Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Classroom vs. online plus 1x weekly instruction

DS has been accelerated a couple of years so that he will be studying GT geometry in 6th grade in the fall. For the last two years, he has been receiving instruction individually once a week from retired part-time teachers who are highly qualified and hired by the district to only provide instruction in this format. For Algebra I, he also completed an online Algebra course simultaneously as required/paid by the district, which also has a "teacher" who email/skype with him at least once per unit (usually more).

The presumption has been that DS will be placed in the classroom with 8th grade GT students for Geometry. Until he starts AP Calculus AB in 9th grade, this will be the only opportunity for him to be in a classroom setting during 4th through 8th grade. I think that DS is both excited and a little concerned (socially) about being in an 8th grade classroom next year. Now it has come to my attention that if there is a scheduling issue, then DS will continue with online plus 1 day a week instruction instead. I know that it costs the district thousands to do it this way and I am really grateful for the accommodation. There are both pros and cons to either approach. Under the circumstances, I am trying to figure out which is better for DS so that I can advocate or not as appropriate.

On the one hand, DS really likes to be in a classroom setting. On the other hand, it is a luxury to be able to speed things up He took less than 3 quarters to complete the online course and spent substantially less time during that period than students in the typical course in our district. Is it worth it to be in a classroom for one year out of five or will it help him to return to the classroom for AP Calculus AB in 9th grade? What are your thoughts?

Is it only this class that he is doing online with a tutor? Does he have other classroom experience? Will he have the opportunity to join clubs like Math Counts, where he could socialize with other top math kids. Do you have any idea who the teacher will be and what their reputation is.

If he has plenty of other experiences being in class & doing homework, I don't see an advantage to his being in class with a group of 8th graders. The difference in maturity between 6th & 8th graders is large. From what little my son told me the 2 7th graders in his 8th grade Geometry class didn't particularly mix with the 8th graders.

This is what my husband essentially did 30+ years ago. Worked through the entirety of H.S. math in junior high with a tutor and went back to taking math classes starting in Calculus as a 9th grader. From what I know that wasn't a problem for him.

Good Luck.

What online course (provider) is it?

Why would is cost "thousands"?

Without any context: I'd guess its the retired part time teachers not the online classes that are expensive.

Do you know anything about the teacher who would be teaching the in-classroom class? It sounds like your ds is in school (classes) for his other courses - if that's the case, I wouldn't purposely choose a classroom math course for him unless there was another reason to do so. JMO, but the one thing that I see that *might* be a reason to choose the in-school math class would be the *teacher* experience - if it's an inspiring teacher (and yes, they do exist!). That's the one thing I feel like my kids has missed out on with the online classes they've taken - even when they've had great online teachers. There is just something a bit different about the environment of being in a classroom with a teacher who is a really good teacher.

I also would consider the ability level of the kids in the class your ds would be participating in. master of none brought up that the pace might be too slow for your ds, which might be frustrating. My ds is subject accelerated in math within school and has been in math classes with kids who are a similar grade level spread - and there were times that he was very frustrated with the pace. OTOH, his school did not separate honors/high achieving kids from other students for math instruction, so he was in a class that included students who just weren't naturally good at math. If your ds is able to take an honors math course with high ability kids, pace might be ok enough. I'm guessing that an 8th grade geometry class is only going to include higher-achieving students - it would be considered a 2-year subject acceleration in our school district.

Let us know what you decide to do - good luck with your decision!

polarbear

ps - do you know the actual cost of your ds' current setup? I am sure it's expensive, and I'm very impressed that your district has offered it!

DS is otherwise with other kids in a classroom environment. I think that either way will be fine, but I know that he was a little lonely sometimes during math because he works by himself 4 days out of 5. He was comfortable in an older math class back in 2nd and 3rd grade between his first and second accelerations.

Part of the problem is that next year is the first year of middle school so I don't have a relationship with the administrator yet and don't have a good handle on how good or bad the middle school classes will be. Other than 24, I don't know if there is a "regular" math club although there is an engineering club and a chess club.

The online provider is adequate rather than great and costs under a thousand for each semester. However, a teacher with at least a masters in math and decades of teaching experience through calculus and beyond tends to charge even more.

The online classes are not cheap but the experienced teacher costs even more.

I guess I recall all the great math teachers I had growing up and wanted DS to have the same experience. The problem is that while I can narrow down the teachers who teach 8th grade GT Geometry, I can't say for sure who will be teaching it unless/until DS is actually assigned to a class. I could contact the chairperson for the Mathematics Department within that middle school.

As for the ability level of the students in the 8th grade GT Geometry class, I assume there is a range but that DS is unlikely although not impposible to find someone at his level. While these are GT kids, we did opted not to accelerate DS as fast as we could have based on ability and everything is still very easy for him.

I don't know exactly how much everything combined costs. The online course is under a thousand per semester. Based on experience with my oldest child, I do know that qualified middle school tutors (certified to teach middle school) in our area charged $40 to $45 per hour half a dozen years ago. The teachers hired by our district to teach DS and others in his accelerated math program are far more qualified (at least masters and decades of teaching up to and beyond calculus).