Why so much hate for Math?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every time someone posts about Math acceleration, a mob of posters jump in as if the accelerators are committing sacrilege.

We never hear complaints about kids taking AP social sciences. What gives?

Most people are not pushing to take AP Social Studies 3-4 years early. They take AP classes on the schedule the school has. People are pushing to take math years ahead of the schedule in the US. That is the difference.

AP is college level, so by definition it’s up to 6 years ahead of schedule. You can take all freshman and sophomore college courses in high school, so even if you take them during senior year, you are at least 2 years ahead.

The same schools that offer AP history in freshman year offer AP calculus. They are both college sophomore level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every time someone posts about Math acceleration, a mob of posters jump in as if the accelerators are committing sacrilege.

We never hear complaints about kids taking AP social sciences. What gives?

Most people are not pushing to take AP Social Studies 3-4 years early. They take AP classes on the schedule the school has. People are pushing to take math years ahead of the schedule in the US. That is the difference.

AP is college level, so by definition it’s up to 6 years ahead of schedule. You can take all freshman and sophomore college courses in high school, so even if you take them during senior year, you are at least 2 years ahead.

The same schools that offer AP history in freshman year offer AP calculus. They are both college sophomore level.

Fair enough. AP Calc used to be a senior level class that was only take by a few kids. Now kids are taking AP Calculus in Sophomore/Junior year and then one or two more college level classes. And there seems to be more families in this area who act like if you are not taking Algebra 1 in 7th grade you are slow or behind. I think it is more of a reaction to parents who are working hard to get their kid further ahead in math. Parents placing their kids in AP science or history or English seem to be following the normal path. People are not putting their kids into Social Studies enrichment so their kid can take AP Government or AP US History, they follow the path that every other kid follows in school. People are sending their kids to math enrichment so their kid is in Calculus as a Sophomore year instead of their Junior or Senior year. It is a bit much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every time someone posts about Math acceleration, a mob of posters jump in as if the accelerators are committing sacrilege.

We never hear complaints about kids taking AP social sciences. What gives?

Most people are not pushing to take AP Social Studies 3-4 years early. They take AP classes on the schedule the school has. People are pushing to take math years ahead of the schedule in the US. That is the difference.

AP is college level, so by definition it’s up to 6 years ahead of schedule. You can take all freshman and sophomore college courses in high school, so even if you take them during senior year, you are at least 2 years ahead.

The same schools that offer AP history in freshman year offer AP calculus. They are both college sophomore level.

You suck at math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because they struggle with calculus if they decide to become engineers in college because it’s been so long since they’ve taken the basic maths that they need to pass real calculus not HS or Business calculus.

This is the argument against accelerating math by several years, not acceleration in general.

Well does OP see people complaining about algebra in eighth grade?

Or is the complaint algebra in sixth grade? … and then calculus freshman year.?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every time someone posts about Math acceleration, a mob of posters jump in as if the accelerators are committing sacrilege.

We never hear complaints about kids taking AP social sciences. What gives?

Most people are not pushing to take AP Social Studies 3-4 years early. They take AP classes on the schedule the school has. People are pushing to take math years ahead of the schedule in the US. That is the difference.

AP is college level, so by definition it’s up to 6 years ahead of schedule. You can take all freshman and sophomore college courses in high school, so even if you take them during senior year, you are at least 2 years ahead.

The same schools that offer AP history in freshman year offer AP calculus. They are both college sophomore level.

Fair enough. AP Calc used to be a senior level class that was only take by a few kids. Now kids are taking AP Calculus in Sophomore/Junior year and then one or two more college level classes. And there seems to be more families in this area who act like if you are not taking Algebra 1 in 7th grade you are slow or behind. I think it is more of a reaction to parents who are working hard to get their kid further ahead in math. Parents placing their kids in AP science or history or English seem to be following the normal path. People are not putting their kids into Social Studies enrichment so their kid can take AP Government or AP US History, they follow the path that every other kid follows in school. People are sending their kids to math enrichment so their kid is in Calculus as a Sophomore year instead of their Junior or Senior year. It is a bit much.

Do you think it’s a bit much for a kid to read 2/3/4/5/6+ hrs per day? I’m sure you don’t.

You can’t take all those AP social studies classes if you’re not reading a ton.

It seems like in your world being a ‘book worm’ is good, but being a ‘math nerd/wiz’ is bad.

I don’t want to get into a discussion about genetics, but math and science people will generally value in math and science more and have math/sciency kids at a higher rate. If certain areas attract more people into the sciences, there will be larger group of people wanting/needing/looking to accelerate in math and science.

Lawyers, bankers, doctors, dentists, etc. run in families. No one is finding that a bit much.

[Anonymous]

Ps. No one is complaining about reading ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ in 5th or 6th grade, even though is recommended for grades 9-12.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because they struggle with calculus if they decide to become engineers in college because it’s been so long since they’ve taken the basic maths that they need to pass real calculus not HS or Business calculus.

That is not a worry for anyone with a kid who is good at math. After Calc in 10th or 11th, they'll take things like multivariable calc or diff eq either through dual enrollment or through actual college classes. They'll also take AP Physics C. It's not like they're going to be out of practice with calculus when they head to college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every time someone posts about Math acceleration, a mob of posters jump in as if the accelerators are committing sacrilege.

We never hear complaints about kids taking AP social sciences. What gives?

Most people are not pushing to take AP Social Studies 3-4 years early. They take AP classes on the schedule the school has. People are pushing to take math years ahead of the schedule in the US. That is the difference.

My kid took AP US Government in 9th grade. Is that okay with you, or are you against all APs when you deem it "too early?" He also took AP Calc BC and a few other APs. Are you opposed to just the math acceleration, or are you opposed to all acceleration of this nature? He will probably end up with 5s on all 5 of his AP exams this year.

FWIW, my kid is the type who would have been skipped ahead several grades and would have started college at 15-16 if he attended school 30 years ago. I'm thrilled that he can accelerate through APs, post-APs, dual enrollment, and a handful of actual college classes while still remaining with his same age peers and having a much more normal life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every time someone posts about Math acceleration, a mob of posters jump in as if the accelerators are committing sacrilege.

We never hear complaints about kids taking AP social sciences. What gives?

Most people are not pushing to take AP Social Studies 3-4 years early. They take AP classes on the schedule the school has. People are pushing to take math years ahead of the schedule in the US. That is the difference.

My kid took AP US Government in 9th grade. Is that okay with you, or are you against all APs when you deem it "too early?" He also took AP Calc BC and a few other APs. Are you opposed to just the math acceleration, or are you opposed to all acceleration of this nature? He will probably end up with 5s on all 5 of his AP exams this year.

FWIW, my kid is the type who would have been skipped ahead several grades and would have started college at 15-16 if he attended school 30 years ago. I'm thrilled that he can accelerate through APs, post-APs, dual enrollment, and a handful of actual college classes while still remaining with his same age peers and having a much more normal life.

Where did I say I was against it? I said that math is the subject that kids are hyper accelerated and that you don’t see kids taking other classes off schedule. The question was do people pick on the math acceleration.

Most schools have a schedule that they have kids follow for AP classes and kids follow that schedule. There tends to be a progression, if your school lets your kid take AP US Government in 9th grade, then great. That is not accelerated at that school. That is the point. Kids are not taking classes in ES and MS so that they can take AP Government early or AP English Lit early. Kids are taking math classes earlier so they can take AP Calc early and then Multivariate or Linear Algebra. IB has a very strict schedule regarding when kids take classes and the tests, it is an issue for the kids who take Algebra 1 in 7th grade because it messes up the IB schedule.

My kid will take Calculus in 11th grade and a good number of AP classes. He is excited by the HS science classes and math and not as thrilled about the AP history and English classes but he knows he needs those to apply to the colleges he wants to attend. All for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ps. No one is complaining about reading ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ in 5th or 6th grade, even though is recommended for grades 9-12.

What school is reading To Kill a Mockingbird in 5th or 6th grade? I think it is fine if the kids can comprehend the material and discuss the overall implications of the book. The subject material is challenging for that age range. Then again, my class read Hamlet in 6th grade so what do I know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every time someone posts about Math acceleration, a mob of posters jump in as if the accelerators are committing sacrilege.

We never hear complaints about kids taking AP social sciences. What gives?

Most people are not pushing to take AP Social Studies 3-4 years early. They take AP classes on the schedule the school has. People are pushing to take math years ahead of the schedule in the US. That is the difference.

AP is college level, so by definition it’s up to 6 years ahead of schedule. You can take all freshman and sophomore college courses in high school, so even if you take them during senior year, you are at least 2 years ahead.

The same schools that offer AP history in freshman year offer AP calculus. They are both college sophomore level.

Fair enough. AP Calc used to be a senior level class that was only take by a few kids. Now kids are taking AP Calculus in Sophomore/Junior year and then one or two more college level classes. And there seems to be more families in this area who act like if you are not taking Algebra 1 in 7th grade you are slow or behind. I think it is more of a reaction to parents who are working hard to get their kid further ahead in math. Parents placing their kids in AP science or history or English seem to be following the normal path. People are not putting their kids into Social Studies enrichment so their kid can take AP Government or AP US History, they follow the path that every other kid follows in school. People are sending their kids to math enrichment so their kid is in Calculus as a Sophomore year instead of their Junior or Senior year. It is a bit much.

Do you think it’s a bit much for a kid to read 2/3/4/5/6+ hrs per day? I’m sure you don’t.

You can’t take all those AP social studies classes if you’re not reading a ton.

It seems like in your world being a ‘book worm’ is good, but being a ‘math nerd/wiz’ is bad.

I don’t want to get into a discussion about genetics, but math and science people will generally value in math and science more and have math/sciency kids at a higher rate. If certain areas attract more people into the sciences, there will be larger group of people wanting/needing/looking to accelerate in math and science.

Lawyers, bankers, doctors, dentists, etc. run in families. No one is finding that a bit much.

You can do well in AP History and English classes without being a book worm. I know plenty of folks who were not book worms who aced those AP classes. And I have no problem with being a book worm or a math. I think that book worms and math kids are deemed nerdy by most folks. Generally speaking, kids that are more academically focused are not understood in this country.

The original question was why is math targeted and the answer is that it is the area where kids are being hyper accelerated so it is more obvious then the kid who is crushing English class because they are a book worm. The book worm is not likely to be taking English class in summer so they can get to AP English Lit in 10th grade instead of Junior or Senior year or whenever it is normally offered in this area. The math kid is more likely to take Geometry in the summer to get ahead in math. That is more noticeable.

And, lets be real, a lot of people struggle with math so they don’t understand why there are people who think that taking math more quickly is fine because they don’t get the love of math. I don’t get it because I am not strong in math but my kid is and he wants to take math outside of school so he takes math outside of school. And I am fine with that. But people ask a lot of questions about it because it is outside the norm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every time someone posts about Math acceleration, a mob of posters jump in as if the accelerators are committing sacrilege.

We never hear complaints about kids taking AP social sciences. What gives?

Most people are not pushing to take AP Social Studies 3-4 years early. They take AP classes on the schedule the school has. People are pushing to take math years ahead of the schedule in the US. That is the difference.

My kid took AP US Government in 9th grade. Is that okay with you, or are you against all APs when you deem it "too early?" He also took AP Calc BC and a few other APs. Are you opposed to just the math acceleration, or are you opposed to all acceleration of this nature? He will probably end up with 5s on all 5 of his AP exams this year.

FWIW, my kid is the type who would have been skipped ahead several grades and would have started college at 15-16 if he attended school 30 years ago. I'm thrilled that he can accelerate through APs, post-APs, dual enrollment, and a handful of actual college classes while still remaining with his same age peers and having a much more normal life.

Where did I say I was against it? I said that math is the subject that kids are hyper accelerated and that you don’t see kids taking other classes off schedule. The question was do people pick on the math acceleration.

Most schools have a schedule that they have kids follow for AP classes and kids follow that schedule. There tends to be a progression, if your school lets your kid take AP US Government in 9th grade, then great. That is not accelerated at that school. That is the point. Kids are not taking classes in ES and MS so that they can take AP Government early or AP English Lit early. Kids are taking math classes earlier so they can take AP Calc early and then Multivariate or Linear Algebra. IB has a very strict schedule regarding when kids take classes and the tests, it is an issue for the kids who take Algebra 1 in 7th grade because it messes up the IB schedule.

My kid will take Calculus in 11th grade and a good number of AP classes. He is excited by the HS science classes and math and not as thrilled about the AP history and English classes but he knows he needs those to apply to the colleges he wants to attend. All for it.

OP is trolling with a dumb strawman.

Literally no one has said that they oppose all acceleration in math.

OP sucks at math and can’t make a valid point. Lame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every time someone posts about Math acceleration, a mob of posters jump in as if the accelerators are committing sacrilege.

We never hear complaints about kids taking AP social sciences. What gives?

Most people are not pushing to take AP Social Studies 3-4 years early. They take AP classes on the schedule the school has. People are pushing to take math years ahead of the schedule in the US. That is the difference.

AP is college level, so by definition it’s up to 6 years ahead of schedule. You can take all freshman and sophomore college courses in high school, so even if you take them during senior year, you are at least 2 years ahead.

The same schools that offer AP history in freshman year offer AP calculus. They are both college sophomore level.

Fair enough. AP Calc used to be a senior level class that was only take by a few kids. Now kids are taking AP Calculus in Sophomore/Junior year and then one or two more college level classes. And there seems to be more families in this area who act like if you are not taking Algebra 1 in 7th grade you are slow or behind. I think it is more of a reaction to parents who are working hard to get their kid further ahead in math. Parents placing their kids in AP science or history or English seem to be following the normal path. People are not putting their kids into Social Studies enrichment so their kid can take AP Government or AP US History, they follow the path that every other kid follows in school. People are sending their kids to math enrichment so their kid is in Calculus as a Sophomore year instead of their Junior or Senior year. It is a bit much.

Do you think it’s a bit much for a kid to read 2/3/4/5/6+ hrs per day? I’m sure you don’t.

You can’t take all those AP social studies classes if you’re not reading a ton.

It seems like in your world being a ‘book worm’ is good, but being a ‘math nerd/wiz’ is bad.

I don’t want to get into a discussion about genetics, but math and science people will generally value in math and science more and have math/sciency kids at a higher rate. If certain areas attract more people into the sciences, there will be larger group of people wanting/needing/looking to accelerate in math and science.

Lawyers, bankers, doctors, dentists, etc. run in families. No one is finding that a bit much.

You can do well in AP History and English classes without being a book worm. I know plenty of folks who were not book worms who aced those AP classes. And I have no problem with being a book worm or a math. I think that book worms and math kids are deemed nerdy by most folks. Generally speaking, kids that are more academically focused are not understood in this country.

The original question was why is math targeted and the answer is that it is the area where kids are being hyper accelerated so it is more obvious then the kid who is crushing English class because they are a book worm. The book worm is not likely to be taking English class in summer so they can get to AP English Lit in 10th grade instead of Junior or Senior year or whenever it is normally offered in this area. The math kid is more likely to take Geometry in the summer to get ahead in math. That is more noticeable.

And, lets be real, a lot of people struggle with math so they don’t understand why there are people who think that taking math more quickly is fine because they don’t get the love of math. I don’t get it because I am not strong in math but my kid is and he wants to take math outside of school so he takes math outside of school. And I am fine with that. But people ask a lot of questions about it because it is outside the norm.

Liar. Math is not “being targeted”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ps. No one is complaining about reading ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ in 5th or 6th grade, even though is recommended for grades 9-12.

What school is reading To Kill a Mockingbird in 5th or 6th grade? I think it is fine if the kids can comprehend the material and discuss the overall implications of the book. The subject material is challenging for that age range. Then again, my class read Hamlet in 6th grade so what do I know.

That’s exactly the point: hamlet is for 11-12 grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every time someone posts about Math acceleration, a mob of posters jump in as if the accelerators are committing sacrilege.

We never hear complaints about kids taking AP social sciences. What gives?

Most people are not pushing to take AP Social Studies 3-4 years early. They take AP classes on the schedule the school has. People are pushing to take math years ahead of the schedule in the US. That is the difference.

AP is college level, so by definition it’s up to 6 years ahead of schedule. You can take all freshman and sophomore college courses in high school, so even if you take them during senior year, you are at least 2 years ahead.

The same schools that offer AP history in freshman year offer AP calculus. They are both college sophomore level.

Fair enough. AP Calc used to be a senior level class that was only take by a few kids. Now kids are taking AP Calculus in Sophomore/Junior year and then one or two more college level classes. And there seems to be more families in this area who act like if you are not taking Algebra 1 in 7th grade you are slow or behind. I think it is more of a reaction to parents who are working hard to get their kid further ahead in math. Parents placing their kids in AP science or history or English seem to be following the normal path. People are not putting their kids into Social Studies enrichment so their kid can take AP Government or AP US History, they follow the path that every other kid follows in school. People are sending their kids to math enrichment so their kid is in Calculus as a Sophomore year instead of their Junior or Senior year. It is a bit much.

Do you think it’s a bit much for a kid to read 2/3/4/5/6+ hrs per day? I’m sure you don’t.

You can’t take all those AP social studies classes if you’re not reading a ton.

It seems like in your world being a ‘book worm’ is good, but being a ‘math nerd/wiz’ is bad.

I don’t want to get into a discussion about genetics, but math and science people will generally value in math and science more and have math/sciency kids at a higher rate. If certain areas attract more people into the sciences, there will be larger group of people wanting/needing/looking to accelerate in math and science.

Lawyers, bankers, doctors, dentists, etc. run in families. No one is finding that a bit much.

You can do well in AP History and English classes without being a book worm. I know plenty of folks who were not book worms who aced those AP classes. And I have no problem with being a book worm or a math. I think that book worms and math kids are deemed nerdy by most folks. Generally speaking, kids that are more academically focused are not understood in this country.

The original question was why is math targeted and the answer is that it is the area where kids are being hyper accelerated so it is more obvious then the kid who is crushing English class because they are a book worm. The book worm is not likely to be taking English class in summer so they can get to AP English Lit in 10th grade instead of Junior or Senior year or whenever it is normally offered in this area. The math kid is more likely to take Geometry in the summer to get ahead in math. That is more noticeable.

And, lets be real, a lot of people struggle with math so they don’t understand why there are people who think that taking math more quickly is fine because they don’t get the love of math. I don’t get it because I am not strong in math but my kid is and he wants to take math outside of school so he takes math outside of school. And I am fine with that. But people ask a lot of questions about it because it is outside the norm.

People are taking summer geometry because there is a very high, non transparent, unnecessary bar to take algebra in 6th. They are forced to make this decision. They know their kid can handle it, but there are great hurdles to get there.

APs in social sciences are offered on a well established sequence, because there has traditionally been higher demand for them. Additionally, if you suck at one, you can still take the next. They are still college level courses.

You can also take many of them at once, because they are fairly independent of one another.

Math is different. Everything you do has a foundation on the previous lesson, so it doesn’t allow for slacking around. This foundational aspect also doesn’t allow you to take many math classes at once. Many science classes like physics also depend on the math you know. Hence, you have to plan and start early if you know your kid likes it and is able to do it talent and maturity wise.

I think that people that don’t like math feel jealous of and intimidated by math people, so they diss them as doing something unnatural.