I consider myself to be a pretty visual-spatial learner, and yet oddly enough I much preferred algebra to geometry. (though maybe it was because my pathetic school hired a bad geometry teacher who had just been fired from another school; a friend and I taught ourselves the entire course the weekend before the regents exam. not that I could be bothered to do so before that...) Algebra in 8th grade was the only time anyone really gave me any special accommodations in school, ever, and it was a chore for my mom - I guess advocating once is better than not at all.
My nephew will take algebra next year in 7th grade, but it's oddly broken up into two courses, so he takes more of it in 8th grade anyway (i.e. I'm not sure whether he ends up a year ahead of the way we did it years ago). However, I was so happy to hear him admiring another middle school kid who gets to go to the high school for math; at least his school sounds flexible.
Tell me what you guys think of this: it appears that in order to do more advanced math class (algebra I in 7th gr) in our local very large and well respected public middle school, one has to gain acceptance to the gifted program for middle school. It appears that a person can apply only for math or only for language or for both, but applying involves testing (cogat), etc. and even writing about what one would contribute to such a class. (I have long hated questions like that - I think they're dumb. How does one even contribute to the experience of others in a math class in the first place.) I suppose it could be that kids are coming from so many different elementary schools (and they start at the middle school in either 6th or 7th grade). But I don't see why a form from the 6th grade math teacher isnt' enough. I can't see an on-line curriculum so I don't know whether there's another option for 7th (or 8th) grade algebra outside of the gifted program, though I'm not sure why there would need to be more than one version of the same course in the same grade. Applying just sounds like a huge unnecessary pain in the neck, i.e. I'm so lazy. Or do you think it sounds like a positive arrangement? Keep out the kids who might slow it down? I guess I'm just not familiar with the idea of a middle school gifted program.
(We have some time before we have to worry about middle school but I'm afraid it's going to creep up faster than I'm prepared for. I had been hoping to do private middle school but with our sixth child on the way, I don't think that's in the cards.)
