Anonymous wrote:I cannot believe you people pay 40,000 a year for Sidwelll and then go on DCUM of all places for advice about academics and tutors. Why not just talk to the teacher?

I second this . Talk to the teacher! My son goes to another private and they have "math help" hours every day after school. It might not be your teacher every day, but every teacher staffing those hours can help any math student who walks in the door. And my child knows exactly which days his teacher will be there. He also likes to go on the days that last year's teacher runs.

I hate to be that person, but OP you can't help with 9th grade math?

Anonymous wrote:Talk to the teacher and the head of the math department. They will be able to put this in context. In Sidwell 9 th grade really pushes kids in every respect, so some kids, like my son, after talking it over with the school decided to do the regular math track. That way he could spend more time on other subjects. If your worried about college, my son had no problem gaining admission to several excellent colleges, and is a science major.

name them

Talk to the teacher and the head of the math department. They will be able to put this in context. In Sidwell 9 th grade really pushes kids in every respect, so some kids, like my son, after talking it over with the school decided to do the regular math track. That way he could spend more time on other subjects. If your worried about college, my son had no problem gaining admission to several excellent colleges, and is a science major.

I cannot believe you people pay 40,000 a year for Sidwelll and then go on DCUM of all places for advice about academics and tutors. Why not just talk to the teacher?

Op here. Yes, maybe switching him to regular math makes sense. Should we wait a bit before deciding? Do delays make things worse?

My son is in your son's grade, OP. Why not just do the regular math track? 70% of the kids do. My sense is that the faster track is really designed for those kids who foresee engineering and math as their majors. If your son is struggling with the material in his first month of school, I wonder if a math/engineering career is a realistic plan?

I know who this is. He’s in my daughter’s class and and helped the curve big time every test! Keep him in the class please!

His name is Andrew. Just kidding...

Why not just tell all of DCUM your son's name? You've all but outed him already. Poor guy.

NP here. Does Tungsten Prep do middle school too?

My ninth grader Got help from a tutor in the spring but I regret waiting so long. Tungsten Prep was great. I would also consider dropping down a level. It’s ninth grade. Having a good transition to high school is more important than the class.

OP here. Did you mean a math teacher from another high school How does one find such folks?

Find a young math teacher from a nearby school. Sure they would be happy to make some extra money and would definitely help.

But yes, if they are struggling big time in advanced math they should scale down.

DC in 9th. Sidwell. Advanced Math. Doing well on homework and in understanding of materials but seems to be struggling on tests. Testing Anxiety is some part of it for sure, but I also wonder if the demands of the rest of the curriculum mean that he has not been able to give math the attention it deserves. Does it make sense to get help from a tutor. Any parent with experience with tutors?

Are tutors school specific (so they are familiar with the schools curriculum etc)? Any recommendations?

Relatedly, does it make sense to move DC into regular math track?