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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I agree that it's not nonsense. Based on what I've seen with my TJ sophomore, it feels pretty accurate.

He would say that the math department teaching is the weakest in the school by far. He's doing well because he puts in hours each night to teach himself. He's had 4 math teachers already and will have had 5 by the end of this year - a different one each semester plus one change mid-semester due to a teacher leaving - and out of all of them he's only had one who he felt was effective. This has not been his experience in the other subjects, where he's had strong instruction.

He loved math before he came to TJ, and while he's still getting As he has lost much of his joy for the subject. He seems to be slowly finding it again now that he's with the effective teacher, which tells me that it's at least partly the instruction, not just the progressive difficulty of the subject, that changed his feelings.

He's a kid who might not have gotten in under the old system (not from a traditional feeder and not a math testing genius) but he's getting straight As and enjoying his TJ experience. The math department has been the one consistent area of disappointment for him, and he knows many other kids who feel the same.[/quote]

My child loved Math before, and now loves TJ Math even more.  Maybe he got lucky with all good teachers thus far.

With RS1, it is mostly introductory topics in statistics and probability, quite different from algebra/geometry oriented middle school math.  Reading the textbook and going through khan academy videos beforehand helps, as data analysis seems easy on the surface but requires attention to detail, and TJ teachers rightfully demand it.

With regard to semester breakdown of Math courses, it is to support the diverse students entering with different levels of math from five different feeder public school systems.  Irrespective of semester or year long format, TJ Math 4,5, and optional 6, are all precalculus topics, which are taught at a rapid pace and at an in-depth level, that middle schoolers are not used to, unless they are mentally prepared and put in the daily effort in/after class.

IMHO, it's unfair to point fingers at the TJ Math curriculum or teachers; instead, the issue lies in the lack of rigor in middle school math. Middle school students are taught math at a superficial level, using cycles of concept introduction followed by short quizzes, and quickly moving onto next concept. What's missing is the essential practice of solving a diverse range of math problems to truly grasp and delve into the depth of each concept.  A student may get all As in middle school math, but could struggle when they get to high school precalculus even at base school.  [/quote]

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