Do you find it necessary to supplement your child's public school education?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course. American schools are very behind. We tutor in math mostly.

So at age 17 what level of math have kids in other countries reached? Is differential equations really so far behind the rest of the world?

Don't know about other part of the world, but definitely far behind Asia. Middle school graduates in China (about age 15) can tackle SAT math problems without much trouble and get high scores. High school graduates consider themselves a big failure if not getting full score in GRE testings on math part. A Chinese friend of mine who left China and attend high school in US said he didn't need to make any efforts to get As in math class, and most scary/unbelievable part, he said he's a C student on math in his class back in China.

heh. i am an immigrant and i remember when i took GRE as a college student. i couldn't believe the questions on the quantitative part. everyone i knew was at the 99th percentile. i did mine in half a time and scored 800.

that said SATs and GREs are a separate issue from the math curriculum. these tests simply don't test math knowledge but rather math ability. they are more like IQ tests than math tests. that is unrelated to math knowledge american students learn in school. even american students learn much more advanced concepts than those utilized on these tests. i say this is someone who is highly critical of the way american children learn math and consider these tests to be a big a problem with the admission process at american colleges. however, i do think american children would be better in math if they had to take real math tests for college.

I agree that SATs and GREs are separate issues. But that's the well known test around the world you can compare the test result of math. The experience with my friend is more concrete (as from C to A) also he mentioned that he didn't learn anything new in HS for math. That means he's already ahead of US HS students at least three years on math in middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course. American schools are very behind. We tutor in math mostly.

So at age 17 what level of math have kids in other countries reached? Is differential equations really so far behind the rest of the world?

Don't know about other part of the world, but definitely far behind Asia. Middle school graduates in China (about age 15) can tackle SAT math problems without much trouble and get high scores. High school graduates consider themselves a big failure if not getting full score in GRE testings on math part. A Chinese friend of mine who left China and attend high school in US said he didn't need to make any efforts to get As in math class, and most scary/unbelievable part, he said he's a C student on math in his class back in China.

heh. i am an immigrant and i remember when i took GRE as a college student. i couldn't believe the questions on the quantitative part. everyone i knew was at the 99th percentile. i did mine in half a time and scored 800.

that said SATs and GREs are a separate issue from the math curriculum. these tests simply don't test math knowledge but rather math ability. they are more like IQ tests than math tests. that is unrelated to math knowledge american students learn in school. even american students learn much more advanced concepts than those utilized on these tests. i say this is someone who is highly critical of the way american children learn math and consider these tests to be a big a problem with the admission process at american colleges. however, i do think american children would be better in math if they had to take real math tests for college.

I agree that SATs and GREs are separate issues. But that's the well known test around the world you can compare the test result of math. The experience with my friend is more concrete (as from C to A) also he mentioned that he didn't learn anything new in HS for math. That means he's already ahead of US HS students at least three years on math in middle school.

I must say that I am surprised. This is what I used to think but don't think anymore. As I said previously, the problem I see is the depth not the topic covered. My impressions is that Americans do calciulus on 12th grade. I am an immigrant from Eastern Europe and went to #1 magnet in my country. I also learned calculus in 12th grade. The difference is we were doing pretty difficult problems. Also there was calculus on the entrance exams so you can't really get into college for many majors if you are not fluent in it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course. American schools are very behind. We tutor in math mostly.

So at age 17 what level of math have kids in other countries reached? Is differential equations really so far behind the rest of the world?

Don't know about other part of the world, but definitely far behind Asia. Middle school graduates in China (about age 15) can tackle SAT math problems without much trouble and get high scores. High school graduates consider themselves a big failure if not getting full score in GRE testings on math part. A Chinese friend of mine who left China and attend high school in US said he didn't need to make any efforts to get As in math class, and most scary/unbelievable part, he said he's a C student on math in his class back in China.

heh. i am an immigrant and i remember when i took GRE as a college student. i couldn't believe the questions on the quantitative part. everyone i knew was at the 99th percentile. i did mine in half a time and scored 800.

that said SATs and GREs are a separate issue from the math curriculum. these tests simply don't test math knowledge but rather math ability. they are more like IQ tests than math tests. that is unrelated to math knowledge american students learn in school. even american students learn much more advanced concepts than those utilized on these tests. i say this is someone who is highly critical of the way american children learn math and consider these tests to be a big a problem with the admission process at american colleges. however, i do think american children would be better in math if they had to take real math tests for college.

I agree that SATs and GREs are separate issues. But that's the well known test around the world you can compare the test result of math. The experience with my friend is more concrete (as from C to A) also he mentioned that he didn't learn anything new in HS for math. That means he's already ahead of US HS students at least three years on math in middle school.

I must say that I am surprised. This is what I used to think but don't think anymore. As I said previously, the problem I see is the depth not the topic covered. My impressions is that Americans do calciulus on 12th grade. I am an immigrant from Eastern Europe and went to #1 magnet in my country. I also learned calculus in 12th grade. The difference is we were doing pretty difficult problems. Also there was calculus on the entrance exams so you can't really get into college for many majors if you are not fluent in it.

PP here, I would think it is the depth if he went from C to A, but at least there are something related to topic covered or he would not say that he didn't learn much new in HS. But either way, it doesn't matter, what matters is from that I can say math is such a joke in US schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course. American schools are very behind. We tutor in math mostly.

So at age 17 what level of math have kids in other countries reached? Is differential equations really so far behind the rest of the world?

Don't know about other part of the world, but definitely far behind Asia. Middle school graduates in China (about age 15) can tackle SAT math problems without much trouble and get high scores. High school graduates consider themselves a big failure if not getting full score in GRE testings on math part. A Chinese friend of mine who left China and attend high school in US said he didn't need to make any efforts to get As in math class, and most scary/unbelievable part, he said he's a C student on math in his class back in China.

heh. i am an immigrant and i remember when i took GRE as a college student. i couldn't believe the questions on the quantitative part. everyone i knew was at the 99th percentile. i did mine in half a time and scored 800.

that said SATs and GREs are a separate issue from the math curriculum. these tests simply don't test math knowledge but rather math ability. they are more like IQ tests than math tests. that is unrelated to math knowledge american students learn in school. even american students learn much more advanced concepts than those utilized on these tests. i say this is someone who is highly critical of the way american children learn math and consider these tests to be a big a problem with the admission process at american colleges. however, i do think american children would be better in math if they had to take real math tests for college.

I agree that SATs and GREs are separate issues. But that's the well known test around the world you can compare the test result of math. The experience with my friend is more concrete (as from C to A) also he mentioned that he didn't learn anything new in HS for math. That means he's already ahead of US HS students at least three years on math in middle school.

I must say that I am surprised. This is what I used to think but don't think anymore. As I said previously, the problem I see is the depth not the topic covered. My impressions is that Americans do calciulus on 12th grade. I am an immigrant from Eastern Europe and went to #1 magnet in my country. I also learned calculus in 12th grade. The difference is we were doing pretty difficult problems. Also there was calculus on the entrance exams so you can't really get into college for many majors if you are not fluent in it.

PP here, I would think it is the depth if he went from C to A, but at least there are something related to topic covered or he would not say that he didn't learn much new in HS. But either way, it doesn't matter, what matters is from that I can say math is such a joke in US schools.

So do they do, for example, calculus, in middle school in China?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not exactly sure what you mean by supplement, but here is what we do for a family with 3 elementary aged kids (5, 7, 10)

2. Each of our children takes music lessons, language lessons and a sport/physical activity. All three children take Spanish lessons, 2 take piano lessons, 1 takes violin lessons, they play tennis, basketball, and swimming. Our oldest recently started weekly chess sessions with my FIL.

Do you and your husband each get to do weekly music lessons, language lessons, and sports/physical activities, or equivalents? Do you have any time for your own activities? I can't see how, with 3 kids x 3 activities each week. Or do you have a nanny or car pools that take the kids to some of these?

I'm all for exposing kids to a variety of content and skills - we do lots of library trips, reading, musems, etc. - but think it's important for kids to see that parents have their own activities and interests, too. And kids need ample time to learn to amuse themselves.

NP - -these things are not mutually exclusive. My kids activities are all after school. Music teacher comes to the house, other activities are at school (kids walk to school). The only thing we have to drive them to is weekend competitions 1x per month. Plenty of time for ourselves and for family time too.

I am OP of the post about my kids' activities..... Yes, my husband and I have our own interests and we do things as a family as well. I work from home, so I am the carpool . My husband and I have taken classes at L'Acadamie de Cuisine together, he golfs, I swim and play tennis. He coaches our daughter's basketball team. Although I play piano, I am not their tutor but I can provide guidance if they get stuck while practicing. It is possible for children to have activities and eat dinner as a family every night (especially while they are so young). As I said before, this will likely change as they get older but for now it works well.

[Anonymous]

I don't blame the school but both my kids needed tutoring in math. Worth every penny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't blame the school but both my kids needed tutoring in math. Worth every penny.

Why don't you blame the school? Seems like the point of public education is that students can get what they need from school. Otherwise, students who can't afford tutors are at a disadvantage.

[Anonymous]

ReadingCoach-DMV is a highly structured literacy program for Pre-School through fifth-grade scholars. ReadingCoach-DMV exists to increase reading fluency, one child at a time. We believe proficient reading and writing transforms lives and empower both scholars and communities.

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[Anonymous]

FCPS. We do Mathnasium two days a week and foreign language on weekends. Plus occasional lessons in Minecraft or Lego or whatever the school is offering. Plus sports. Hi, haters.

[Anonymous]

No. Never have. And at 16, 13 and 11, my kids are excelling. Not trying to brag, I'd never say that if it weren't anonymous. I am surprised when I hear friends say they were quizzing their children before a test or questioning why the teacher didn't give out a study guide. I honestly don't know when my kids have tests. I do have high expectations for them in school. It's not as if I don't care. I just haven't gotten involved in that way and it has worked well for us.

Cheap skate who relies on the tax payers to teach your kids. As a kid I'm glad I'm not part of your household!

[Anonymous]

Just imagine if you lived in a country without legal requirement to send to a school. What would you do? Take lessons for homeschool parents on how to raise educated children?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I'm European. Children in my country learn cursive first, then block lettering (which is so awkward and impedes fast and elegant handwriting). So one of the first things I taught my kids was cursive.

Then elementary school math moves very slowly in this country, contrary to middle and high school math, if you're on the fast track. Therefore it's important to me that my children know their math facts cold, and can also reflect on math problems. They are interested in science, and will not go far in science without math. Facts are only the first part of the work. The second is developing critical thinking by solving problems, which schools don't do enough of (they "don't have the time"). Students will not be able to go on to higher math in middle school if they haven't learned to solve multi-step problems.

After that, there's writing. MCPS does an excellent job of introducing different types of writing, but does a God-awful job of coaching each student in their own writing, since classes are large and teachers don't have the gift of ubiquity. So the children write at home during the holidays, and I pay particular attention to their writing homework during the school year.

Beyond that, we talk about history, science, art, music, as a family. We love classical music, so my children have private music classes for their instrument and will soon involve theory and composition too.

Oh, and they go to weekend school to learn their native language: grammar, spelling, culture, etc.

How did you teach them cursive? Block lettering seems like such a waste of time, since it doesn't need to be learned, if you know cursive, you can do both... I would love to teach it, so if anyone has any recommendations?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FCPS. We do Mathnasium two days a week and foreign language on weekends. Plus occasional lessons in Minecraft or Lego or whatever the school is offering. Plus sports. Hi, haters.

Not hating at all. Think this is probably the best way to do it. Public schools have a very uneven offering. Zoned for a great cluster? You get all of the benefits of the above. Don't have the right zip code and your kids miss these opportunities. Don't blame parents one bit for doing what you've done. Seems the smart thing to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

No. Never have. And at 16, 13 and 11, my kids are excelling. Not trying to brag, I'd never say that if it weren't anonymous. I am surprised when I hear friends say they were quizzing their children before a test or questioning why the teacher didn't give out a study guide. I honestly don't know when my kids have tests. I do have high expectations for them in school. It's not as if I don't care. I just haven't gotten involved in that way and it has worked well for us.

Cheap skate who relies on the tax payers to teach your kids. As a kid I'm glad I'm not part of your household!

Huh? Don't most people "rely on taxpayers" as far as education? I mean most people do send their kids to public school

[Anonymous]

I have a first grader and do supplement with writing and math workbooks. I feel like I need start working on spelling because there's been no emphasis on it so far...