Re: Son struggling in advanced math class - needfeedback

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Update since my original post - Dylan made a 90 on his first test this 6 weeks! He has a 78 in there right now though because he has some missing work that hasn't been graded yet. He has anothe test today and he's super nervous. It's word problems and those can be so hard for him. He is cognitively rigid (thanks, Aspergers!) so trying to generalize a concept over very different word problems can be extremely difficult for him. Like you suggested might happen, he does freeze sometimes, kind of panics, and then shuts down. He can be stuck for one problem for an hour if he doesn't have someone to help push him along. So we'll see what this test brings! At least we have the 90 to average in to this test grade. Tests count for 70 percent of his grade. Something i've been doing with him for awhile and I think is finally sinking in is turning negative thoughts around into positive thoughts. So instead of "i'm going to fail, it's too hard, i'm going to do bad" he stops and reminds himself that "i'm going to do my best. I've studied for this test and i'm going to try hard." he's able to turn it around now if I stop him when he's starting to spiral into the negativity vortex! Hope he can do it when he's by himself. I appreciate your response and the advice/support of so many in the group! I'll keep you guys posted!Sent via BlackBerry by AT&TFrom: Roxanna <MadIdeas@...>Sender: Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2011 08:56:56 -0500 (EST)< >Reply Subject: Re: ( ) Son struggling in advanced math class - needfeedback Everyone else had great ideas! I agree with you because he sees the problem and wants a chance to fix it. It's his problem and you've outlined options for him. He chose the solution. Now he has to do the work. I would just discuss the consequences if his grades do not improve (i.e. summer school.) And I would have suggested the tutor, which you are already doing. Sounds like you just have to sit back and see how things go. I hope Alg clicks for him! And also, some math is harder for some people than others. I remember high school Geometry as being a hazy year of numbness. lol. Totally did not get anything that year. I did retake it with my ds (e-schooling) and I finally got it. lol. But back then, I could do Alg all day long but not Geometry. Hopefully his tutor will help. There are some great online tutors as well he could try. Sometimes seeing it visually can make a difference. Also, the teacher really makes a difference. Some teachers can make learning math really fun. My ds is gifted in math but he was failing a pre-alg. class in middle school. It made no sense. I think the teacher just lost him from the start because he is now taking Alg 2 this year as a Freshman. I did not try to figure out the problem (there were so many at the time) and we just went to e-schooling, where he quickly advanced. But it would have been interesting to figure out what they were doing. lol. (I do remember saying something not nice at the time, lol) I just tell this story to remind you how much a teacher can affect outcomes sometimes. Another thing I noticed is that you say he did fine on the work but he failed the semester exam. You might take note of what kind of exam this was. For some kids, that can make a difference. Or they can freeze before tests. Some teachers want to get tricky on tests too so that can be hard. You know, they give you the one almost impossible problem to solve when the whole semester, you didn't strain once to solve any of them. I hope he manages to improve his grade!!!! Let me know! Roxanna“Our lives begin to end the day webecome silent about things that matter.†- Luther King, Jr. ( ) Son struggling in advanced math class - need feedback FIRST - Sorry this is so long! If you're interested in providing feedback, I suggest you get comfortable before attempting to read =)My son is 14 and in his Freshman year of high school. He's taking one pre-AP (advanced placement) course this year in Algebra. This means the subject matter moves along more quickly and requires more in depth understanding of the material. Dylan's most favorite subject is science but there was summer work to complete if he went pre-AP biology so he chose pre-AP algebra, instead. This was a typical reaction of D's - he doesn't like to do extra/harder/more advanced work if it requires more time/effort on his end. He took a pre-AP course b/c he thinks he's smart enough to have at least one on his schedule.Fast forward to the end of the first semester and Dylan failed the semester with a 68. He passed each of the six weeks, but failed the semester exam which brought his grade below passing. He will be on probation for the 4th six weeks period and if he fails it, it will be up to the principal and myself if he should be removed from pre-AP algebra and placed in a regular education algebra class. I'm clarifying a few things tomorrow with the school like what happens if he passes the 2nd semester and pulls his overall grade to passing? Will he receive a full credit for the year (right now his report card shows he didn't receive a 1/2 credit for the first semester since he failed.) So...my dilemna. My mom (who's retired) has been helping him w/ much of his homework and she had a meeting (with my blessing) with the math teacher and Dylan's SCORES teacher (autism program at school that provides support to D). My mom and his pre-AP math teacher thinks he should move to regular ed now. The kicker is that my son is adamant about not quitting. We got him a tutor at the end of the semester and that will continue on a more regular basis from here on out. He thinks between the tutor's help and his better understanding of what it will take to pass the class, he can pass it and he wants to try. This is HUGE for him. He usually takes the path of least resistance so for him to want to try, I've decided to support his decision. The ramifications if he continues but doesn't pass include summer school, minimally. I'm not clear what else might happen. I think he would make better grades in the regular education math class. I think it would be easier. I think it would require less homework after school, something that takes him 2+ hours on most nights (just for math, not including other subjects.) But he wants to keep trying and I feel like I have to support his decision. Regardless of the outcome, I want him to know that 1) I'll support his decision and 2) I believe in him. If he ends up failing for the year, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. I'm getting hung up on how much I should influence him to change his mind. My mom thinks I'm wrong. His math teacher thinks I'm wrong. My dad understands my position. Can I get your thoughts?

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Sounds great! Hope today goes well!

From: smacalli@... <smacalli@...>Subject: Re: ( ) Son struggling in advanced math class - needfeedback Date: Friday, January 28, 2011, 9:29 AM

Update since my original post - Dylan made a 90 on his first test this 6 weeks! He has a 78 in there right now though because he has some missing work that hasn't been graded yet. He has anothe test today and he's super nervous. It's word problems and those can be so hard for him. He is cognitively rigid (thanks, Aspergers!) so trying to generalize a concept over very different word problems can be extremely difficult for him. Like you suggested might happen, he does freeze sometimes, kind of panics, and then shuts down. He can be stuck for one problem for an hour if he doesn't have someone to help push him along. So we'll see what this test brings! At least we have the 90 to average in to this test grade. Tests count for 70 percent of his grade. Something i've been doing with him for awhile and I think is finally sinking in is turning negative thoughts around into positive thoughts. So instead of "i'm going to fail, it's too hard, i'm going

to do bad" he stops and reminds himself that "i'm going to do my best. I've studied for this test and i'm going to try hard." he's able to turn it around now if I stop him when he's starting to spiral into the negativity vortex! Hope he can do it when he's by himself. I appreciate your response and the advice/support of so many in the group! I'll keep you guys posted!

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From: Roxanna <MadIdeas@...>

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Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2011 08:56:56 -0500 (EST)

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Subject: Re: ( ) Son struggling in advanced math class - need feedback

Everyone else had great ideas! I agree with you because he sees the problem and wants a chance to fix it. It's his problem and you've outlined options for him. He chose the solution. Now he has to do the work. I would just discuss the consequences if his grades do not improve (i.e. summer school.) And I would have suggested the tutor, which you are already doing. Sounds like you just have to sit back and see how things go. I hope Alg clicks for him! And also, some math is harder for some people than others. I remember high school Geometry as being a hazy year of numbness. lol. Totally did not get anything that year. I did retake it with my ds (e-schooling) and I finally got it. lol. But back then, I could do Alg

all day long but not Geometry. Hopefully his tutor will help. There are some great online tutors as well he could try. Sometimes seeing it visually can make a difference. Also, the teacher really makes a difference. Some teachers can make learning math really fun. My ds is gifted in math but he was failing a pre-alg. class in middle school. It made no sense. I think the teacher just lost him from the start because he is now taking Alg 2 this year as a Freshman. I did not try to figure out the problem (there were so many at the time) and we just went to e-schooling, where he quickly advanced. But it would have been interesting to figure out what they were doing. lol. (I do remember saying something not nice at the

time, lol) I just tell this story to remind you how much a teacher can affect outcomes sometimes. Another thing I noticed is that you say he did fine on the work but he failed the semester exam. You might take note of what kind of exam this was. For some kids, that can make a difference. Or they can freeze before tests. Some teachers want to get tricky on tests too so that can be hard. You know, they give you the one almost impossible problem to solve when the whole semester, you didn't strain once to solve any of them. I hope he manages to improve his grade!!!! Let me know!

Roxanna“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.†- Luther King, Jr.

( ) Son struggling in advanced math class - need feedback

FIRST - Sorry this is so long! If you're interested in providing feedback, I suggest you get comfortable before attempting to read =)My son is 14 and in his Freshman year of high school. He's taking one pre-AP (advanced placement) course this year in Algebra. This means the subject matter moves along more quickly and requires more in depth understanding of the material. Dylan's most favorite subject is science but there was summer work to complete if he went pre-AP biology so he chose pre-AP algebra, instead. This was a typical reaction of D's - he doesn't like to do extra/harder/more advanced work if it requires more time/effort on his end. He took a pre-AP course b/c he thinks he's smart enough to have at least one on his schedule.Fast forward to the end of the first semester and Dylan failed the semester with a 68. He passed each of the six weeks, but failed the semester exam which brought his grade below passing. He will be on

probation for the 4th six weeks period and if he fails it, it will be up to the principal and myself if he should be removed from pre-AP algebra and placed in a regular education algebra class. I'm clarifying a few things tomorrow with the school like what happens if he passes the 2nd semester and pulls his overall grade to passing? Will he receive a full credit for the year (right now his report card shows he didn't receive a 1/2 credit for the first semester since he failed.) So...my dilemna. My mom (who's retired) has been helping him w/ much of his homework and she had a meeting (with my blessing) with the math teacher and Dylan's SCORES teacher (autism program at school that provides support to D). My mom and his pre-AP math teacher thinks he should move to regular ed now. The kicker is that my son is adamant about not quitting. We got him a tutor at the end of the semester and that will continue on a more regular basis from here on out. He

thinks between the tutor's help and his better understanding of what it will take to pass the class, he can pass it and he wants to try. This is HUGE for him. He usually takes the path of least resistance so for him to want to try, I've decided to support his decision. The ramifications if he continues but doesn't pass include summer school, minimally. I'm not clear what else might happen. I think he would make better grades in the regular education math class. I think it would be easier. I think it would require less homework after school, something that takes him 2+ hours on most nights (just for math, not including other subjects.) But he wants to keep trying and I feel like I have to support his decision. Regardless of the outcome, I want him to know that 1) I'll support his decision and 2) I believe in him. If he ends up failing for the year, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. I'm getting hung up on how much I should influence him to change

his mind. My mom thinks I'm wrong. His math teacher thinks I'm wrong. My dad understands my position. Can I get your thoughts?