<p>I have a HS sophomore son who has always done well in math, with very little effort. His current goal is to go onto college and major in engineering. Now that we are in the process of planning his HS jr and sr year courses, he is finding that it will be tough to take all of the AP classes he wants, along with chorus and band without having to sacrifice something. One option he has approached us with is that of doing Pre-Calc as a self study this spring/summer in order to take AP Calc as a Junior, allowing time for an extra AP Science class (Chem). </p>
<p>Our high school generally frowns on taking math as a self study, although there has been a precedent set with some former students having been successful. I spoke with the GC last week who told me that we would need to present a curriculum to the chair of the math department in order to be considered.</p>
<p>I am looking for assistance from anyone who has had experience with this. I see that there are some online correspondence-type courses associated with some universities (eg. Northwestern) which offer pre-calc as well as other courses. Does anyone know anything about online courses such as these? Are there pros/cons to taking a course such as this online rather than completely self-study ? </p>
<p>It's very useful to have someone assign problems and correct them. Online courses provide tutors for that purpose. Another approach is that adopted by my S and a classmate who both studied out of a book (Stewart, Watson, Redlin). Respective dads assigned problems from the book and corrected them. Another classmate's parents hired a tutor to do the same. This approach works better for kids who like face-to-face interaction. Either way, the students set their own pace.</p>
<p>which my son is using right now to supplement the classroom-based precalculus course he is enrolled in. </p>
<p>I have a bajillion recommendations for kids who want to learn math well to achieve their personal goals. Would you like to hear about supplemental books too?</p>
<p>I dont recommend self-study. You should follow his guidance counselors advice. Summer vacation, at least at my high school, was only 2.5 months. Your son would have to rush through 9 months of math work in 2.5 months. Will he have a solid foundation for calculus? Plus, tutors work in their self-interest. How can a tutor objectively assess your sons progress if youre paying him/her? Anyway, college Calc I or II courses are more thorough than any high school or self-study program can be, so I recommend waiting for college. Dont worry about him reaching some high level math course before high school graduation. A steady GPA and good SAT/AP scores will really help his chances, not necessarily self-study.</p>
<p>CTY courses typically last 3 weeks. They do manage to cover one school-year's worth of materials in those three weeks. 2.5 months is plenty. Tokenadult's recommendations are those I would make for someone wanting to take an online course.</p>
<p>We had a similar situation at my son's HS. He wanted to accelerate his math study but the school wanted him to take a legitimate course. After looking at the local community college, a number of summer programs we decided that EPGY may be the best and most flexible. We reviewed the curriculum with the head of the math department and he said it would be fine. </p>
<p>My son took the pre-calculus course over the summer last year so he could take AP Calculus AB in his junior year. The students get a curriculum, a teacher, shared whiteboard sessions, etc. The Curriculum for the classes are available on the web-site.</p>
<p>EPGY suggests that the pre-calculus class take 6 months. My son spent probably an hour a day on it and finished in 3 months. If your son does well in math he should be fine. The classes are pretty structured and allows for the parents to check progress.</p>
<p>I know there are other on-line programs through Northwestern and Johns Hopkins. Additionally, you may want to look at some of the summer programs like those given at Brown.</p>
<p>Thanks, this is extremely helpful. I have no doubt that my son will be able to move through the curriculum pretty quickly, Ii like the idea of having the discipline and structure of an online course, but mostly I like the idea of having the flexibility allowing him to do the work when he has time. </p>
<p>Brandeisguy, I hear what you are saying and I am asking myself some of the same questions which is why I am looking for a solid curriculum. Also, I do not want to tie him up with summer school because his boy scout and music camps are an important part of his life as well. This is not something we are pushing on him but rather something he is asking for and I feel as a parent, I would be doing him a disservice if I didn't investigate his options. We are certainly not looking for him to reach a 'high' level of math before he exits HS. The highest they teach at our school is AP Calc. Instead, he is exploring the option of doing something math study in order to free up a block for additional science and music . Since he is a very strong math student, he feels that if there is anything he can teach himself, it is math (case in point, he keeps himself several chapters ahead in honors algebra 2 homework ... just for fun). </p>