Originally Posted by Dottie
I have a 7th grade student at my private school. She's absolutely bright. And she possibly could have been ready for algebra on intellect and "readiness" alone. But I'm finding her extremely ill-prepared in the basics, frown . She's a good example of why you need both...concepts and computational skills. She can pick up concepts fairly quickly, but the whole package just isn't there. (And I will NOT be the one telling her mother that she's not ready for algebra!!!)


I just this morning started algebra with DS8. I have been dragging my feet on it, reviewing the basics because I feared he wasn't ready. But he has been acting out, and I realized that his behavior looked a lot like it looked in 1st grade when he was underchallenged. I made the switch and his behavior this morning was the polar opposite of how he has been most of the school year this year.

That's a long way of saying that I am reading this thread with interest because I'm personally trying to find that balance right now! Tips are welcome!

Kriston