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Bookswithtea
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| Posted: Jan 24 2007 at 8:18am | IP Logged
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Does anyone have any experience with Algebra 1 MUS? It seems that we won't be taking advantage of local coops after all for math and science so I need to find something with a dvd or cdrom component. I'm wondering why Teaching Textbooks is so much more respected than MUS when both are teaching Algebra 1. (I'm trying to avoid the Saxon Dive cdrom thing if possible...we want a bit more instruction than that).
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mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and  due 9/10
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Theresa
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| Posted: Jan 24 2007 at 8:33am | IP Logged
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There have been discussions about this at The SwapYou might try searching there under the Highschool forum. I know I have seen others talking about it but since we aren't to the Algebra point yet, I haven't paid close attention to it.
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Theresa
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Diane
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| Posted: Jan 24 2007 at 10:16am | IP Logged
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Books,
My 13yo dd is using Teaching Textbooks for Algebra I this year. (She did the Pre-Alg last yr.) She likes it (as much as she could like math  ) and she's doing well. From what I have seen, it seems very thorough and complete. The author explains concepts well, takes things a step at a time, and offers the right amount of examples and practice problems.
The dvds are not like MUS, probably more like the Saxon ones, in that you do not see a teacher but only hear him walking you through the problems as they appear on the screen. Honestly, if your ds or you are good at math, you could get away with only using the textbook. That's what we did last yr. I know that the dvds are supposed to be the big plus of the program, but I think he explains it all well enough in the text. The dvds do provide some extra reinforcement, especially for a nonvisual learner.
The real downside to not having the dvds is that the answer key book contains only the answers; the problems are not worked out. So, if you don't have the dvds, you need to work through the missed problems with your child. They really can work independently if you have the dvds, although I still grade my dd's work myself, just to keep track of her progress.
My dd did use MUS in the past. She completed Foundations, worked through several yrs of Singapore, and then went through Epsilon and Zeta very fast, watching the lessons and completing the tests. She does not care for Steve Demme's presentations---she finds him too corny and gets annoyed.  She much prefers TT and will even read some of the problems aloud to me because she finds them entertaining.
My 9 and 11yo are still using MUS, and it is working well for them. They love Steve Demme!  My 6yo didn't like the worksheets though and everyday she begged me not to do them, so she's doing Horizons and loving it. Go figure.
Anyway, back to Algebra...my neighbor used to use MUS Algebra with her dc. While she liked it, she felt it wasn't challenging enough for a kid who was headed toward a more technical degree in college. She switched to Saxon. I haven't used MUS Alg so I can't really compare it to TT as far as the level of depth and difficulty, but this may be why TT seems to be more respected. Then again, maybe it's just that it's the new kid on the block. 
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Diane
Mom to five fair lasses and one bonny prince
The Journey of a Mother's Heart
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Bookswithtea
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| Posted: Jan 24 2007 at 11:49am | IP Logged
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Well, that's an interesting board, Theresa! Never seen it before. Thanks for the link. There were a few threads comparing the two and I read them all. 
Diane, thank you. I guess I am going to have to think about this some more. Seems there's a lot to it and I don't even know enough about Algebra programs to compare them.
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mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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ALmom
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| Posted: Jan 24 2007 at 3:01pm | IP Logged
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I think the biggest drawback of MUS Algebra is that he tends to be talking down to the kids (cause everyone in the class are little whipper snappers and this turned my highschoolers off). This becomes more than just an annoyance when you think about the math vocabulary, which is MUS biggest weakness. The versions I had also left it up to the parent teacher to come up with additional practice problems and, quite frankly, I didn't have time for this. I did end up using the video to briefly introduce the basics of Algebra and then reverted to Saxon for the practice problems and vocabulary. Saxon of course is so truncated, you sometimes lose the forest through all the trees. When units were particularly bad this way, we went to Jacobs Algebra.
This year we are using Jacobs Algebra for our highschooler. If you don't like the truncation of Saxon and the repetetion, then this is good. It is a bit weaker in teacher support, so that may be problematical for you on this one if you cannot do the Algebra yourself.
I have never seen the teaching tapes so I cannot comment on that one.
Janet
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Natalia
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| Posted: Jan 24 2007 at 5:14pm | IP Logged
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Books,
My 13 yo is doing Teaching Texbook Algebra this year. She has done well. We went from Singapore to TT pre-algebra at the beginning of theyear. Pre-algebra was too easy so I returned it and got Algebra. I guess Singapore prepared her well since she hasn't have a problem.
This is what she does:
She does the exercises and then checks them. If she gets any wrong then she looks that the CD to find out what she did wrong and why. She doesn't listen to the lectures on the CD because they are the same as the book. So far she is doing great. In fact my dh was lamenting that she doesn't call him any more with math questions. I am really relieved because I am no good at math. My dh is good at math but he is not always available. TT has worked really well for us.
Natalia
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4Real Forums : High School Years and Beyond
Topic: MUS vs. Teaching Texts. for high school?
