS is more for kids who don’t need much classroom instruction to pick up concepts. I would argue that RSM Honors, the highest level, is similar. The pace is meant to introduce kids to the concept in question and then build on it quickly. There should not be a lot of instruction needed to grasp the basic concept. RSM 1 and 2 are very much intended to move at a slower pace and focus more on teaching the core concepts. But RSM Honors kids should not need much in the way of teaching. That doesn’t mean that they don’t need someone to introduce the topic, explain how the concepts work, and make sure the students understand it well enough to build on. Kids are moved from each level if their current Teacher thinks they can handle it for the next year. It is possible that the students are in an in between area where the second level is not challenging but the third level is too much. It is also possible that the Teacher for this particular class is bad. I would contact the Principal and let her/him know that there is an issue. I would not negate the possibility that your child should be in a lower level. Part of the reason you pay for these programs is to find the right level for your child so that they have strong skills. I would be surprised if there are kids struggling with Honors at RSM that would not struggle at AoPS. |
Anonymous
I think this is the issue for my kid. He was in Level 2 which he didn't find challenging enough and too easy so they moved him up to Level 3, but perhaps Level 3 is too challenging. I think the issue is particularly obvious in the geometry class. |
Anonymous
If you or your spouse can help him with RSM3 geometry, that would be okay, I think. Else, put him in RSM2 and ask the teacher for the RSM3 challenge problems. RSM3 Geometry is very difficult because they are teaching kids how to combine several concepts to solve problems. It takes a lot of practice and Eureka moments. It's not just a standardized methodology. |
Anonymous
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RSM has tutors to help with homework for kids who need a bit more help.
Honors at RSM is not a joke. It is fast and it is hard. It requires that kids have really strong foundations in past material and are able to quickly pick up new material. |
Anonymous
Is AOPS harder? My kid is doing honors at RSM but it doesn’t seem overly challenging |
Anonymous
What level? AoPS has Beast academy at the elementary school level that lets the student walk or run at their own speed. Some BA academy (trophy) problems are near-impossible even for adults. At middle school/high school, you have to weigh robustness (RSM) v. Problem-solving (AoPS). I would say that AoPS Algebra doesn't get into the why of certain things (such as indeterminate solutions), because it expects the reader to understand this concept with minimal hand-holding. RSM, on the other hand, drills these things more. AoPS spends its time teaching students to use multiple concepts across different chapters to solve problems. |