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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It's OP- hope everyone had a Happy Mother's Day! To the PP above re showing work...agree! DS is a math in his head kid since 4th grade, Core Curriculum enforced the show work mentality and resistance was futile. DS is ok showing work, but this is where he makes many simple mistakes.

DS decided that he'll withdraw. I think  because he's just so fed up that this entire year has hinged on this class and teacher. She wasn't fully on board with double math and she just kept bringing it up. He was the one who insisted on staying the course. Like I said up thread, teacher and counselor got into his head. Teacher less supportive in a passive way (IMO) and I think he became really anxious, running out of time on tests.

That being said, this weekend was interesting. A family member is an admissions director at a private NE high school. She just finished the piles of acceptances/rejections. Her husband is a math/CS guy. DS talked at length with them. Both advised that he withdraw. Reasons from admission director, "every app is a great kid, we don't accept great kids, we accept the great kids with great GPA's".

Her husband agreed, "why wouldn't you retake for a better grade, GPA is most important". He told DS that it was smart for him to double up in math and take the Alg 2 as an elective because that's why he can drop it with no trace. He's a Tufts undergrad / grad alum. He switched careers to a software design startup and told him which part of Calc is used and it's not much. More for an engineering degree. Told him that his ability to build a system, test it and parlay it into a side biz is a pretty big deal.

DH and I are on the fence, but agree that DS should make the decision.

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Good you're allowing him to make the decision.  His teacher is saying he lacks foundation and should retake, and people involved with college admissions are saying retake. [b]Yet, you are on the fence.[/b]  [/quote]

Yes I am and I know it seems crazy, but I know my kid. He's very strong in math. His teacher gave a quiz and test, every week, this entire year. At first I thought this was great, working in smaller chunks. But he has 5 other classes that all test/quiz every week. One of them being an additional math.  Just the luck of the draw for him with teachers this year. I think focusing only on Alg 2 this summer and only pre calc junior year will be less intense. But, like I said, his decision. [/quote]

Top PP again.  I completely understand your perspective.  I posted above about my DC and showing work.  His skills have really picked up over the last year (of pre-calc). Although I don't think his teacher would finger him as a superstar, I'm confident he's well on his way to solid understanding.  I know you're in a different area, but I do think the curriculum re-writes have been part of the issue.  Like I said he's just now coming around to the importance of written math, and I think how did it take so many years?, then I realize he's basically at the same point I would have been at, at the same age.  I took algebra in 9th, but it was highly formal.  He took a class called algebra in 7th but hasn't been forced into formalism until pre-calc, three years later.  Pre-calc covers many more topics than my algebra 1, but there are topics I learned in algebra 1 that he only saw for the first time in pre-calc, e.g. properties of logs and exponents.  I know the idea is to introduce concepts earlier, and in a way that is a more natural transition to formal math, but it can also leave kids flailing around aimlessly for too long.  Teachers talk foundational skills, but these have actually become more wishy washy under the current framework. To exaggerate a little it's like saying, [i]this student has yet to re-invent math independently, there must be something wrong.[/i]  Good luck!  There's no wrong answer, your DC's motivated, he'll take all the courses at some point.[/quote]

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