Geometry in Summer before 8th grade

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've taught the course before. Expect to spend 6-8 hours a day on it, and still feel rushed through the material. It is crammed. Your mastery of it will never be as high as if you took it over a year. I don't encourage my students to do it.

That said, if you are going to accelerate any course, geometry is really the only possibility.

Wow! Spending 6-8 hrs a day on math(geometry) sounds incredibly awful. This cannot be a good idea. It makes me sad that anyone would do this.... even if your kid likes math, or loves math... 6-8 hrs day in and day out.... why put a kid in such a grind?

Of the students I know who did this, tt makes for a sucky summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our DD takes both geometry and algebra 2 in 8th grade. If she doesn't get into TJ (semifinalist so far), she'll be taking both pre-Calc and AP statistics in 9th grade of our base high school. The school told her she can take AP statistics in 9th, if she wants to.

There is also no good reason to do this. It is a transparent bid to do something the family thinks is better to get into TJ. The school does not favor these arrangements and these kids are the ones whose parents are whining about hard tests and bad grades at TJ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our DD takes both geometry and algebra 2 in 8th grade. If she doesn't get into TJ (semifinalist so far), she'll be taking both pre-Calc and AP statistics in 9th grade of our base high school. The school told her she can take AP statistics in 9th, if she wants to.

There is also no good reason to do this. It is a transparent bid to do something the family thinks is better to get into TJ. The school does not favor these arrangements and these kids are the ones whose parents are whining about hard tests and bad grades at TJ.

It's not the family in our case - totally between our child and her schools. Her 7th grade algebra teacher referred her to take 2 classes in 8th grade. This year, she asked high school if she can skip pre-Calc because she already knows it, and they said she can't, but can take AP statistics together with it. I'm glad the schools are being flexible with the talented kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our DD takes both geometry and algebra 2 in 8th grade. If she doesn't get into TJ (semifinalist so far), she'll be taking both pre-Calc and AP statistics in 9th grade of our base high school. The school told her she can take AP statistics in 9th, if she wants to.

There is also no good reason to do this. It is a transparent bid to do something the family thinks is better to get into TJ. The school does not favor these arrangements and these kids are the ones whose parents are whining about hard tests and bad grades at TJ.

It's not the family in our case - totally between our child and her schools. Her 7th grade algebra teacher referred her to take 2 classes in 8th grade. This year, she asked high school if she can skip pre-Calc because she already knows it, and they said she can't, but can take AP statistics together with it. I'm glad the schools are being flexible with the talented kids.

Your child is obviously exceptional in math - great that the County is working with her, as long as she has a really good foundation in math and will be able to apply the concepts at higher levels. She is probably one of only 1% of all the 8th graders in FCPS...the rest need to slow down and get a good foundation in math. The ones who surge ahead are the ones who will be crying in TJ Math 4 as 9th graders...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've taught the course before. Expect to spend 6-8 hours a day on it, and still feel rushed through the material. It is crammed. Your mastery of it will never be as high as if you took it over a year. I don't encourage my students to do it.

That said, if you are going to accelerate any course, geometry is really the only possibility.

Wow! Spending 6-8 hrs a day on math(geometry) sounds incredibly awful. This cannot be a good idea. It makes me sad that anyone would do this.... even if your kid likes math, or loves math... 6-8 hrs day in and day out.... why put a kid in such a grind?

My students who have done it generally do it to "catch up" to siblings/peers who took geometry in 8th grade. I teach in a low income school where a large portion of my students are at home watching netflix or taking care of siblings all summer, so it's not like they're missing out on vacations and camps. For a select few, it's a beneficial way to spend their summer. For most of them, I try to convince them to do something else academic but more flexible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've taught the course before. Expect to spend 6-8 hours a day on it, and still feel rushed through the material. It is crammed. Your mastery of it will never be as high as if you took it over a year. I don't encourage my students to do it.

That said, if you are going to accelerate any course, geometry is really the only possibility.

Wow! Spending 6-8 hrs a day on math(geometry) sounds incredibly awful. This cannot be a good idea. It makes me sad that anyone would do this.... even if your kid likes math, or loves math... 6-8 hrs day in and day out.... why put a kid in such a grind?

My students who have done it generally do it to "catch up" to siblings/peers who took geometry in 8th grade. I teach in a low income school where a large portion of my students are at home watching netflix or taking care of siblings all summer, so it's not like they're missing out on vacations and camps. For a select few, it's a beneficial way to spend their summer. For most of them, I try to convince them to do something else academic but more flexible.

Since they come from low income families, I hope they get a waiver from the $$ it costs to take a summer class.