Algebra DVDs
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Geometry DVDs
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Algebra II with Trigonometry DVDs
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Calculus DVDs
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Math and science - are we falling behind?
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Dear Dale,
We have all read the news reports...
"World Crushes U.S. Kids in Math, Science"
We
see titles like this often - most offering doom and gloom for U.S.
society based on poor math scores of our students. Many have also seen
the doom and gloom offered about homeschoolers in math and science. Is
all of this true? Should we worry?
Fact is, the better PUBLIC
schools in the U.S. are internationally competitive in math and science
- and I mean at the very top of the world. Where are these better
schools? Almost always in the most affluent zip codes. Same can be said
of most of the affluent private schools. But, when you average in the
rest of the U.S. school system stats, you get pretty poor performance
-- about 24th of 29 countries rated. I know, the news rarely gets to
these details.
But what about homeschoolers? This is
more concerning. The stats rate homeschooler's math scores right there
with the average of the U.S. public school system. Now that is
scary - since we are talking about a much smaller population of
students and much more parent involvement. What does this mean? Simply
this - most homeschoolers are NOT internationally competitive in math -
and therefore will also fall behind in science.
So who cares?
You should. Even if your child is not planning to go into what we think
of as a science or technology career - they will be living in a
technologically complex society. Their careers will be heavily
impacted by technology. But also consider this - they will be
voting on technological issues such as stem-cell research, nuclear
power, energy conservation, global warming, and creation/evolution.
These are some of the issues today. What will be the issues of
tomorrow?
What about those young women who do not plan
to enter the corporate work force, but instead want to work at
home and educate their children. How will they teach what they do not
know?
| Just things to consider.
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What about prealgebra?
What
do you do before algebra? Is prealgebra required? We get these types of
questions often - so here are some things to consider.
First -
note that algebra is the abstraction (or generalization) of the basic
arithmetic you have learned or taught in the k-6th grades. So instead
of saying 2 apples + 3 apples = 5 apples as we might do in arithmetic,
we move to a more general 2x + 3x = 5x in algebra.
Second,
you can decide to do prealgebra - or just jump straight into algebra.
You can judge pretty well if a student is ready for algebra by the
following criteria:
- They need to know basic arithmetic.
- They need to understand the idea of a equation - such as 2+3=5.
- They
need to understand the idea of a variable. For instance, in the
statement 2 apples + ? apples = 5 apples -- the question mark is a
variable. If they get this, they have the idea.
- They
should know something about graphing points on a number line and on a
plane. Furthermore, they should be able to read graphs and charts.
- They
need the ability to do abstract thinking. This one is a little harder
to determine and comes with age. But if they understand variables, they
likely are ready to think abstractly.
More.... |
College prep - what to expect from faculty?
Going
to college is different from the typical homeschool experience.
In fact, it is different than the typical high school experience --
even if you come from a public or private school. To understand how to
prepare, consider some things about how college faculty work.
- College
faculty are not usually rated on how well the students do, so they have
little motivation to work extra hard to make sure a student pays
attention, tries his or her best, or even shows up to
class.
- The college faculty is the boss and in 100%
control of the classroom. In high school there are often specific
guidelines the faculty need to follow - but not so in most college
situations. The rules set by the faculty hold - reasonable or
unreasonable.
- Attendance to class is often not required and often not even recorded. Again, the faculty are in control.
- The
subject taught and discussed are 100% up to the faculty. A math faculty
might choose to spend 100% of the class time discussing their political
and/or religious views while still holding the student responsible for
the course material.
- Old tests and projects are often
easy to find for particular instructors. Some faculty do not allow you
to use these material while other faculty encourage the students to
seek out all the information they can get.
So
how does one prepare for the faculty and know what to expect? Have your
student know how to ask advice and counsel from not only other students
- but the faculty themselves. Assumptions are dangerous. One
interesting place to get feedback on professors is RateMyProfessors.com.
While this is far from complete - I find the professors who teach a lot
of undergraduate classes get rated - positive and negative - on this
site. Also, I have found the ratings pretty accurate.
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We're here to help you!
Sincerely,
Dale Callahan
AskDrCallahan
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