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Math-U-See in High School…..
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Has anyone used Math-U-See through high school? If so, were you pleased with the results? Also, how did your students do with testing and college level math after Math-U-See? Thanks in advance, Melissa
Hi!
My oldest is now in MUS Calculus as a junior. I have been VERY pleased with the Algebra, Geometry, Algebra II and Precalculus programs. The Calculus program still has a few bugs in it–ds and I have been finding lots of mistakes that we have sent in to the company. Hopefully future printings will fix that. They apparently only recently introduced the Calculus program. It also does not seem quite so well organized, and I love Steve Demme, but we’ve been supplementing his lectures with KhanAcademy. I don’t think he’s a calculus expert. 🙂 He knows and understands it himself, obviously, but I don’t think he’s explained and taught it as often as he has the other topics MUS offers. So–our vote is very pleased, up until Calculus. Then a bit more qualified. Actually, I think by Calculus it might be time to head to the local community college–we’d have done this ourselves if we had the $$.
Ds has not gone on to college yet, but he scores very, very well on standardized tests. His regular Iowa testing is always very high, and his PSAT scores were very good.
You mention Michelle that calculus might be better off done in community college if the funds allow – with the current economy and the college grads coming out with debt and no jobs in a lot of cases, what are any of you doing in that situation. Our girls are certainly capable of college but we have not made a decision because of cost, and the lack of jobs at the end of the day. I just wondered what ideas people might have. Even teens having a car these days is out of reach for many and tough times are ahead with gas prices and food costs rising weekly. Have any of you thought about these things, and come to any conclusions? We have at least another year, but the time is approaching to think about it more seriously and I am always open to wonderful ideas and thoughts. Linda
I haven’t looked into it much yet (my oldest is only 11), but this intrigues me: http://www.collegeplus.org/. Anyone us this program? Blessings, Gina
Well, our boys are probably going to end up in college. Actually it might be easier to get them the aid needed to go if they go straight to a four-year, as both the older ones are good candidates for scholarships and grants. It helps that they are smart AND poor. 🙂 They would not likely be happy if I tried to steer them into a tech job instead of a college degree; I really think they’ll both go on past college. Graduate degrees are no guarantor of great riches–come see our house. LOL But still, it gives more job choices to go to college than not.
CollegePlus is a nice bunch of people. We’ve spoken with them many times. Unfortunately, they are really only a help for certain categories of possible majors. What my sons want, CollegePlus cannot do. And, it is not cheap. There is no aid really available for the program like that; it may be a great savings when compared to the full tuition sticker price, but not compared to a college grant and scholarship program or National Merit college-based scholarships. So. Headed for college we remain; we’ve targeted out the schools that award merit money and meet all demonstrated need (we’ll have a lot!) are pursuing National Merit possibilities, outside scholarships, and all that. And praying, of course.
Are your boys 18 yet Michelle or do they have years to go? I do not want to send the girls to college just because, there has to be a goal and an end game – the money is too much for any other thing. Because of the delays my daughters are older and likely won’t qualify for any aid – so it would be out of pocket and that will take some doing with two of them. I sincerely hope that it works out for your boys – I think it is great to go to college, but it is no longer as easy as it used to be to afford (I am thinking of England – where until recently it was really inexpensive compared to here) but we will have to see. A degree with no end plan is not a good idea I don’t believe. Good luck to your boys Michelle..Linda
I have one who will be 18 in a few months, and one who is almost 15. The oldest is taking the SAT tomorrow.
Neither of them have the whole “future” thing completely figured out, but one wants to go into engineering, one is interested in economics, and both will likely end up going longer than a bachelor’s. Dh and I both did, so to us that’s “normal” 🙂 As they will both have to support families, and both have the aptitude and interest, college seems a no-brainer for us. The sure-bet jobs in the future look to be skilled trades, high-tech trades, and “geek” jobs–high-tech creativity-based jobs. Mine match up best to the “geek” job sector, and both are interested in and have studied several languages which should also be a plus in the future. It is certainly not easy to afford college anymore! I really had few problems, back in the day, LOL, I was offered several full-tuition scholarships but the competition these days is fierce. And some of the schools we are looking at are well over $50,000 per year. Yikes. I also don’t believe in carrying a huge debt–some UNDERGRADS are coming out of college with over $100,000 in debt. That is just insane. We’ll be actively discouraging our kids from even considering that.
I understand what you are saying Michelle….both my husband and I have Masters but for me in the UK it was not expensive and my husband worked jobs and paid off his loans in his first years in the Air Force as a pilot. Things have changed so much since then that we need to make sure we are planning things correctly – the hurricane and the current 2 year illness of my daughter has really thrown a spanner in the works of a normal plan – so we are having to wait until we get a handle on what is going to happen with her, before we can even finish high school – also my other daughter with mild cerebral palsy has her own issues to deal with in regards to college. She would likely have to do college either online or while living at home, because various things make living away too complex for her at this point. It certainly is a big decision and we have stressed to the girls in our own words and through financial planning curriculum, that having large debt is not an option and should not be something they consider – I think college is important, but with all the hiccups we have had, it has really complicated things for us a bit and so we are waiting for things to become clearer with health before we make a final decision. If my daughter has colitis or Crohnes which seems likely, that will complicate things for her somewhat depending on the severity – and how long it takes to stabilize the problem – so it is difficult on many levels right now. We will keep praying for the answers and watching to see what is best to do. Linda
Yes, circumstances will be different for everyone. Your daughters may very well be able to do some college from home, depending on the possible degree they want. That might be a good option for them, or a community college to start. There IS aid available to those who start later or begin at a community college, it depends on the college and you do have to hunt around for it a bit more. At any rate, I’m hoping your daughters will find just the educational tools they need. Now that there are so many online sources, CLEP exams, and things like Teaching Company videos, there is a lot that can be done from home!
My mom has Crohn’s, plus some other things. That is tough. Praying things work out well for your family.
Thanks Michelle, I am sure it will work out – we are kind of living a day at a time at the moment, because things are so much up in the air – we love the Teaching Company products, and we are looking at CLEP as an option. I think if we stay calm, keep praying and searching it will work out. I will look into aid options and see what that brings up. Thanks for the prayers – I appreciate it. Good luck to your son on the SAT tomorrow….Linda
Thanks for review, Bookworm. Since my husband and I are not mathy I know we would never catch the Calculus mistakes. So far my boys seem very science-oriented so I’m sure they’ll need lots of math. For now the strategy seems to be MathUSee until Calculus and then to a community college for math. Unless I can find some other learn-at-home program for that level. We have a few years before then….maybe something will crop up.
At the high school level, can kids do MathUSee solo or do they need parental involvement?
Heather
I am finding it necessary to do some parental involvement. I watch the videos with them, and I try to correct their pages. When we have difficulty, I contact the people at MUS. There are two important resources–an online live help option, and a user’s forum, which I would really recommend using. One caveat is that sometimes, it’s harder to tell what is “correct” or not on, say, Algebra II or on up to calculus. It’s not quite as simple as 2 + 2 = 4. Everyone can grade that pretty easily, but lots of complex stuff can be written in other ways, or you could have significant digit problems to untangle, or trying to figure out WHERE in a long, complex problem the student actually went wrong, can be tougher. I need my dh’s help frequently, and we still end up contacting MUS or the user’s forum often once or so a week. I probably spend an hour or two a week working with the two high schoolers on math.
Oh no, that doesn’t sound fun for me! Is there another high school math program for moms and dads who are bad at math?
Crazy4boys. I agree with you. My 15yo ds is further in math than what dh & I can keep up with. We truly need a solid program that will not depend upon us to help him; In regards to this, the only one we’ve found so far is Thinkwell Math – providing online video lessons, automatic grading, tutor support, and 24 hour forum access.
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