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Martha in VA
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We're using Saxon Algebra 1/2 this year and while it's going fine, I'll need more support in terms of how to work through a problem when dd misses one. I've heard TT is really good about that. When I search this board, it seems that everyone using TT really likes it. Is there anyone who has had a bad experience with it?
Thanks!
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Mary Chris
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I was just discussing this with some moms tonight. A mom from our local homeschool group came and talked math. It was all over my head  . Anyway to answer your question, TT is not really heavy. If you have a child who is really math advanced, it might not be the best program. Not really a problem we have here.
I will say I want to go back to Right Start for my math guy. Well what I want to do is add in some Right Start with TT.
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Cay Gibson
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Martha,
No negative feedback here. I love it. The children love it. And my 10 yr old repeatedly says, "Oh, I get it now." or (as said today) "They (ie: the lecture) explains it so much better, Momma."
Oh. Okay.  Why am I not surprised. 
I just wanted to say that some hs friends of mine went to a workshop with Laura Berquist a couple months ago and they came back and told me that she said the only program she's found that is comparable with Saxon is ...you guessed it, Teaching Textbook. 
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Carole N.
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We loved it! I went through three different algebra I programs with my ds before ending up with Teaching Textbook. He he became much more independent in math, but if he needed help dh or I could tutor him.
I am glad to hear that Laura Berquist acknowledged this as comparable to Saxon. We truly struggled with their math.
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Ruth
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We love it!!! My kids actually "get it" now. We have 6th, Algebra 1/2 and Algebra 1.
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Bookswithtea
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Mary Chris, by "not really heavy", do you mean lightweight or not advanced?
We have had a successful Alg. 1 year. I'd hate to think it was not really up to par....
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stacykay
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My 13yo is just completing TT Math 7. I am not sure how that would compare to Saxon, which we have always used for my other dss. I started two weeks ago, having him go through the Saxon 7/6 book and do the tests, and, if he does ok, I will test him to see which Saxon he should do next, or go on with TT pre-algebra.
We are thinking of doing LOF between now and next fall. Nothing like a little math overkill, but he wants to!
Ds's only complaint with TT is that he doesn't care for the voice on the cd that we use for the lessons.
I think he is understanding and retaining the information well, but we'll see. This is our first attempt at a non-Saxon source, and I am a little anxious to see how all the 7/6 tests go. I will post again, when he finishes. So far, we are on test 5. All 100%.
God Bless,
Stacy in MI
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Mary Chris
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Books,
I think they meant lightwieght. Now the women that made these comments have children that are apparently are very math advanced.....doing division with a 7 year old and wanting to start algebra with a young 5th grader.
TT works here for us. A personal failing I have is that I tend not to check their work enough.
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mary
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| Posted: April 29 2008 at 7:34am | IP Logged
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sonlight has some threads about whether TT is a good fit for kids who are great in math.
math wizards
mad at TT
i've been looking at TT because my oldest has slowed down using singapore. it does look like it provides a terrific review, but there have been comments that there is little to challenge the kid for whom math comes easily.
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Martha in VA
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mary wrote:
sonlight has some threads about whether TT is a good fit for kids who are great in math.
math wizards
mad at TT
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Unfortunately, since I don't use Sonlight and don't pay for their forums, I can't view these links. Thanks, though, for that info.
Thanks, everyone else, for your helpful replies!
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Mary Chris
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Martha,
I also wanted to mention that they were at the conference at the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly last summer (not IHM). So I'm thinking they may be at other conferences/conventions in the area.
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Willa
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Mary Chris wrote:
I was just discussing this with some moms tonight. A mom from our local homeschool group came and talked math. It was all over my head . Anyway to answer your question, TT is not really heavy. If you have a child who is really math advanced, it might not be the best program. Not really a problem we have here.
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This is what I heard too; specifically I think it was a complaint against their high school Geometry.
Also, a review here at Love2Learn. I think the review was for an earlier edition, possibly?
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Lara Sauer
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My son really enjoys TT, and after years of fighting him to do his Saxon, it is a real joy to have him willing to do his math.
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folklaur
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This was just being discussed on another forum, too. The general consensus was that because it was "easy to understand" some people felt it wasn't up to par.
So, then one of the writer of TT commented, ans said this:
"Thank you for allowing me to respond to this. Let me start by saying that the Teaching Textbooks series covers all of the major topics required by state standards. It's true that there are some differences between publishers as to which books contain which topics. For instance, Saxon Math doesn't have a separate Geometry book, so they mix Geometry with their Algebra and Advanced Math (Pre-Calculus) books. That means you won't get all of their Geometry lessons until you've finished Pre-Calculus. But generally, most publishers cover the same topics when you go through their complete series. TT does this as well.
What's unique about TT, I think, is that our books are written in a clear style that's easily understandable to a young student (a rarity in math texts!). Also, we introduce topics when we think the student is best able to truly comprehend the material. This gives students a chance to consolidate their understanding of basic concepts before moving on to more advanced material. In short, the TT series is designed to help students really learn math conceptually.
Equally important is that the TT books give a full explanation of every technique covered. There's nothing more frustrating for a math student than to be introduced to a new technique, but not receive any explanation of what that technique means, why it's important, what it's used for, and how it relates to what the student has already learned. It gives them the impression that math is just a bunch of meaningless techniques to be memorized but not understood. The public school textbooks are notorious for introducing techniques but leaving out the explanation. And it turns most students off of math long before they ever get through high school.
By the way, the reason public school textbooks cram so many topics in their books so early has nothing to do with sound teaching methods. It has to do with the publishers' commercial interests. Public school publishers want to sell one book nationally. But to do that they need to be approved by the textbook committees in all states. So they stuff their books with every topic that's required by all these state committees. If one state requires the topic of probability in 4th grade and another requires it in 5th grade, the publisher just puts probability in both its 4th grade and 5th grade books. The end result is a book that weighs a ton, is stuffed full of repetitive topics, but has no room for explanation.
In my view, the real issue that we face with math education is not what topics are being covered at what age. The real issue is that our students aren't learning the major math concepts that they need to know - ever! That's why 50% of college freshmen are required to take remedial arithmetic and algebra courses before being admitted to the college-level curriculum. Keep in mind that these are students who, for the most part, have used public school texts that cover lots of topics at early ages. And, even after their remedial courses, most of these students never gain mastery over basic math concepts. That's one of the reasons why we have so few Americans majoring in math, science, and engineering.
One interesting thing about the public schools, though, is that even they are starting to see the light on this issue. A recent Math Advisory Panel of U.S. experts, appointed by President Bush, concluded that the range of topics in U.S. math texts should be narrowed in order to improve test scores. They specifically called for shorter textbooks that concentrate on basic conceptual understanding. Math experts are realizing that there's not enough explanation in the books and that force-feeding hundreds of topics with no supporting instruction doesn't work. I believe that this is one of the main reasons why U.S. students rank so low in math internationally. By contrast, Asian countries have more narrowly-focused books, and are at the top of the international rankings.
Finally, I would ask those who are unsure about TT to have a little faith in us. We have years of experience teaching homeschoolers, and we designed all of our products from the ground up just for you. Rather than slavishly following every detail of the often misguided standards of the public school system, we created products that work. The TT series will teach your students what they need to know to be fully prepared for college and beyond. We are a relatively new curriculum, but because of our popularity there are already thousands of students who have used TT and are now succeeding in colleges and universities at all levels - from community college to the Ivy League. Thanks again for allowing me to comment.
~Greg Sabouri"
(from the public Sonlight Forums)
HTH,
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Bookswithtea
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Thank you so much for the review on TT, and the clarification, Mary Chris. I was one of those kids who did well and then had to take remedial math in college...and I was 2nd in my class! I think there's some legitimacy to the TT position. Its so hard to make these decisions about difficulty, knowing that we won't know if it was a good decision until its too late... 
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Mary Chris
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I think the best thing we can do is make sure they do math every single day. That is one of my failings that I am really trying to rectify now.
I do like TT, I just have to make sure I am more of a part of their math learning. I am so not a math person.
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I have homeschooled/am homeschooling 6 dc for the last 16 years, using from time to time/child to child a variety of Math resources: Saxon, Calvert Math, Jacobs Geometry and Algebra I, Alpha Omega, Math U See, etc. Now we are using TT, finished 7th grade and moved into Pre-Algebra with one child, doing Geometry with another, and Pre-Calculus with a third. All of the programs we've tried seem on the same level as far as what they teach and how much the child knows, understands, or can do when finished with the course. I have observed with all of my dc that what is clearly understood by one is *clear as mud* for another. That's why we have used so many resources! It has seemed to me, not just with homeschooling and not just with Math, that when we have trouble understanding things or following an explanation, we have a tendency to say that only really smart people *get it*. Similarly, when we understand something clearly or quickly, we say *well that's because someone gave me the 'For Dummies' version". I don't think either of those things is true. So, what does this have to do with TT? This: Just because our dc *get* their Math better with TT than with some other program, this does not mean that TT is a simplified, lightweight Math program. Fortunately for all of us, the authors of that program seem to have hit on a way of explaining Math that is more understandable for many of our dc than many other programs. Just take it as a blessing, don't second guess the whole thing!  And, if something else works better for your family, be thankful for that resource as well.
ETA: I'm sorry if the tone of this sounds like a rant. I think really I'm basically agreeing with the remarks that the TT author made (in the post above).
Peace,
Nancy
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teachingmom
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Greg Sabouri from Teaching Textbooks wrote:
| By the way, the reason public school textbooks cram so many topics in their books so early has nothing to do with sound teaching methods. It has to do with the publishers' commercial interests. Public school publishers want to sell one book nationally. But to do that they need to be approved by the textbook committees in all states. So they stuff their books with every topic that's required by all these state committees. If one state requires the topic of probability in 4th grade and another requires it in 5th grade, the publisher just puts probability in both its 4th grade and 5th grade books. The end result is a book that weighs a ton, is stuffed full of repetitive topics, but has no room for explanation. |
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That is so interesting - and makes so much sense! Now I understand why so many teachers can drop entire sections of a textbook and still finish the course by June.
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Tina P.
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Chiming in here to say that I *love* TT. We don't suffer  from Advanced Mathematics Syndrome here, either.
My daughter uses 7th grade and I don't even have to look at it! The lecture, the practice, and the grading are all done on the computer. I can't wait until they expand this option to more grades. Onward and Upward, I say. 
My son uses 8th grade and, while he only gets the lecture on the computer, likes TT far better than Saxon. He's an auditory learner and needs straightforward explanations.
God bless, Tina
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Topic: Anyone NOT happy w/ Teaching Textbooks?
