Does this homeschooling curriculum seem crappy?

[lilwriter85]

I'm not a homeschooler and I'm a bit familiar with some of the stuff the Duggars and some other fundies do. I agree with others, some of the methods and curriculum the Duggars use are crappy. I recently came across this blogger through a non-fundie source. She has six kids that she homeschools and she recently posted some of the materials she plans to use for the 2012-2013 school year and it doesn't look too good.

samsnoggin.com/2012-2013

We will also be using:

Getty-Dubay Italic Handwriting

Horizons Math

Other items for 1st grade are undecided.

For our 9th grader:

Illuminations 3, including Mystery of History 3

Friendly Chemistry

Key to Decimals and Key to Percents {and hopefully some pre-algebra}

Electives undecided.

The part about the 9th grader doing pre-algebra seems kind of off.

[Conuly]

It's possible that the 9th grader has some legit reason for being slightly behind. And really, that's all it is - slightly behind. Pre-algebra is typically an 8th grade subject over here (inasmuch as it's a subject at all, NYS has an integrated math curriculum... or, rather, integrated required math tests, which add up to the same thing).

I can't speak for the actual textbooks being used, of course, but I'm not staring at that in shock and alarm.

[Eclipse]

I'm not a homeschooler and I'm a bit familiar with some of the stuff the Duggars and some other fundies do. I agree with others, some of the methods and curriculum the Duggars use are crappy. I recently came across this blogger through a non-fundie source. She has six kids that she homeschools and she recently posted some of the materials she plans to use for the 2012-2013 school year and it doesn't look too good.

samsnoggin.com/2012-2013

The part about the 9th grader doing pre-algebra seems kind of off.

What really seems off to me is the Grade 9 student studying decimals and percents. Don't you learn that in like grade 3? I don't remember exactly what year i learnt those subjects in ebil public school but it was elementary school.

[Conuly]

We didn't learn decimals and percents until... oh, 5th grade or so. And then we repeated the subject yearly (gotta love spiral mathematics :roll:) through middle school. But spiraling isn't the only way to go (thank goodness! that seemed to be the way ALL our subjects did it, and it was the most mind-deadening thing I've ever been exposed to) and if his math doesn't do ANY repetition of concepts then he might be "ahead" in some areas but "behind" in this area, if it makes sense.

Clearly, what we really need to do is find out the mathematics standards for their state, and see how they compare.

[longskirts]

I'm familiar with the handwriting program, and I think it's excellent. If I were homeschooling I would use it. But I don't know much about the other materials listed.

[Maude]

I'd say that 9th grader is at least three or four grades behind from what I remember learning in school. :?

[maybeizfundie]

Doesn't look really challenging. My oldest did decimals last year im 3rd grade. But it looks like most of it is undecided at this point, so who knows?

[freejoytoo]

I remember learning about decimals when I was eight!

[ElphabaGalinda]

Decimals and percents for a 9th grader seems very very behind. I Google the other 9th grade curriculums, and it seems they'll be using a book that combines Biblical and World History, which doesn't give me confidence in high level of accuracy in the history education. Friendly Chemistry appears to be age appropriate at least.

[Kitty]

I think pre-algebra isn't too bad for a 9th grader, but decimals and percents? That's really behind, like 4-5 years behind. I was learning that stuff in... 4th grade, I think?

Maybe that 9th grader is stuck in some homeschool version of middle school, where it seems everything is just rehashed every year and there's not a lot of new stuff (well, it seemed like it to me). Even then, though, that's a shitty education.

[Didi]

First - I LOVE KEY TO!!!! I did Saxon for most of my growing up and absolutely hated it, Key To was suuuuch a nice change :)

Second - their website is - http://www.keycurriculum.com/products/k ... o-decimals

And it seems to indicate that it IS pretty simple, but a quote from a math tutor on there (I dont know how legit she is I am just saying it's a quote and I tend to agree with her) is - "All of the Key to… books are absolute staples in my work. So many of the seventh-, eighth-, and ninth-grade students who are having problems in math have gaping holes in their preparation of decimals, fractions, and percents. And the Key to Decimals, Key to Fractions, and Key to Percents are far and away the best products I’ve seen that address these issues. —June Turner, mathematics tutor, Titusville, FL"

So... maybe this kid is just missing those fundamentals? I know that with a LOT of homeschoolers (I dont know about kids in schools :)) there is like one thing they are weak in and it makes algebra sooo hard.

I agree it's behind, but I am glad the mom is dealing with it instead of trying to save face?

[lilwriter85]

I've been looking through this blog and it is a bit hard to navigate. The blogger seems to be on the fundie lite scale. She seems to a bit of a fame whore. She is quite popular in some circles and she is always begging on twitter for people to vote for her in "best of" lists. Recently, another mommy blogger who is friends with Sam decided to homeschool her oldest son, after he spent kindergarten and first grade in public schools. I honestly hope that blogger doesn't take Sam's advice. I do think the 9th grader may have learning issues, but I do wonder if Sam is dealing with it in the right way.

[TXDuck]

What really seems off to me is the Grade 9 student studying decimals and percents. Don't you learn that in like grade 3? I don't remember exactly what year i learnt those subjects in ebil public school but it was elementary school.

My daughter started that in the third grade. And they were doing pre-algebra in the 4th. Mind you, apparently nearly every school district has a different take on when you should start algebra and pre-algebra. However, if I remember correctly, algebra 8th grade, pre-algebra in 7th.

There may be a very good reason the 9th grader is behind. But normally, yes, they would have already covered at least decimals and percents well before the 9th grade.

[Anise]

I did Saxon for most of my growing up and absolutely hated it, Key To was suuuuch a nice change :)

Ahaha, I suffered through Saxon too. :P

However, I always wonder how rigorous the other math curriculums are as I remember going through some of the third grade Bob Jones math book and thinking that it was much more basic.

[keen23]

I have no idea what math curriculum we used in my ebil public school, but I know I was never taught how to convert fractions to decimals. It wasn't until I was in 11th grade advanced Chemistry that I figured out how to do it on my own, and that it was actually possible to do so. And I was in the advanced math track from 6th-10th grade- Like Algebra in 8th grade, Geometry in 9th, and Algebra 2 in 10th.

[Rosa]

it might also just be review/practice - my kid is on the multiplication tables this summer (for our tiny 15 minutes of "please don't lose everything you learned" math every day) but we're reviewing addition too all the time. And I'll attest from my retail experience that vast swathes of the general public do not at all understand percentages.

[clibbyjo]

It depends on the math. Not all homeschoolers do math the way high schools do. You can cover 2 grades(say Algerbra1 and 2) in the same year or if you go all year round you can do Alg, 1,2, Geo. all in one year etc... Some people wait for highschool to do the big maths, some follow along with school schedules.

My kids use Teaching Textbooks and Khan academy for math and usually do 2 grades a year . My oldest son did review of Alg 1&2.and Geo. at the beginning of this year, then started Trig. and beginning calculus at the end. He will probably continue with all of them again this year, broken down by quarters and taught by a tutor because I suck at math and I want to be sure he gets it. He does as much as he wants and if he wants to finish a whole 180 lessons in 3 months I am fine with that.

Before anyone asks, my husband was a calculus tutor in college and his professors would ask him if the test was "too hard" for the regular students taking the class. Husband wants to tackle tutoring the boy trig. and calc. this year and I can't wait to see how it goes.Yes, we are prepared to tackle higher math and no, I don't feel I personally have to do it.

[Conuly]

I have no idea what math curriculum we used in my ebil public school, but I know I was never taught how to convert fractions to decimals. It wasn't until I was in 11th grade advanced Chemistry that I figured out how to do it on my own, and that it was actually possible to do so. And I was in the advanced math track from 6th-10th grade- Like Algebra in 8th grade, Geometry in 9th, and Algebra 2 in 10th.

We were explicitly taught... probably in 8th grade, and like you, I was in the gifted classes.

All these people saying their kids "learned" fractions and decimals in such-and-fuch a grade - what does that mean? Because much math education (in schools or otherwise) is spiraling nowadays, so when you "learn" decimals the first time you basically just learn that they exist. Same with fractions. The older niece is now in 3rd grade, and her textbooks have been "teaching" fractions since kindergarten - but not in any way I consider effective. In kindergarten they learn, with no context, what 1/2 and 1/3 and 1/4 are. They repeat this in first grade, but they color in one half or third or quarter of everything. In second grade they repeat the process but this time, without any explicit explanation of why the numbers are written the way they are, they tackle 2/3 and 3/4. I wish I were joking. It's not until this year that they actually learned anything useful about fractions, at which point she has a muddled half-understanding already in her head from the previous times it was touched on in the curriculum. They moved past this subject long before she had a chance to master comparing or adding fractions (no talk about converting them to decimals, or how decimals, also "introduced" this year, relate to fractions). And then no doubt they'll talk about it next year.

It no doubt works for some students. For others, they never really master the subject because they never have a chance to, and then in 9th grade they're unable to start pre-algebra because they need urgently to catch up on the basics.

[Rosa]

Clibbyjo, that's awesome. My partner is a serious math dude and he cannot explain things to a less mathy person at ALL because he's just not that verbal. But he & little dude seem to think about math the same way.

I have no idea how the other public schools teach math but our public montessori uses a combination of hands-on Montessori method with district-required drilling, which seems about right to me - it's not that much use knowing the concepts if you don't know instant math facts like "25+25=50" and the hands-on stuff is really effective for elementary math - all the 5-9 year olds in my son's class understood squares and finding volumes and decimals really really well by about halfway through the year.

[CanadianHippie]

Decimals and percents seem really behind for a 9th grader. I remember my first decimal lesson being in French which means I started no later than 3rd grade. Percents came later that year. pre-algebra was starting in 7th grade, but covered again in 8th grade. Algebra was also started in 7th grade, but that is because we got through pre-algebra before the end of the school year and the teacher decided to give us an introduction to elementary algebra.

[TXDuck]

All these people saying their kids "learned" fractions and decimals in such-and-fuch a grade - what does that mean? Because much math education (in schools or otherwise) is spiraling nowadays, so when you "learn" decimals the first time you basically just learn that they exist. Same with fractions.

I'm going to do an awful job of explaining. But I mean the concept was taught and kids knew how to manipulate data with the concept. For example, 1/2 + 1/3 = 5/6. That sort of thing. You're right, kids are taught fractions, decimals, etc. exist long before they are taught to do anything with them.

[chaotic life]

It's entirely possible she's found a gap in her child's education she wants to solidify. Pre-algebra is a bit behind for 9tth grade but not terribly so.

My 5th grader did pre-algebra this year. However, he needs more work on fractions specifically and I've been looking into a unit study that would focus on fractions for that reason. It doesn't negate his pre-algebra placement, just a recognition that he needs more practice on a concept I find him weaker in.

[CanadianHippie]

I'm going to do an awful job of explaining. But I mean the concept was taught and kids knew how to manipulate data with the concept. For example, 1/2 + 1/3 = 5/6. That sort of thing. You're right, kids are taught fractions, decimals, etc. exist long before they are taught to do anything with them.

In my case, we learned decimals and fractions existed at the start of the unit and learned basic manipulation (like the example above) near the end. The next year the unit would involve re-learning the previous years lesson in the first portion and then expanding on it.

[BlondeAgent007]

Couldn't this also be a child that tends to struggle with math? I thought the beauty of homeschooling was that you can focus on your child's strengths. Math and Science seem to be subjects that people are concerned about with education, so she could just be showing she is still covering those subjects. I don't think she'd post that and have no idea her child was behind. A quick google search could let her know that.

[Bloo]

My first, off-the-bat question is: how would he have a hope of tackling most of chemistry without being able to work well with fractions, decimals, and percentages? Math was a large part of my chemistry class, from what little I recall.

That aside, I can't really judge where the kid "should" be at this point because I don't know his educational history- and that doesn't just mean what he's been exposed to in school or home. The quality of the exposure counts quite a bit as well. For example, though I never really liked math in school, I was put on the advanced track for it. That meant all of jack shit when I hit seventh grade and ended up with a teacher who had no degrees in math or education. When we realized how inept he was- he was clearly terrified and often made very crucial and obvious mistakes in calculation when attempting to teach- I'm rather ashamed to say that the recent story of bullying the bus aide pales in comparison to what my classmates did to him (I didn't actively participate, but I never told them to stop, either). He made it worse by retaliating. Incredibly, even though he threw a student into a door, he remained on staff for another year, so I suffered him again in 8th grade. Understandably, I had learned about zero percent of what the math curriculum for those grades was intended to be and in spite of my intelligence, entered high school (thankfully, in a whole different school system) woefully behind in that subject.