<p>Hello :) I'm going to be a high school freshman next year. My grandma is very dear to me, however she doesn't agree with one of my decisions. Well, I took a test to see if I'd be able to take Geometry and Algebra 2 next year, and I passed it, so I'd be the only student to be doing this. It's an extremely rare case, and it's still extremely rare for a freshman to even be taking Algebra 2. The assistant principal strongly advised against it, along with my family (at first). However, a lot of my friends say I should still do it :) And now my parents are fine, since I did pass the placement test, after all.</p>
<p>Honors Algebra 2 is very difficult at my school. Most students don't get an A. I'm not over-exaggerating, it really is. Even the unofficial valedictorian of my school said it was difficult. I'm not sure if I'd be an exception though, since I did pass the placement test. The person who graded it said I'd most likely get a B in the class. I don't think so, since I had no idea what would be on the placement test, and in Algebra 2 at least I'd know what to study for the test. I got a very good Algebra 1 ECA score, if that helps :)</p>
<p>My grandma doesn't want me to get overwhelmed, which I completely understand. I will need to adjust to high school. But I still want to make my schedule rigorous. All my classes are easy. Honors Geometry and AP Human Geo are easy A's. I want to keep my relationship with her, since we're so close. I've stayed at her house more than my house this summer. Maybe telling her my ECA score will help?</p>
<p>I need to make my decision before August 1st. Thanks in advance! :D</p>
<p>If you took both classes what math would you take senior year? Geometry is already accelerated one year. You would have calculus junior year. Does your school offer mult variable calculus? </p>
<p>@ahsmuoh I’d either go to a college 5 minutes away during the day, or another one 15 minutes away in the evening or on the weekends But I’m pretty sure on doing the latter.</p>
<p>Have heard of some kids who enjoy taking math for summer school. If you take geometry and find it easy & fun, perhaps you could take Alg 2 for next summer school? Personally, I don’t see the huge rush. Your relationship with your grandma sounds very important and worth preserving; I’m sure she has only your best interests at heart.</p>
<p>How social do you think you will be in high school? Will you be attending school functions, sports games, etc? If you will be rather social, then you may not have the time to do all the homework.</p>
<p>My kids’ high school assigned a LOT of math homework, so if they had had two math classes at a time, they would have been overwhelmed.</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids I’m not sure how social I’ll be In summer school I made ton of new friends, but because of some recent drama I’m not sure what will happen. I’m not into sports, but I do plan on joining some fun clubs in high school Honors Geometry is very easy at my school, and I’ve heard from multiple people that it is the easiest honors class I’ll ever take throughout all of high school. Honors Algebra 2 is 90 percent tests and quizzes, so homework won’t be a big factor in my grades (of course I’ll still do it, though!) :)</p>
<p>My mom is kind of forcing me to do it now though anyway, so I guess I’ll just see how it goes from here…</p>
<p>Hi, limited sample size of 2 , both of my kids took Geometry in 8th grade & then took Trig / Alg II in 9th grade. (They went to a magnet middle school & that was the required curriculum. )
They had no problems w/ Geometry even though it was a very <em>new</em> subject to them & they were not particular strong in math.
I think it all depends on the teacher. Some math teachers really know how to explain new materials to the kids & present them in an easy to understand format. Do you know anyone who has taken the class before & ask them how that teacher is like ? what do they think of the class ? Once you find out more from these students who just finished the class maybe you can provide your mom & grandma with more info. Good luck!</p>
<p>I think it would depend on the rest of your schedule, which you say is easy. Like FlowerMom, I had a D take geometry in 8th grade and Alg 2 in 9th. Many of the math teachers at our HS are not good teachers, especially the Alg 2 teachers, so the students have to learn on their own from the book. She took Trig soph year and AP Stat junior year and AP Calc BC senior year. She skipped 2 semesters of college calculus. You don’t need to take multivariable calc in HS unless you really want to.</p>
<p>My other D was not on the accelerated schedule, but she took AP Stat and AP Calc AB both in her senior year. A lot will depend on the individual student. Good luck!</p>
<p>I’m not saying that either class will be “too hard” for the OP. I am just concerned with him taking them at the same time, and as a freshman.</p>
<p>Freshman year in high school (and in college) is an adjustment. </p>
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<p>I agree that Geometry can be easy for someone strong in math, but do you know how much homework is assigned? And could a new teacher or new direction from the math dept suddenly require more homework?</p>
<p>Are you sure that Honors Algebra II wont have much homework? It sounds like the homework wont be weighted much, but it still could be time-consuming. (my kids had math teachers that would say, “do all odd numbered problems”…even if there were a LOT of them!)</p>
<p>Even if you are not “into sports”, are you saying that you wouldn’t go to games, as a spectator, with friends? At some schools, that is the “thing to do” even if you’re not that interested in the particular sport. </p>
<p>Are you going to “run out of math classes” if you take Alg II as a frosh? </p>
<p>I really don’t think that running out of math classes should be a concern, if the student is really into math and wants to proceed more rapidly. (I recall an anecdote about the composer Camille Saint Saens. He was a child prodigy, and someone asked his mother when he was two or three what he would do if he ran out of music to play. She said, “He’ll write his own.” Anyway, the OP has addressed that already.)</p>
<p>I’m wondering what else you are planning to take? At some schools it is possible to double up in some subject every year. Is that your intention?</p>
<p>Do you do any outside mathy things like AMC8, Mathcounts, other competitions, or a math circle? Or, at least do those sound fun if they were available? Do you pick up new math concepts rapidly? Those might be indicators that you will be fine with two math classes. </p>
<p>If you like math, you can fit in everything else (including foreign language and a science), and can see on course signup websites that there will be math classes at the nearby colleges for you to take senior year (remembering that high school students have lowest registration priority so classes may routinely fill up), then I think this will be fine. If you are having difficulty because of the teaching, there are things like Khan Academy that you can use to supplement the instruction. Join the math club if there is one, so you will get to know the mathy students in other grades.</p>
<p>There are plenty of schools where Alg II/Trig during freshman year is the normal accelerated math track. My son did that and then tested out of PreCalculus and will be taking Calc BC sophomore year. He has a friend who took the equivalent of Calc AB at a community college over the summer before freshman year. (He <em>will</em> likely have some issues with what math to take senior year.) Anyway, you can assure your grandparents that in many locations, the math level you will be at after this year is not unprecedented, and that depending on where you end up applying for college, it may even be common. </p>
<p>If you haven’t already, find out what the dual-enrollment requirements are for the two colleges near you. Dual-enrollment is very different depending on where you live.</p>
<p>My S took Honors Algebra I in 7th, Honors Geometry in 8th and Honors Algebra 2 in 9th and didn’t find it difficult. I don’t think it is all that uncommon. </p>
I don’t think you should be taking academic advice from either your friends or your grandmother. If you want to try it and your parents are okay with it and the school allows it, then I don’t see the problem. There isn’t any need to please all these other people in such matters.</p>
<p>I dont think anyone is saying that it is. Your child took math, one class at a time. This student is considering taking two math classes at the same time. That can mean too much homework. </p>
<p>I agree that there is no need to please folks outside of the parents. </p>
<p>Hmm, I’d actually say that once you are in high school, it is useful to discuss classes and teachers with students who seem similar to you academically but who are one or more grades ahead. They will have information about which teachers are good and how many As are given that are not available to your parents (unless they similarly make it a point to talk to parents of older kids) and probably won’t be shared by your GC. </p>
<p>It was useful to my son to know that several of his math club friends were able to skip PreCalc because the Alg II/Trig class covers most of the Trig in PreCalc and most other PreCalc material he’d been exposed to in physics and computer science. That hadn’t been a thing I’d thought about until he told me. Similarly, he got info from friends about better and worse AP Chem and AP World History teachers.</p>
<p>Of course, you and your parents need to make your choices based on your abilities, plans, and the rest of your schedule. However, friends can be a source of bits of information that help you consider your options.</p>
<p>If math really is your favorite and best subject, then there is no real harm in doubling up, unless it crowds out some other important high school course.</p>
<p>However, doubling up is not necessarily that valuable in the long run. You are already one year ahead, so you will complete calculus in high school. Going from one year ahead to two years ahead in math has an incremental value less than the incremental value of being one year ahead versus not being ahead, in terms of schedule flexibility and prerequisite sequencing if you go to college in a math-heavy major.</p>
<p>I want to take both maths for myself I was the one that wrote the email to my guidance counselor, and I decided to take the test even when my parents didn’t want me to.</p>
<p>The reason I value my grandma’s opinion so much is because she’s the reason I get good grades now. She was the one who taught me the alphabet, how to count, and basic math, and at a very young age.</p>
<p>I would max out my school’s math, but I would be allowed to take college math after school or on the weekends at a college nearby. Dual enrollment isn’t really dual enrollment at my school – you stay in the school and it’s taught by a high school teacher. However, they would make an exception since the college math would take away 3 periods during the day. Instead I’m just going to take math outside of school.</p>
<p>I already tried summer school, but my counselor said it wouldn’t be allowed since “I would have the opportunity to take it in the classroom,” and my school doesn’t offer math in summer school. </p>
<p>When I said I asked friends for advice, I meant I asked some people I knew who had taken Honors Algebra 2.</p>
<p>I’m not taking Honors Biology, so hopefully that will give me more time to focus on Algebra 2 :)</p>
<p>I really want to do outside math competitions and all that stuff because I am interested in math. I wasn’t challenged enough at all in Algebra 1 last year, and now is the only time I’d be able to get further ahead in math, as Geometry and Algebra 2 aren’t dependent on each other.</p>
<p>My main concern, however, is convincing my grandma that taking Algebra 2 isn’t a bad option.</p>
But I’m pretty sure on doing the latter.</p>
In summer school I made ton of new friends, but because of some recent drama I’m not sure what will happen. I’m not into sports, but I do plan on joining some fun clubs in high school 
Anyway, the OP has addressed that already.)</p>