Posted on 02/08/2020 12:03:25 PM PST by WmShirerAdmirer
Same here.
What finally made math click for me was homeschooling my kids and using the old hardcover Saxon Math.
I learned right along with them.
You had my deepest sympathy until I read your father took you out of that school. Bravo! Now I’m smiling and so relieved for you!
Your father was a great man, but I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that.
Funny how topics like math, mentioned years later, bring up our deepest memories of our self worth, our assessment of our youthful intelligence and the love and care of those who stood by us and helped us gain confidence and knowledge.
My son just got a MA in cyber security and is having the worst time finding a job. They all want someone with experience.
What he found out is the kids graduating with BA's were doing OK finding jobs but for some reason he wasn't.
And he knows his stuff. He's got an impressive job at the moment and is doing well in it.
We don't get it.
I have 3 kids. First 2 went to private Christian school. Cost $$$. One went on to a college degree. Both kids (and friends) are not walking with the Lord.
Last kid was homeschooled day 1, except for a semester at the above mentioned Christian school when he was a freshman in HS (wanted to try it out). He earned 4.0 while at the “real” school, but preferred staying in pjs all day so went back to homeschooling. Was accepted at our state’s most prestigious university.
He’s the most conservative of the bunch, and does utilize critical thinking skills. He DID vote for hiLIARy in 2016, but says he regrets it (he was young/first election).
But, ultimately, I can see that homeschooling is FAR more advantageous to children in that it gives them a firmer foundation for life vs indoctrination. I regret we did not home school our oldest two, and sometimes wonder how much their lives would have been different if we had.
My experience has been that “low cost” and “homeschool curriculum” are two mutually exclusive concepts, especially in the middle school and later years. If you have a lot of kids, you do get to reuse the stuff (kind of like hand-me-down clothes).
$500-700 per grade level per year is not an unrealistic expectation, and it could be higher, depending on other factors. This does not include music lessons and athletics.
I finally was able to figure out the common core math to help my kids. The one kids could do it both ways, and the other just the “normal” way. But she did well - and got the right answers.
We got called in for a parent-teacher thing and the teacher told us our daughter was getting “F”s because she didn’t do it the common core way.
“But they are the correct answer- right?”
“Well, not really because...”
“No, we get that - but the ultimate answer is correct - right?”
“Well, yes, but...”
“GREAT! That’s good enough for us. If you need to keep giving her “F”s, so be it. And I doubt they’ll hold her back for fifth grade because of it.”
It then got into a discussion with the teacher that it was against the district policy to teach the kids math facts. So my wife and another mom went to the school (trading off days) and spent an hour every day during math class out in the hallway with the kids and flash cards. Spent a few minutes with each kid, and if they passed then they would get a new set of flash cards to work with at home.
Even the principal was for it. Then another math teacher joined in and allowed his kids to go. But all of them said “If the district board finds out, we might all be toast.”
I found that looking for a local co-op gives you the best of both worlds... support for mom/teacher and a “real school” type atmosphere (changing classes, etc.).
From that, you get great ideas for low cost curriculum. At our co-op, people brought in curriculum they didn’t want and had it available for free. Also, the relationships definitely make a difference as you learn from those who have gone before you.
So just my .02 here.
1) Degrees are nice, but the career field is new enough that many companies are not accepting degrees ONLY. Best to have a couple of certifications to back it up. I know a LOT of guys with NO degree who are making $150K with their certifications. Location is also a big driver. Big NFL cities pay far more that remote towns. And if you are in a remote town, be prepared for travel. Depending on what your son wants to do, I can point him towards the most common certifications.
2) Cyber security as an industry, has two flavors. Soft and Hard. Soft is the regulatory compliance side. Consultants asking questions such as ... DFS 500 requires a MFA policy. Please provide a copy of your current policy, your list of approved applications and a list of your current approved exceptions. The the consultant will conduct a gap analysis against the regulation (there are a bunch) and write a report on recommendations on how to close the gaps.
Hard side is the very technical but is mostly either 1) architecture (reviews of applications to ensure capabilities (such as TLS 1.2) or code reviews (known as either SAST or DAST) -or- 2) penetration testing (a highly in demand but limited skills set with it’s own set of certifications)
If your son is attempting to get a job outside of those areas ... yeah, it is going to be tough. Especially tough to get a management level position without experience. Not impossible and there are a few specific certifications that can bridge that gap.
I will send a private msg with my work email.
Dad did not pull punches when it came to our education. We were going to get the best we could or he would know the reason why. My older brother had dyslexia although back then the school just said he was stupid.
Dad spent at least an hour every day helping him learn ways and methods so he could read what he needed to. So I guess we were home schooled even before we went overseas.
Over 10 years for me as well.
I would not recommend ABeka for math at all—too fast and skips all over the place.
I have grandkids now and they are going to a charter school but here at home, I got them the R&S kindergarten books and the penmanhip books.
I haven’t used Saxon in ages but it helped my kids with learning algebra. That is my weakness but they did well in college so I can’t complain.
Get the ED Hersch series and curiculumn and use a library.
We live in a world where leftists insist up is down, left is right, and boys are girls.
That is right we live in Orwell’s times.
Thus curiculumn that is senseless and meaningless is being touted. Harrison Bergeron is a short story that will also elucidate this perspective.
Get your children and grandchildren out of the public system, immediately. It is evil and will hurt your children.
evil walks.
CC is not about logic, it is about mind control.
Girlfriend is a lackey tying up young minds so they will never fuction well.
Find a better women.
I’m an old-timer, and when we homeschooled our kids, there wasn’t the selection that there is now. It’s almost overwhelming. I suggest checking out the website of Christian Book christianbook.com They has a whole section of homeschool materials with reviews.
Also, your friend should get in touch with the HSLDA, Home School Legal Defense Association, and see if there is a local homeschool support group.
Yes. there are many options. I’m not sure how one would homeschool occasionally.
I will give this to Mrs. Founded. It may take a day or so for a proper response, as she is out of town.
Yep, I did.
Ditto on everything Reddy posted. Our local co-ops were wonderful, with all the same benefits Reddy mentioned.
His anger is understandable. The child answered every question correctly, and she gave him an F?
Maybe talk to someone in charge. If that still gets him nowhere, take that child out of that school.
They aren’t stupid enough to think that your kids will efficiently learn what you know by their method, but they decided that that doesn’t matter.It’s (evil) politics.
Of course the only effective response is to homeschool, and tell them that they are relieved of their duty to teach your children because they are worthless at it.
My brother needed, and had, an aide because he was paralyzed. The aide complained to my brother that her son was failing Math. My brother, an engineer, volunteered to tutor the boy, and went to his house and asked to see the math book he was using. Upon inspection, there was no mathematics in that book. Nothing but BS with a political slant.
My brother was able to get the kid through it, and he ultimately graduated college with a Comp Sci degree.
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