Taking math classes at the local college

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

The point is that if you are "interested in math", skipping learning high school math and rushing superficially through calculus is stupid.

[/quote]

According to you, getting a 5 in AP Calculus in 5th grade is rushing superficially through calculus and is ‘stupid’ because it doesn’t satisfy your desire to also see a high AMC score to give that kid your nod of approval. Luckily he doesn’t need it or cares about it.

If you’ll look that kid up, he ended up graduating high school one year early as a valedictorian, was very involved in robotics competitions and software development and is now at Duke. That’s being successful by any objective measure.[/quote]

No one said the kid wasn't successful. None of that has anything to do with going to college for a calculus class in 5th grade. That's success is a normal outcome for people taking calculus in 9th, 10th, or 11th.

[Anonymous]

What are you trying to say here? That he wasted his potential because his accomplishments are underwhelming after taking calculus in 5th grade? Your metric for success is very narrow, and think that while he did great, it wasn’t Terence Tao level of greatness. Shrug, who cares.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What are you trying to say here? That he wasted his potential because his accomplishments are underwhelming after taking calculus in 5th grade? Your metric for success is very narrow, and think that while he did great, it wasn’t Terence Tao level of greatness. Shrug, who cares.

I know. Is this argument still going on after 5 days? Yeesh. Ignore the troll.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous]
No one said the kid wasn't successful. None of that has anything to do with going to college for a calculus class in 5th grade. That's success is a normal outcome for people taking calculus in 9th, 10th, or 11th.[/quote]

So? Maybe the kid just isn't into competitions. It sounds like the kid is very successful and wasn't hurt in any way by taking calculus early. I'm not sure what the problem is. Also, graduating a year early, being valedictorian, and being accepted (perhaps with a scholarship) to Duke isn't a "normal outcome" for any kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in first grade and we are working through a calculus textbook at home. Math just comes to him. Would love for him to get a better foundation than I can provide. These college classes sound expensive though. What is the cost?

I have seen claims like this before on DCUM and it blows my mind. I don't think this is actually possible, but I could be wrong! I don't know enough about giftedness. Can you elaborate on how your child has the knowledge and cognitive foundation for calculus at age 6/7?

It's possible the child is capable doing, say, the power rule, but might not be able to prove the quotient rule via the chain rule, product rule, and the derivative of 1/x (to be fair, most high school calculus students can't either). Note that a parent with typical calculus knowledge may not understand the pedagogical difference and thus believe their child is "doing calculus" (which they are, albeit in the shallowest sense).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in first grade and we are working through a calculus textbook at home. Math just comes to him. Would love for him to get a better foundation than I can provide. These college classes sound expensive though. What is the cost?

I have seen claims like this before on DCUM and it blows my mind. I don't think this is actually possible, but I could be wrong! I don't know enough about giftedness. Can you elaborate on how your child has the knowledge and cognitive foundation for calculus at age 6/7?

In terms of your q, if your child is that intelligent, not sure they need to go to college to learn anything. Stick with textbooks and tutors? Or see if DC can audit? There's also MOOCs, which could be a lot better than any inperson instruction where you are at the mercy of who ever gets assigned to teach the course (whereas MOOCs often have amazing teachers). DC must also be able to use a computer by now.

Kid is 6yo and uses computers. He was reading chapter books during K so we focused on math over the summer. Algebra, geometry, trigonometry, etc. I’m not saying he has mastered anything but we are working through a calculus textbook now to keep him interested. I’m really confused what to do about school so I do appreciate the suggestions. I was initially considering college courses as an option a few years from now, but he also deserves a childhood and likes playing with kids his age. We are private people and don’t want any attention.

Check out Epsilon camp, if you have the money (if you don't, they have financial aid available). It might be one of the few places in the country you could reliably find other kids like him at his age with whom he can play math and develop friendships. I would also strongly suggest you look at the books from The Art of Problem Solving. For example, here's the prealgebra text: https://artofproblemsolving.com/store/book/prealgebra. Note that they have a "do you need this" test available. If he can pass that test, start with their algebra text: https://artofproblemsolving.com/store/book/intro-algebra. If money is an issue, https://artofproblemsolving.com/alcumus (better than mathcounts trainer IMO) is free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you seem to go for some very specific classes, like applied math at the local college (I assume community college). The options are not going to be too deep or wide. Genuinely interested on what the prerequisites for your sons class are.

I think your son would be better served by general education classes, instead of some narrow class that likely isn’t even for credit and sounds more like a hobby class. Something along the lines for typical math sequence from algebra to differential equations. There are also general science and programming classes that are needed for a solid foundation for stem majors.

I don’t know if you intended this as a brag fest, but I’ll play along. 5th grade, precalculus and statistics.

If people are being serious in this thread, what are your kids doing to get to precalc by the time they are 10? Study for 4 hours a day? Or is "getting" to precalc mean being exposed to all the math between arithmetic and precalc, but not really mastering anything?

It’s about1 hour a day, but done very consistently, and it includes weekends, school breaks etc.

Which curriculum?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those of you whose children have taken college math classes in middle school, what courses using applied math have you found that your child enjoyed? Mine has met the requirements for an engineering class using 3d printing. As an 8th grader he ABSOLUTELY LOVES this course. It is a mix of compsci, math and just plain fun.

Our local community college doesn't accept middle schoolers (we know because we tried), and neither does the local university (too many special rules to follow...)
You must have a great college at your place, or perhaps a "college" that's desperate for tuition money?

Same. No college wants unaccompanied 12 yr olds on campus taking classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you seem to go for some very specific classes, like applied math at the local college (I assume community college). The options are not going to be too deep or wide. Genuinely interested on what the prerequisites for your sons class are.

I think your son would be better served by general education classes, instead of some narrow class that likely isn’t even for credit and sounds more like a hobby class. Something along the lines for typical math sequence from algebra to differential equations. There are also general science and programming classes that are needed for a solid foundation for stem majors.

I don’t know if you intended this as a brag fest, but I’ll play along. 5th grade, precalculus and statistics.

If people are being serious in this thread, what are your kids doing to get to precalc by the time they are 10? Study for 4 hours a day? Or is "getting" to precalc mean being exposed to all the math between arithmetic and precalc, but not really mastering anything?

It’s about1 hour a day, but done very consistently, and it includes weekends, school breaks etc.

Which curriculum?

Varies, but mostly Khan Academy, the community college curriculum, and AOPS, roughly in that order.