My 7th grader was asked to a lower level in math

[Anonymous]

He's pulling a C and he's been moved down from the honors track. he's fine with it. I am too of course but also feel kinda bad. Guess it's normal and I am proud of him for trying, but the striver in me feels sort of crappy. I need to shut up for his sake and won't say anything. Just venting here.

[Anonymous]

You want him to develop a good foundation. This is not the end of the line. It's about making sure he has everything he needs to be successful in math. My husband had an A average in his electrical engineering major. I was more advanced than he was in math-he was not accelerated at all. It's a marathon, not a race. Nobody cares, but a few competitive parents whether your kid is in honors in middle school. If he wants to do STEM, what matters is he knows the material well and enjoys what he does so he can be in it for the long haul.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You want him to develop a good foundation. This is not the end of the line. It's about making sure he has everything he needs to be successful in math. My husband had an A average in his electrical engineering major. I was more advanced than he was in math-he was not accelerated at all. It's a marathon, not a race. Nobody cares, but a few competitive parents whether your kid is in honors in middle school. If he wants to do STEM, what matters is he knows the material well and enjoys what he does so he can be in it for the long haul.

If dropping out of honors means he ends up a year or two behind by high school (in FCPS, the top 15-20% will be taking algebra II as freshman, the majority will be taking geometry and the non-honors in 7th will be taking algebra) he would never have a change to get into that a major that competitive

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You want him to develop a good foundation. This is not the end of the line. It's about making sure he has everything he needs to be successful in math. My husband had an A average in his electrical engineering major. I was more advanced than he was in math-he was not accelerated at all. It's a marathon, not a race. Nobody cares, but a few competitive parents whether your kid is in honors in middle school. If he wants to do STEM, what matters is he knows the material well and enjoys what he does so he can be in it for the long haul.

If dropping out of honors means he ends up a year or two behind by high school (in FCPS, the top 15-20% will be taking algebra II as freshman, the majority will be taking geometry and the non-honors in 7th will be taking algebra) he would never have a change to get into that a major that competitive

Wow

[Anonymous]

This happened to my older DS in 8th. It isn’t that big of a deal. He is in high school and doing well, taking some honors and AP classes- just not math. Lol. Excelling at his sport, and overall a great kid. It stinks but your DS will be fine. It isn’t the end of the world.

[Anonymous]

Is your kid just slacking off and not studying or is he working hard and just not getting it? If your kid is just not doing their homework or paying attention in class, then I would have focus on getting them to work harder instead of letting them drop to a lower level math class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is your kid just slacking off and not studying or is he working hard and just not getting it? If your kid is just not doing their homework or paying attention in class, then I would have focus on getting them to work harder instead of letting them drop to a lower level math class.

No, they have learning disabilities and ADHD and worked hard. :/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You want him to develop a good foundation. This is not the end of the line. It's about making sure he has everything he needs to be successful in math. My husband had an A average in his electrical engineering major. I was more advanced than he was in math-he was not accelerated at all. It's a marathon, not a race. Nobody cares, but a few competitive parents whether your kid is in honors in middle school. If he wants to do STEM, what matters is he knows the material well and enjoys what he does so he can be in it for the long haul.

If dropping out of honors means he ends up a year or two behind by high school (in FCPS, the top 15-20% will be taking algebra II as freshman, the majority will be taking geometry and the non-honors in 7th will be taking algebra) he would never have a change to get into that a major that competitive

True. OP’s son isn’t getting into MIT or a top 25 college. He also is unlikely to go into a STEM career, but it is possible. There are many pathways to success. I get that it is disappointing as a parent, OP. I would feel the same. But you have to support him where he is, right now. Not where you want him to be. Maybe have him take a math class over the summer so he can at least be in Alg I when he enters 8th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You want him to develop a good foundation. This is not the end of the line. It's about making sure he has everything he needs to be successful in math. My husband had an A average in his electrical engineering major. I was more advanced than he was in math-he was not accelerated at all. It's a marathon, not a race. Nobody cares, but a few competitive parents whether your kid is in honors in middle school. If he wants to do STEM, what matters is he knows the material well and enjoys what he does so he can be in it for the long haul.

If dropping out of honors means he ends up a year or two behind by high school (in FCPS, the top 15-20% will be taking algebra II as freshman, the majority will be taking geometry and the non-honors in 7th will be taking algebra) he would never have a change to get into that a major that competitive

True. OP’s son isn’t getting into MIT or a top 25 college. He also is unlikely to go into a STEM career, but it is possible. There are many pathways to success. I get that it is disappointing as a parent, OP. I would feel the same. But you have to support him where he is, right now. Not where you want him to be. Maybe have him take a math class over the summer so he can at least be in Alg I when he enters 8th grade.

Why wouldn't he go to a top 25 college? You know this in 7th grade? Um.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You want him to develop a good foundation. This is not the end of the line. It's about making sure he has everything he needs to be successful in math. My husband had an A average in his electrical engineering major. I was more advanced than he was in math-he was not accelerated at all. It's a marathon, not a race. Nobody cares, but a few competitive parents whether your kid is in honors in middle school. If he wants to do STEM, what matters is he knows the material well and enjoys what he does so he can be in it for the long haul.

If dropping out of honors means he ends up a year or two behind by high school (in FCPS, the top 15-20% will be taking algebra II as freshman, the majority will be taking geometry and the non-honors in 7th will be taking algebra) he would never have a change to get into that a major that competitive

True. OP’s son isn’t getting into MIT or a top 25 college. He also is unlikely to go into a STEM career, but it is possible. There are many pathways to success. I get that it is disappointing as a parent, OP. I would feel the same. But you have to support him where he is, right now. Not where you want him to be. Maybe have him take a math class over the summer so he can at least be in Alg I when he enters 8th grade.

Why wouldn't he go to a top 25 college? You know this in 7th grade? Um.

+ 1 My 2021 grad got into a T25 with Geometry Honors in 9th, dropping off the Honors track after that, and taking AP Stats instead of Calculus as a senior. No hooks, either…white MC girl from FCPS with long term but not notable ECs.

My MIT educated uncles (who are much younger than my mother and therefore not that much older than I am, for comparison) are no more successful than my husband who went to an engineering school in the 75-100 range.

A kid who takes the time to get a good foundation and works hard will do just fine, T25 or not.

[Anonymous]

How involved are you in how he studies? I firmly believe that the way math is taught in schools fails to work well for kids who need a bit more practice and time to nail down concepts and skills. I’d look into a math tutor because going down a level does not guarantee the teaching will be better.

[Anonymous]

OP,
It's not bad that your child needs to go to a lower math level, but I'm really distrustful of the math curriculum at most schools. I would also try to get an outside assessment to see what parts your child is having issues with. Don't just trust that dropping them down will fix the issues.

It's so easy to blame not doing well in advanced math on the student (they couldn't hack it) but there may be something in the way the material is presented that is not the best for your child. What's most important is that they thoroughly learn the material.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How involved are you in how he studies? I firmly believe that the way math is taught in schools fails to work well for kids who need a bit more practice and time to nail down concepts and skills. I’d look into a math tutor because going down a level does not guarantee the teaching will be better.

I disagree. Atleast in mcps, the non honors track has better teachers and the pace is slower too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You want him to develop a good foundation. This is not the end of the line. It's about making sure he has everything he needs to be successful in math. My husband had an A average in his electrical engineering major. I was more advanced than he was in math-he was not accelerated at all. It's a marathon, not a race. Nobody cares, but a few competitive parents whether your kid is in honors in middle school. If he wants to do STEM, what matters is he knows the material well and enjoys what he does so he can be in it for the long haul.

If dropping out of honors means he ends up a year or two behind by high school (in FCPS, the top 15-20% will be taking algebra II as freshman, the majority will be taking geometry and the non-honors in 7th will be taking algebra) he would never have a change to get into that a major that competitive

True. OP’s son isn’t getting into MIT or a top 25 college. He also is unlikely to go into a STEM career, but it is possible. There are many pathways to success. I get that it is disappointing as a parent, OP. I would feel the same. But you have to support him where he is, right now. Not where you want him to be. Maybe have him take a math class over the summer so he can at least be in Alg I when he enters 8th grade.

Why wouldn't he go to a top 25 college? You know this in 7th grade? Um.

+ 1 My 2021 grad got into a T25 with Geometry Honors in 9th, dropping off the Honors track after that, and taking AP Stats instead of Calculus as a senior. No hooks, either…white MC girl from FCPS with long term but not notable ECs.

My MIT educated uncles (who are much younger than my mother and therefore not that much older than I am, for comparison) are no more successful than my husband who went to an engineering school in the 75-100 range.

A kid who takes the time to get a good foundation and works hard will do just fine, T25 or not.

Just being realistic. If your kid is taking Alg I in 9th grade, there is zero chance at a top 25 in today’s college admission world, unless there is something else uniquely phenomenal going on

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You want him to develop a good foundation. This is not the end of the line. It's about making sure he has everything he needs to be successful in math. My husband had an A average in his electrical engineering major. I was more advanced than he was in math-he was not accelerated at all. It's a marathon, not a race. Nobody cares, but a few competitive parents whether your kid is in honors in middle school. If he wants to do STEM, what matters is he knows the material well and enjoys what he does so he can be in it for the long haul.

If dropping out of honors means he ends up a year or two behind by high school (in FCPS, the top 15-20% will be taking algebra II as freshman, the majority will be taking geometry and the non-honors in 7th will be taking algebra) he would never have a change to get into that a major that competitive

True. OP’s son isn’t getting into MIT or a top 25 college. He also is unlikely to go into a STEM career, but it is possible. There are many pathways to success. I get that it is disappointing as a parent, OP. I would feel the same. But you have to support him where he is, right now. Not where you want him to be. Maybe have him take a math class over the summer so he can at least be in Alg I when he enters 8th grade.

Why wouldn't he go to a top 25 college? You know this in 7th grade? Um.

+ 1 My 2021 grad got into a T25 with Geometry Honors in 9th, dropping off the Honors track after that, and taking AP Stats instead of Calculus as a senior. No hooks, either…white MC girl from FCPS with long term but not notable ECs.

My MIT educated uncles (who are much younger than my mother and therefore not that much older than I am, for comparison) are no more successful than my husband who went to an engineering school in the 75-100 range.

A kid who takes the time to get a good foundation and works hard will do just fine, T25 or not.

Just being realistic. If your kid is taking Alg I in 9th grade, there is zero chance at a top 25 in today’s college admission world, unless there is something else uniquely phenomenal going on

IT DOES NOT MATTER