Why work ahead?

[Anonymous]

*glad to hear, I meant. (Not finished coffee yet.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Next, the project-based learning has been a joke.

Given that project-based learning has been proven in studies to be ineffective as a primary learning strategy, is this a surprise to anyone? Kids should be instructed directly by teachers, and projects should be to enhance learning, not as the primary method of instruction.

What about for kids who want thrive on going deeper into topics and working a bit more independently?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is entering full time AAP in fall (third grade). We have him doing some math and LA enrichment this summer. Decided to give him something challenging since the school year was pretty much a joke. But then I think that he will be bored in AAP. Or is it likely to still be interesting given the project based learning? And the fact that many others are also ahead? Otherwise is the a good rationale for getting ahead? I have always wanted to see him challenged and not idling, so if school is slow we do stuff at home, etc. But I would like to hear other people's thoughts on why they accelerate.

Acceleration is fine but I would focus on depth rather than speed.

Kids getting to algebra 2 in 8th grade without any real sense of numbers and how to manipulate them are likely to implode later.

If your kid is doing things like mathcounts and RSM/AOPS and AMC and is accelerated, then that's fine but if youa re just shoving them up to Algebra 2 in 8th grade without any of the rest of it, then they are going to crash and burn because they don't really understand what theya re learning.

DC has been doing BA pretty consistently for the last couple of years and has enjoyed it. It works for us because it's online/self-paced and affordable. And they do a good job of it. The in person classes are too far for us and less flexible. I don't have experience with RSM or AMC to know what we're missing but BA has been a success in our house.

In person classes vs BA is really based on what you can provide at home, what the child is willing to do at home, and an overall preference of learning solo or in a group. DH could have easily worked through BA and higher level AoPS books at home with DS but DS strongly prefers learning in a group. He started with AoPS, because that is what I had heard about, in an online class during COVID. Once the world returned to normal, he wanted an in-person class. RSm was a 10-minute drive, AoPS was a 40-minute drive, RSM won. He tested into the math competition class, which was far smaller at the time, and loved it. Now, he is in RSM's national math competition program, a smaller number of kids who are working ahead of the regular math competition classes and in hog heaven. He dropped the grade/subject level classes for RSM last year because they were moving too slowly and he was bored.

We like the group classes because it normalizes the idea that there are kids who are excited about math for DS. His ES did not have a math club and most of his friends are pretty open about thinking his love of math competitions is a bit strange. Not in a mean way but if he says he can't do something because of a math class or a competition they are like, "OK, I don't get it but maybe next time." paraphrasing the comments. Being in a class with other kids who are having fun with math helps him be ok with the fact that one of his activities is seen as strange by most everyone else. He did join his schools Mathcounts program in MS and has been loving it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is entering full time AAP in fall (third grade). We have him doing some math and LA enrichment this summer. Decided to give him something challenging since the school year was pretty much a joke. But then I think that he will be bored in AAP. Or is it likely to still be interesting given the project based learning? And the fact that many others are also ahead? Otherwise is the a good rationale for getting ahead? I have always wanted to see him challenged and not idling, so if school is slow we do stuff at home, etc. But I would like to hear other people's thoughts on why they accelerate.

Acceleration is fine but I would focus on depth rather than speed.

Kids getting to algebra 2 in 8th grade without any real sense of numbers and how to manipulate them are likely to implode later.

If your kid is doing things like mathcounts and RSM/AOPS and AMC and is accelerated, then that's fine but if youa re just shoving them up to Algebra 2 in 8th grade without any of the rest of it, then they are going to crash and burn because they don't really understand what theya re learning.

DC has been doing BA pretty consistently for the last couple of years and has enjoyed it. It works for us because it's online/self-paced and affordable. And they do a good job of it. The in person classes are too far for us and less flexible. I don't have experience with RSM or AMC to know what we're missing but BA has been a success in our house.

In person classes vs BA is really based on what you can provide at home, what the child is willing to do at home, and an overall preference of learning solo or in a group. DH could have easily worked through BA and higher level AoPS books at home with DS but DS strongly prefers learning in a group. He started with AoPS, because that is what I had heard about, in an online class during COVID. Once the world returned to normal, he wanted an in-person class. RSm was a 10-minute drive, AoPS was a 40-minute drive, RSM won. He tested into the math competition class, which was far smaller at the time, and loved it. Now, he is in RSM's national math competition program, a smaller number of kids who are working ahead of the regular math competition classes and in hog heaven. He dropped the grade/subject level classes for RSM last year because they were moving too slowly and he was bored.

We like the group classes because it normalizes the idea that there are kids who are excited about math for DS. His ES did not have a math club and most of his friends are pretty open about thinking his love of math competitions is a bit strange. Not in a mean way but if he says he can't do something because of a math class or a competition they are like, "OK, I don't get it but maybe next time." paraphrasing the comments. Being in a class with other kids who are having fun with math helps him be ok with the fact that one of his activities is seen as strange by most everyone else. He did join his schools Mathcounts program in MS and has been loving it.

OP here. Thanks, that's all quite interesting. DC hasn't shown any interest in math competition so far. I think he finds the idea of it stressful but may he'll try it out sometime. Currently he enjoys doing BA solo but I think it would be nice for him to experience a peer group of kids who are also interested in math. I was hoping that full-time AAP would offer some of that. I guess we'll see.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is entering full time AAP in fall (third grade). We have him doing some math and LA enrichment this summer. Decided to give him something challenging since the school year was pretty much a joke. But then I think that he will be bored in AAP. Or is it likely to still be interesting given the project based learning? And the fact that many others are also ahead? Otherwise is the a good rationale for getting ahead? I have always wanted to see him challenged and not idling, so if school is slow we do stuff at home, etc. But I would like to hear other people's thoughts on why they accelerate.

Acceleration is fine but I would focus on depth rather than speed.

Kids getting to algebra 2 in 8th grade without any real sense of numbers and how to manipulate them are likely to implode later.

If your kid is doing things like mathcounts and RSM/AOPS and AMC and is accelerated, then that's fine but if youa re just shoving them up to Algebra 2 in 8th grade without any of the rest of it, then they are going to crash and burn because they don't really understand what theya re learning.

DC has been doing BA pretty consistently for the last couple of years and has enjoyed it. It works for us because it's online/self-paced and affordable. And they do a good job of it. The in person classes are too far for us and less flexible. I don't have experience with RSM or AMC to know what we're missing but BA has been a success in our house.

In person classes vs BA is really based on what you can provide at home, what the child is willing to do at home, and an overall preference of learning solo or in a group. DH could have easily worked through BA and higher level AoPS books at home with DS but DS strongly prefers learning in a group. He started with AoPS, because that is what I had heard about, in an online class during COVID. Once the world returned to normal, he wanted an in-person class. RSm was a 10-minute drive, AoPS was a 40-minute drive, RSM won. He tested into the math competition class, which was far smaller at the time, and loved it. Now, he is in RSM's national math competition program, a smaller number of kids who are working ahead of the regular math competition classes and in hog heaven. He dropped the grade/subject level classes for RSM last year because they were moving too slowly and he was bored.

We like the group classes because it normalizes the idea that there are kids who are excited about math for DS. His ES did not have a math club and most of his friends are pretty open about thinking his love of math competitions is a bit strange. Not in a mean way but if he says he can't do something because of a math class or a competition they are like, "OK, I don't get it but maybe next time." paraphrasing the comments. Being in a class with other kids who are having fun with math helps him be ok with the fact that one of his activities is seen as strange by most everyone else. He did join his schools Mathcounts program in MS and has been loving it.

OP here. Thanks, that's all quite interesting. DC hasn't shown any interest in math competition so far. I think he finds the idea of it stressful but may he'll try it out sometime. Currently he enjoys doing BA solo but I think it would be nice for him to experience a peer group of kids who are also interested in math. I was hoping that full-time AAP would offer some of that. I guess we'll see.

I don't think DS finds the competitions stressful; they provide more challenging questions and more creative problem solving, which he likes. It probably helps that he is normally in the 99th percentile for test scores, although the RSM International competition he has struggle to crack the higher levels. He seems to land in the Honorable Mention for that one every year. I think he seems them as more fun tests and knows that the scores don't mean much in the long run.

I hope he finds a group of mathy kids in AAP. DS was in Advanced Math and most of the kids thought that his love of math was a bit strange. It might be school dependent, I know that some of the ES will give the kids a chance to take the AMC 8 in 6th grade. Maybe those schools have kids more interested in math. Or the ES schools with a math club.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have been taking our 4th grade kid to Harvard every summer since pre-K. So they know the goal of acceleration and why it is so important.

Dont lose sight of the big picture.

mine was their in utero. There is research now that the baby can learn through the belly.

[Anonymous]

We do not work “ahead”, but we do supplement. DC quickly grasps math concepts, but our school does not provide enough repetition for DC to memorize key math facts. Students really need to memorize their times table (e.g., 12x12=144 or whatever), rather than compute it each time.

[Anonymous]

Let your child be a kid and have a fun summer. If there are areas that he is interested in help foster those interests. There are lots of ways you can encourage learning without sitting down for formal instruction. The easiest thing we do is take our child to the library and have him do all the summer reading logs and science camps that they select.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let your child be a kid and have a fun summer. If there are areas that he is interested in help foster those interests. There are lots of ways you can encourage learning without sitting down for formal instruction. The easiest thing we do is take our child to the library and have him do all the summer reading logs and science camps that they select.

My child is in an academic camp for a month this summer and loves it. It's quieter and less chaotic than his usual classroom, teacher is better, and kids are nice. They have breaks and play etc.

Regular camps are full of misbehavior and are dressed up babysitting.

[Anonymous]

Last summer my kid was going into 3rd grade. I made him do a third grade math workbook over the summer and learn the times tables. Honestly, it was good. He did forget some of the material we did over the summer but then the classroom spiraled back to it and reinforced it. I'm doing the same thing this summer with a fourth grade workbook, though more of it appears to be review than new material. That is fine too. Math is all about repetition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You learn ahead so that you get to take Algebra at 7th grade and Calculus BC at 10th grade. This way you show the colleges you are smarter than others.

It is a silky game but nobody can stop playing it in AAP.

The alternative is to pay for private. Or have one of the diminishing number of hooks to the elite university you’ve chosen for your child.