Algebra 2 after summer geometry: online or in person?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An update: after a meeting with the principal and head counselor where the parents of rising 8th graders made their concerns known, the school made the decision to offer Algebra 2 in person this year. A great outcome and much appreciation for the flexibility and openness KMS showed. It really is a very good school.

Great. Kids who really need resources get fewer so that your UMC snowflakes aren't inconvenienced in the slightest by the consequences of your own poor choices. Yay!

You have such venom for advanced students…why?

Shortchanging math does no good and is emblematic of education being about ‘winning’ and not about learning. There is no reason to cram a year’s worth of fundamental math into six weeks. Until there are real immediate consequences for people doing so (as opposed to the later gaps that might not be noticed for years), people will continue to do so.

A simple improvement to minimize the number of students going through this path but lacking strong fundamentals, would be to just give them a geometry test prior to the start of school, or even before school starts but after summer geometry ends. Ensure the test is equivalent to a final exam that would be given to those completing the full year version. If the summer geometry students do well enough (whatever that metric may be) on it, then they should be ready for algebra 2; if not then they clearly have holes and it would be highly advisable not to skip.

I realize that this puts more pressure on these kids during the summer, but asking for pressure is part of signing up for this summer option in the first place. So if a family commits to this, it should be done correctly, including testing the student at the end to make sure they truly learned the concepts.

You can't do that in a public school. Virtual Virginia credits are just as valid as FCPS credits and have to be accepted by FCPS

Why couldn't you do that in VA? Are you saying a school is not legally allowed to give a student an exam to check whether they have actually learned a year's worth of material in 6 weeks? That would be strange and broken.

It's a credit from another Virginia public school, FCPS has to accept it. If it were up to FCPS, summer geometry wouldn't even be an option after 7th- their hands are tied

How do parents enroll their middle schoolers in VAVA to take summer geometry when enrolling for the highschool (geometry is a highschool course at VAVA) requires having completed 8th grade and the relevant SOLs? https://vava.k12.com/how-it-works/how-to-enroll/eligibility-requirements/#:~:text=the%20following%20criteria.-,Applicants%20for,%2Dgrade%2Dlevel%20reading%20proficiency.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An update: after a meeting with the principal and head counselor where the parents of rising 8th graders made their concerns known, the school made the decision to offer Algebra 2 in person this year. A great outcome and much appreciation for the flexibility and openness KMS showed. It really is a very good school.

Great. Kids who really need resources get fewer so that your UMC snowflakes aren't inconvenienced in the slightest by the consequences of your own poor choices. Yay!

You have such venom for advanced students…why?

Shortchanging math does no good and is emblematic of education being about ‘winning’ and not about learning. There is no reason to cram a year’s worth of fundamental math into six weeks. Until there are real immediate consequences for people doing so (as opposed to the later gaps that might not be noticed for years), people will continue to do so.

A simple improvement to minimize the number of students going through this path but lacking strong fundamentals, would be to just give them a geometry test prior to the start of school, or even before school starts but after summer geometry ends. Ensure the test is equivalent to a final exam that would be given to those completing the full year version. If the summer geometry students do well enough (whatever that metric may be) on it, then they should be ready for algebra 2; if not then they clearly have holes and it would be highly advisable not to skip.

I realize that this puts more pressure on these kids during the summer, but asking for pressure is part of signing up for this summer option in the first place. So if a family commits to this, it should be done correctly, including testing the student at the end to make sure they truly learned the concepts.

You can't do that in a public school. Virtual Virginia credits are just as valid as FCPS credits and have to be accepted by FCPS

That test already exists, it’s called geometry SOL

And it's optional

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An update: after a meeting with the principal and head counselor where the parents of rising 8th graders made their concerns known, the school made the decision to offer Algebra 2 in person this year. A great outcome and much appreciation for the flexibility and openness KMS showed. It really is a very good school.

Great. Kids who really need resources get fewer so that your UMC snowflakes aren't inconvenienced in the slightest by the consequences of your own poor choices. Yay!

You have such venom for advanced students…why?

Shortchanging math does no good and is emblematic of education being about ‘winning’ and not about learning. There is no reason to cram a year’s worth of fundamental math into six weeks. Until there are real immediate consequences for people doing so (as opposed to the later gaps that might not be noticed for years), people will continue to do so.

A simple improvement to minimize the number of students going through this path but lacking strong fundamentals, would be to just give them a geometry test prior to the start of school, or even before school starts but after summer geometry ends. Ensure the test is equivalent to a final exam that would be given to those completing the full year version. If the summer geometry students do well enough (whatever that metric may be) on it, then they should be ready for algebra 2; if not then they clearly have holes and it would be highly advisable not to skip.

I realize that this puts more pressure on these kids during the summer, but asking for pressure is part of signing up for this summer option in the first place. So if a family commits to this, it should be done correctly, including testing the student at the end to make sure they truly learned the concepts.

You can't do that in a public school. Virtual Virginia credits are just as valid as FCPS credits and have to be accepted by FCPS

That test already exists, it’s called geometry SOL

And it's optional

It’s easier to make it mandatory for the summer geometry crew than to implement a whole another test before school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An update: after a meeting with the principal and head counselor where the parents of rising 8th graders made their concerns known, the school made the decision to offer Algebra 2 in person this year. A great outcome and much appreciation for the flexibility and openness KMS showed. It really is a very good school.

Great. Kids who really need resources get fewer so that your UMC snowflakes aren't inconvenienced in the slightest by the consequences of your own poor choices. Yay!

You have such venom for advanced students…why?

Shortchanging math does no good and is emblematic of education being about ‘winning’ and not about learning. There is no reason to cram a year’s worth of fundamental math into six weeks. Until there are real immediate consequences for people doing so (as opposed to the later gaps that might not be noticed for years), people will continue to do so.

A simple improvement to minimize the number of students going through this path but lacking strong fundamentals, would be to just give them a geometry test prior to the start of school, or even before school starts but after summer geometry ends. Ensure the test is equivalent to a final exam that would be given to those completing the full year version. If the summer geometry students do well enough (whatever that metric may be) on it, then they should be ready for algebra 2; if not then they clearly have holes and it would be highly advisable not to skip.

I realize that this puts more pressure on these kids during the summer, but asking for pressure is part of signing up for this summer option in the first place. So if a family commits to this, it should be done correctly, including testing the student at the end to make sure they truly learned the concepts.

You can't do that in a public school. Virtual Virginia credits are just as valid as FCPS credits and have to be accepted by FCPS

Why couldn't you do that in VA? Are you saying a school is not legally allowed to give a student an exam to check whether they have actually learned a year's worth of material in 6 weeks? That would be strange and broken.

It's a credit from another Virginia public school, FCPS has to accept it. If it were up to FCPS, summer geometry wouldn't even be an option after 7th- their hands are tied

How do parents enroll their middle schoolers in VAVA to take summer geometry when enrolling for the highschool (geometry is a highschool course at VAVA) requires having completed 8th grade and the relevant SOLs? https://vava.k12.com/how-it-works/how-to-enroll/eligibility-requirements/#:~:text=the%20following%20criteria.-,Applicants%20for,%2Dgrade%2Dlevel%20reading%20proficiency.

Because a real prerequisite for geometry is completing Algebra 1, not being in high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An update: after a meeting with the principal and head counselor where the parents of rising 8th graders made their concerns known, the school made the decision to offer Algebra 2 in person this year. A great outcome and much appreciation for the flexibility and openness KMS showed. It really is a very good school.

Great. Kids who really need resources get fewer so that your UMC snowflakes aren't inconvenienced in the slightest by the consequences of your own poor choices. Yay!

You have such venom for advanced students…why?

Shortchanging math does no good and is emblematic of education being about ‘winning’ and not about learning. There is no reason to cram a year’s worth of fundamental math into six weeks. Until there are real immediate consequences for people doing so (as opposed to the later gaps that might not be noticed for years), people will continue to do so.

A simple improvement to minimize the number of students going through this path but lacking strong fundamentals, would be to just give them a geometry test prior to the start of school, or even before school starts but after summer geometry ends. Ensure the test is equivalent to a final exam that would be given to those completing the full year version. If the summer geometry students do well enough (whatever that metric may be) on it, then they should be ready for algebra 2; if not then they clearly have holes and it would be highly advisable not to skip.

I realize that this puts more pressure on these kids during the summer, but asking for pressure is part of signing up for this summer option in the first place. So if a family commits to this, it should be done correctly, including testing the student at the end to make sure they truly learned the concepts.

You can't do that in a public school. Virtual Virginia credits are just as valid as FCPS credits and have to be accepted by FCPS

That test already exists, it’s called geometry SOL

And it's optional

It’s easier to make it mandatory for the summer geometry crew than to implement a whole another test before school.

How so? Anyone completing the class has completed geometry as far as FCPS and the state are concerned. The next class in sequence is algebra 2, so that’s what kids take. If you want to make everyone taking a summer class take SOLs, then a lot of kids taking them to make up credit won’t graduate

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An update: after a meeting with the principal and head counselor where the parents of rising 8th graders made their concerns known, the school made the decision to offer Algebra 2 in person this year. A great outcome and much appreciation for the flexibility and openness KMS showed. It really is a very good school.

Great. Kids who really need resources get fewer so that your UMC snowflakes aren't inconvenienced in the slightest by the consequences of your own poor choices. Yay!

You have such venom for advanced students…why?

Shortchanging math does no good and is emblematic of education being about ‘winning’ and not about learning. There is no reason to cram a year’s worth of fundamental math into six weeks. Until there are real immediate consequences for people doing so (as opposed to the later gaps that might not be noticed for years), people will continue to do so.

A simple improvement to minimize the number of students going through this path but lacking strong fundamentals, would be to just give them a geometry test prior to the start of school, or even before school starts but after summer geometry ends. Ensure the test is equivalent to a final exam that would be given to those completing the full year version. If the summer geometry students do well enough (whatever that metric may be) on it, then they should be ready for algebra 2; if not then they clearly have holes and it would be highly advisable not to skip.

I realize that this puts more pressure on these kids during the summer, but asking for pressure is part of signing up for this summer option in the first place. So if a family commits to this, it should be done correctly, including testing the student at the end to make sure they truly learned the concepts.

There is both a midterm and a final exam in summer geometry. They are in person and should be equivalent to the full year versions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An update: after a meeting with the principal and head counselor where the parents of rising 8th graders made their concerns known, the school made the decision to offer Algebra 2 in person this year. A great outcome and much appreciation for the flexibility and openness KMS showed. It really is a very good school.

Great. Kids who really need resources get fewer so that your UMC snowflakes aren't inconvenienced in the slightest by the consequences of your own poor choices. Yay!

You have such venom for advanced students…why?

Shortchanging math does no good and is emblematic of education being about ‘winning’ and not about learning. There is no reason to cram a year’s worth of fundamental math into six weeks. Until there are real immediate consequences for people doing so (as opposed to the later gaps that might not be noticed for years), people will continue to do so.

Meh. You have no evidence that the kid shortchanged math. Some of the kids in summer geometry already took AoPS Geometry, which is much more comprehensive than FCPS geometry.
Admit it. You hate seeing kids accelerate because you're afraid that your kid will look worse in comparison. Math is one of the few areas where mastery of fundamentals can be objectively measured. There's no reason for all of the handwringing about 'hyperacceleration' or fundamentals. The people complaining about math acceleration are just upset to see other kids surpassing their kid.

I really think that some people are just opposed to acceleration for ideological reasons and don’t want anyone to do it since they decided their kids won’t be doing it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An update: after a meeting with the principal and head counselor where the parents of rising 8th graders made their concerns known, the school made the decision to offer Algebra 2 in person this year. A great outcome and much appreciation for the flexibility and openness KMS showed. It really is a very good school.

Great. Kids who really need resources get fewer so that your UMC snowflakes aren't inconvenienced in the slightest by the consequences of your own poor choices. Yay!

You have such venom for advanced students…why?

Shortchanging math does no good and is emblematic of education being about ‘winning’ and not about learning. There is no reason to cram a year’s worth of fundamental math into six weeks. Until there are real immediate consequences for people doing so (as opposed to the later gaps that might not be noticed for years), people will continue to do so.

Meh. You have no evidence that the kid shortchanged math. Some of the kids in summer geometry already took AoPS Geometry, which is much more comprehensive than FCPS geometry.
Admit it. You hate seeing kids accelerate because you're afraid that your kid will look worse in comparison. Math is one of the few areas where mastery of fundamentals can be objectively measured. There's no reason for all of the handwringing about 'hyperacceleration' or fundamentals. The people complaining about math acceleration are just upset to see other kids surpassing their kid.

I really think that some people are just opposed to acceleration for ideological reasons and don’t want anyone to do it since they decided their kids won’t be doing it.

I personally am not opposed to acceleration. I am opposed to cramming. Math is best learned and retained through time and repetition, not five weeks of summer school.

If 6th graders are taking Algebra, that’s fine by me. But the sixth grade parents are told before they say yes that their child may have to take the class at the MS, or may have 8th grade math at the high school, or senior year math at the college. They are told that because it is the school doing the accelerating, not parents adding summer school to keep up with the Joneses.

[Anonymous]

What makes you think parents are adding summer school to keep up with the Joneses?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What makes you think parents are adding summer school to keep up with the Joneses?

It’s not summer school—summer school is nearly eight weeks long, offered at the home school, requested by the home school, and for remediation.

This is cramming to get ahead instead of appreciating and really absorbing fundamental math upon which the highest levels really depend by taking advantage of a program designed for kids who failed the class the first time.

If a kid was that passionate about and gifted in math that they’re willing to give up their entire summer for cramming, they would have been in algebra in 6th to begin with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What makes you think parents are adding summer school to keep up with the Joneses?

It’s not summer school—summer school is nearly eight weeks long, offered at the home school, requested by the home school, and for remediation.

This is cramming to get ahead instead of appreciating and really absorbing fundamental math upon which the highest levels really depend by taking advantage of a program designed for kids who failed the class the first time.

If a kid was that passionate about and gifted in math that they’re willing to give up their entire summer for cramming, they would have been in algebra in 6th to begin with.

Ok, but just to be clear here: You're not including kids who have already done a year of geometry outside the school (a seemingly more common thing these days and in this area) in your argument, right? If you are, then explain how they'd be giving up their entire summer if they already learned the material and just want to check it off?

This is exactly the reason why testing should be the norm anytime a family wants to skip a year. The kids who already spent a year (and did well) shouldn't have to waste 6 weeks checking things off; an administered test is much quicker. At the same time, the kids who were enrolled to get ahead and have never seen the material before should be thoroughly tested by the school to make sure they've truly 'absorbed fundamental math', as you said.

It is not possible to thoroughly and truly learn a year of material in six weeks at that age. One can't just make a scaling argument, i.e. that if you quadruple the amount of time spent per day, it will lead to 4x the learning. The brain simply does not work this way because it needs time and rest; both necessary inputs to learning. All teachers know this. Therefore, departments of education should recognize and be able to differentiate between kids who already did a year of rigorous geometry and do not want to repeat it verbatim in school, with the kids who are being hyper accelerated to essentially 'absorb' and immediately 'regurgitate' the material. This doesn't even take into account that it's almost all being done virtually in 6 weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What makes you think parents are adding summer school to keep up with the Joneses?

It’s not summer school—summer school is nearly eight weeks long, offered at the home school, requested by the home school, and for remediation.

This is cramming to get ahead instead of appreciating and really absorbing fundamental math upon which the highest levels really depend by taking advantage of a program designed for kids who failed the class the first time.

If a kid was that passionate about and gifted in math that they’re willing to give up their entire summer for cramming, they would have been in algebra in 6th to begin with.

If summer school were purely for remediation, they wouldn’t offer Honors sections. Summer honors courses are obviously for kids who are trying to accelerate.

Also, many kids who are passionate about and gifted in math are shut out of 6th grade Algebra in FCPS. Qualification for 6th grade Algebra is at least partially based on the CogAT score from the fall of 2nd grade. Also many schools don’t offer the path even when kids meet the qualification scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What makes you think parents are adding summer school to keep up with the Joneses?

It’s not summer school—summer school is nearly eight weeks long, offered at the home school, requested by the home school, and for remediation.

This is cramming to get ahead instead of appreciating and really absorbing fundamental math upon which the highest levels really depend by taking advantage of a program designed for kids who failed the class the first time.

If a kid was that passionate about and gifted in math that they’re willing to give up their entire summer for cramming, they would have been in algebra in 6th to begin with.

Ok, but just to be clear here: You're not including kids who have already done a year of geometry outside the school (a seemingly more common thing these days and in this area) in your argument, right? If you are, then explain how they'd be giving up their entire summer if they already learned the material and just want to check it off?

This is exactly the reason why testing should be the norm anytime a family wants to skip a year. The kids who already spent a year (and did well) shouldn't have to waste 6 weeks checking things off; an administered test is much quicker. At the same time, the kids who were enrolled to get ahead and have never seen the material before should be thoroughly tested by the school to make sure they've truly 'absorbed fundamental math', as you said.

Algebra and geometry are important subject. But we pass kids through those subjects all the time when they don't have proficiency. By your reasoning, shouldn't we also require an achievement test to make sure kids understand algebra before we allow them to take geometry?
I don't disagree. I think we graduate way too many math illiterates.
But there would be waaay too many kids that would never make it past algebra if we actually had achievement standards.

It is not possible to thoroughly and truly learn a year of material in six weeks at that age. One can't just make a scaling argument, i.e. that if you quadruple the amount of time spent per day, it will lead to 4x the learning. The brain simply does not work this way because it needs time and rest; both necessary inputs to learning. All teachers know this. Therefore, departments of education should recognize and be able to differentiate between kids who already did a year of rigorous geometry and do not want to repeat it verbatim in school, with the kids who are being hyper accelerated to essentially 'absorb' and immediately 'regurgitate' the material. This doesn't even take into account that it's almost all being done virtually in 6 weeks.

Wait. So their brain can handle 5+ hours of learning if it is split up into half a dozen subjects but cannot handle 3 hours of learning in a single subject? Do you have any evidence for this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What makes you think parents are adding summer school to keep up with the Joneses?

It’s not summer school—summer school is nearly eight weeks long, offered at the home school, requested by the home school, and for remediation.

This is cramming to get ahead instead of appreciating and really absorbing fundamental math upon which the highest levels really depend by taking advantage of a program designed for kids who failed the class the first time.

If a kid was that passionate about and gifted in math that they’re willing to give up their entire summer for cramming, they would have been in algebra in 6th to begin with.

Ok, but just to be clear here: You're not including kids who have already done a year of geometry outside the school (a seemingly more common thing these days and in this area) in your argument, right? If you are, then explain how they'd be giving up their entire summer if they already learned the material and just want to check it off?

This is exactly the reason why testing should be the norm anytime a family wants to skip a year. The kids who already spent a year (and did well) shouldn't have to waste 6 weeks checking things off; an administered test is much quicker. At the same time, the kids who were enrolled to get ahead and have never seen the material before should be thoroughly tested by the school to make sure they've truly 'absorbed fundamental math', as you said.

Algebra and geometry are important subject. But we pass kids through those subjects all the time when they don't have proficiency. By your reasoning, shouldn't we also require an achievement test to make sure kids understand algebra before we allow them to take geometry?
I don't disagree. I think we graduate way too many math illiterates.
But there would be waaay too many kids that would never make it past algebra if we actually had achievement standards.

It is not possible to thoroughly and truly learn a year of material in six weeks at that age. One can't just make a scaling argument, i.e. that if you quadruple the amount of time spent per day, it will lead to 4x the learning. The brain simply does not work this way because it needs time and rest; both necessary inputs to learning. All teachers know this. Therefore, departments of education should recognize and be able to differentiate between kids who already did a year of rigorous geometry and do not want to repeat it verbatim in school, with the kids who are being hyper accelerated to essentially 'absorb' and immediately 'regurgitate' the material. This doesn't even take into account that it's almost all being done virtually in 6 weeks.

Wait. So their brain can handle 5+ hours of learning if it is split up into half a dozen subjects but cannot handle 3 hours of learning in a single subject? Do you have any evidence for this?

First, how did you conclude 3 hours? It is around 5-6 hours of geometry because it's a 6 week to a year compression ratio.

Second, yes, developing brains (and even mature adult brains) need time to digest abstract concepts. We are not purely information processors where we can just absorb and retain mathematical information without reflection and practice. Hence, what is happening here is that the geometry is diluted or stripped down so that kids can absorb it all in this short time period, which is inversely proportional to mastery and understanding of the subject.

Yes, we should have standards, but as you said, it would mean failing a lot of people. But in extreme situations like this where natural learning cycle is modified and compressed, there should definitely be a gate check afterwards to see that we're not actually causing more harm than good to kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What makes you think parents are adding summer school to keep up with the Joneses?

It’s not summer school—summer school is nearly eight weeks long, offered at the home school, requested by the home school, and for remediation.

This is cramming to get ahead instead of appreciating and really absorbing fundamental math upon which the highest levels really depend by taking advantage of a program designed for kids who failed the class the first time.

If a kid was that passionate about and gifted in math that they’re willing to give up their entire summer for cramming, they would have been in algebra in 6th to begin with.

Ok, but just to be clear here: You're not including kids who have already done a year of geometry outside the school (a seemingly more common thing these days and in this area) in your argument, right? If you are, then explain how they'd be giving up their entire summer if they already learned the material and just want to check it off?

This is exactly the reason why testing should be the norm anytime a family wants to skip a year. The kids who already spent a year (and did well) shouldn't have to waste 6 weeks checking things off; an administered test is much quicker. At the same time, the kids who were enrolled to get ahead and have never seen the material before should be thoroughly tested by the school to make sure they've truly 'absorbed fundamental math', as you said.

Algebra and geometry are important subject. But we pass kids through those subjects all the time when they don't have proficiency. By your reasoning, shouldn't we also require an achievement test to make sure kids understand algebra before we allow them to take geometry?
I don't disagree. I think we graduate way too many math illiterates.
But there would be waaay too many kids that would never make it past algebra if we actually had achievement standards.

It is not possible to thoroughly and truly learn a year of material in six weeks at that age. One can't just make a scaling argument, i.e. that if you quadruple the amount of time spent per day, it will lead to 4x the learning. The brain simply does not work this way because it needs time and rest; both necessary inputs to learning. All teachers know this. Therefore, departments of education should recognize and be able to differentiate between kids who already did a year of rigorous geometry and do not want to repeat it verbatim in school, with the kids who are being hyper accelerated to essentially 'absorb' and immediately 'regurgitate' the material. This doesn't even take into account that it's almost all being done virtually in 6 weeks.

Wait. So their brain can handle 5+ hours of learning if it is split up into half a dozen subjects but cannot handle 3 hours of learning in a single subject? Do you have any evidence for this?

First, how did you conclude 3 hours? It is around 5-6 hours of geometry because it's a 6 week to a year compression ratio.

Second, yes, developing brains (and even mature adult brains) need time to digest abstract concepts. We are not purely information processors where we can just absorb and retain mathematical information without reflection and practice. Hence, what is happening here is that the geometry is diluted or stripped down so that kids can absorb it all in this short time period, which is inversely proportional to mastery and understanding of the subject.

Yes, we should have standards, but as you said, it would mean failing a lot of people. But in extreme situations like this where natural learning cycle is modified and compressed, there should definitely be a gate check afterwards to see that we're not actually causing more harm than good to kids.

What is the "natural learning cycle?"

It's 6 straight hours of geometry a day for like 30 days??? Then they're still getting 180 hours of geometry instruction. If the kid doesn't like math, this will be torture but if the kid is proficient at math, they can absorb it just fine. Sure it's more intensive focused study but I don't see how doing 6 hours of one subject is worse than doing 45 minutes of 8 subjects.

Do you have any studies showing that mathematically gifted kids cannot absorb geometry over 180 hours if those 180 hours occurs over 6 weeks? I mean we are talking about mathematically gifted kids, right?