Reply to AOPS - why didn't it work for you?

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[quote=pettifogger][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]AOPS isn't for most kids. They spend 75% of their time focusing on esoteric contest math tricks while skipping over basic skills.[/quote]

+1  You nailed it. I'm a math teacher btw.[/quote]

They are not skipping anything, they expect that kids to already know the basic skills. As many posters have said, it is not a program to build foundational skills. There is an expectation that the kids will have those skills.

Students at our location are evaluated by one of the Teachers or Administrators. DS was given a series of questions, he provided an answer and the evaluator asked him how he had solved the problem. DS would give his explanation and they would discuss different methods for solving the same problem. The problems were on grade level and meant to make sure that he had the basics down. The explanation insured that he understood the principles behind the basics.

I have been told by others that AoPS has no problem with recommending that a 3rd grader take the 2nd grade math because of where they were with their skills or holding kids back the following years because there was concern that the kid did not have a firm enough grasp of the material. We are waiting on the Teachers evaluation from this year.

There are programs that are great for kids who need to build a foundation, that is not AoPS.

[/quote]

Math teacher back.  I never said it was for foundational skills.  I said that the program is about 90% (the other poster said 75% but I think it is around 90%) quick math cheats and tricks, and 10% real, enriching mathematical and concept-building experiences.  If that's what you're about then go for it.[/quote]

Different math teacher here who actually teaches AoPS classes... I strongly disagree with this assessment. Most of the AoPS curriculum is focused on teaching kids how to develop deep problem solving skills of which they'll make use of throughout their life, whether they go into math, sciences/engineering, or any other field. Only a few of the classes (e.g Middle School Contests or High School Contests) have a specific math contest focus meant to help kids do very well in competitions. The majority of courses are rigorous non-contest classes and teach the basics from the ground up (without the repetition that is seen in schools), then use the basics to tackle more difficult problems. Each of these core classes cover what would be taught in a similar class in school, but with a major problem solving component built in (which is so severely lacking in school and in the way math is taught in K12).[/quote]

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