Reply to What courses does a child need to take to make it into Algebra in 8th grade?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I teach 8th grade algebra (different county).  Please don't push kids if they aren't ready.  Every fall I have hours of phone calls and conferences with families showing them that their kids are going to struggle due to major deficiencies that taking the "normal" tracked math would solve.  Every year, those parents push back, saying their child is capable, they will help him/her, and they want him there.

Every year in June, I fill out forms for the same kids, so that they are eligible to retake algebra because they got D's/F's and didn't pass their state tests.  They will now have to retake algebra in high school, with many of the same deficiencies they had before (we don't have time to focus on integer operations when we're solving equations, so unless I can convince the child to stay after school or come in at lunch, they rarely get better at it).

The difference is, the kids now hate math, think they suck at it, and believe they are dumb and can't learn while their friends move forward.

If your child is showing aptitude and their teachers from prior years strongly recommend it, great.  But if there's any hesitation, it's so much better to shore up the foundation than to push forward and watch their confidence and determination crumble.[/quote]

Wow, you sound like a real positive influence to our children.  Maybe you are why they lost the confidence.[/quote]

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