Benefits of taking Algebra 1 in 6th grade

[Anonymous]

My rising 6th grader has been recommended for Algebra 1 in 6 th grade. He’ll have to cover prealgebra in the summer by himself. He can do this, but I’m trying to think through the impacts of this decision through high school.
Pros: he is very much a stem kid and this well he useful for him in college. He is very achievement oriented so this is a huge motivator for him.
Cons: has ADHD and poor executive functioning. Gets overwhelmed easily, not a self starter and not the kind to do math for fun.

Should we sign up for this triple advanced track or stick to the regular double advanced track? What are the implications for college admissions. He is Asian male for what it’s worth. Also, we live in Howard county but posting here for greater responses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My rising 6th grader has been recommended for Algebra 1 in 6 th grade. He’ll have to cover prealgebra in the summer by himself. He can do this, but I’m trying to think through the impacts of this decision through high school.
Pros: he is very much a stem kid and this well he useful for him in college. He is very achievement oriented so this is a huge motivator for him.
Cons: has ADHD and poor executive functioning. Gets overwhelmed easily, not a self starter and not the kind to do math for fun.

Should we sign up for this triple advanced track or stick to the regular double advanced track? What are the implications for college admissions. He is Asian male for what it’s worth. Also, we live in Howard county but posting here for greater responses.

I think this cuts both ways. He might do better with only on class that matters next year. That lets him focus solely on algebra knowing that grade matters, but a 3 in language arts doesn't

[Anonymous]

He is also enrolled in our version of advanced ( GT) ELA, Science and social studies and has signed up for a research project elective that is supposed to be time consuming.

[Anonymous]

Is it offered at his school or does he have to travel to another school to take it or take it online? The travel/online component is why we didn’t ask at our school when we were aware that DS would probably be fine with Algebra in 6th grade. We did not want him getting up an hour earlier to catch the bus to MS and then have to take a bus to the ES or to have him take the class online.

Is there a fall back plan if the class is too much for him? Can he revert to the pre-algebra in 6th grade if the algebra is too much? What is the potential impact to him if he needs to revert to pre-algebra?

Do you think he is ready for a HS class as a 6th grader?

Anyway, those were the questions we discussed here before deciding it wasn’t worth it for our child and not pursuing it with the school. It also would have been a fight at our school because it is not something that they offer.

[Anonymous]

It is offered at his school for 6th and 7 to during school hours. 8th grade will be offered as an after school option at what is a convenient location. We would not have initiated it but the school recommended him for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My rising 6th grader has been recommended for Algebra 1 in 6 th grade. He’ll have to cover prealgebra in the summer by himself. He can do this, but I’m trying to think through the impacts of this decision through high school.
Pros: he is very much a stem kid and this well he useful for him in college. He is very achievement oriented so this is a huge motivator for him.
Cons: has ADHD and poor executive functioning. Gets overwhelmed easily, not a self starter and not the kind to do math for fun.

Should we sign up for this triple advanced track or stick to the regular double advanced track? What are the implications for college admissions. He is Asian male for what it’s worth. Also, we live in Howard county but posting here for greater responses.

Troll post

[Anonymous]

Shows how shallow your thinking on disabilities can be. Yes, there are kids like these. On the surface they are doing well but there is a lot going on underneath.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is offered at his school for 6th and 7 to during school hours. 8th grade will be offered as an after school option at what is a convenient location. We would not have initiated it but the school recommended him for it.

This was great. My DC also took Alg 1 at 6th grade in a different school district. From 5 to 7 grade, my dc and a friend had to take a bus at the middle of the day to the MS and HS that offered the course. It wasn't fun but they managed it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is offered at his school for 6th and 7 to during school hours. 8th grade will be offered as an after school option at what is a convenient location. We would not have initiated it but the school recommended him for it.

I would ask them what type of supports that they plan on having in place to help him. Kids with ADHD can have areas of hyper focus so he might do great. But it is a HS level class so it is going to move more quickly and there is likely to be more homework, quizzes, and tests. The question for any 6th grader is can they handle that level of responsibility. Toss on ADHD and executive functioning issues and you could have a real issue. Talk to the school about the IEP and how they will be available to help your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My rising 6th grader has been recommended for Algebra 1 in 6 th grade. He’ll have to cover prealgebra in the summer by himself. He can do this, but I’m trying to think through the impacts of this decision through high school.
Pros: he is very much a stem kid and this well he useful for him in college. He is very achievement oriented so this is a huge motivator for him.
Cons: has ADHD and poor executive functioning. Gets overwhelmed easily, not a self starter and not the kind to do math for fun.

Should we sign up for this triple advanced track or stick to the regular double advanced track? What are the implications for college admissions. He is Asian male for what it’s worth. Also, we live in Howard county but posting here for greater responses.

The above are huge red flags to me.

What does he want to do? In that situation, I would only do it if my kid were begging me to do it.

[Anonymous]

I remember a FCPS teacher, who moonlights at one of the enrichment class, said certain advanced math class in middle school actually count as high school classes so the grade is counted as high school GPA. If a child is not doing well on these advanced math classes, he suggest the child drop the class instead of earning a B that will follow him all the way to college application.

I am not sure if Algebra is one of those classes, you should ask the school about it. If it is counted as high school class then be careful, but maybe you can have him try and drop it if he's not doing well.

[Anonymous]

As a grown up who was diagnosed with ADD, I'm torn because for me, my grades actually improved significantly as math got harder. I got in trouble a lot Geometry (teacher also sucked, tons of grading was based on art projects) but was top of my class in Calculus. It just felt so easy whereas all the earlier repetition made me so frustrated.

Ultimately you know your kid. If he does the pre-algebra class and isn't going as well can you reverse the call? It might allow some can kicking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is offered at his school for 6th and 7 to during school hours. 8th grade will be offered as an after school option at what is a convenient location. We would not have initiated it but the school recommended him for it.

This was great. My DC also took Alg 1 at 6th grade in a different school district. From 5 to 7 grade, my dc and a friend had to take a bus at the middle of the day to the MS and HS that offered the course. It wasn't fun but they managed it.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My rising 6th grader has been recommended for Algebra 1 in 6 th grade. He’ll have to cover prealgebra in the summer by himself. He can do this, but I’m trying to think through the impacts of this decision through high school.
Pros: he is very much a stem kid and this well he useful for him in college. He is very achievement oriented so this is a huge motivator for him.
Cons: has ADHD and poor executive functioning. Gets overwhelmed easily, not a self starter and not the kind to do math for fun.

Should we sign up for this triple advanced track or stick to the regular double advanced track? What are the implications for college admissions. He is Asian male for what it’s worth. Also, we live in Howard county but posting here for greater responses.

The above are huge red flags to me.

What does he want to do? In that situation, I would only do it if my kid were begging me to do it.

I thought the same thing. He's not a self starter and will have to be for at least this summer to work.

[Anonymous]

Don't overwhelm him. Talk to school administration and therapist about ADHD help.