Reply to I push my kids and have NO shame! You should too!!!

Forum Index » Advanced Academic Programs (AAP)

Reply to "I push my kids and have NO shame! You should too!!!"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Lol! I agree to an extent except I think algebra in 7th is the stupidest trend.[/quote]

Sounds like the rhetoric of an underachiever. [/quote]
I have a STEM PhD from an elite school and agree with this.  Elementary math is too easy.  But it doesn't need more acceleration, it needs more hard problems that force kids to conceptualize the math.   More depth, not more speed.

There's no reason kids can't take Algebra in 8th and still finish Calc BC by senior year.  That's plenty to major in STEM in college.  I actually think it's better to take the next math classes (e.g., Diff Eq and Linear Algebra) when you're taking them at the same time as science or engineering classes that use that math.  It's more immersive and provides better context.  [/quote]

AoPS buffers the Algebra -&gt; Geometry -&gt; Algebra II -&gt; PreCalc progression by inserting two number theory courses and two Counting&Probability courses.  I wish most school systems followed this pattern, since there's no point in having a kid finish Calculus in 10th grade, but know almost nothing about two major branches of mathematics.  Yeah, I know FCPS touches on probability a little in its courses, but it's not even slightly comparable to the AoPS classes.  Algebra in 6th or 7th makes sense for the smart kids, but there's no reason that the Algebra through Calc sequence needs to be compressed to 5 years and needs to omit so many significant math branches.

The main reason so many schools hyper accelerate is that it's the easiest way to handle advanced learners.  The school system could gather more challenging curricula and attempt to differentiate for the top learners, or they could simply bump them up to the next grade without having to do much of anything else.  They're choosing the easiest path rather than the best path.  [/quote]

So true. Like so many other things. Following the easier path doesn't help in the long run. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics