Are we spending enough time on math???

I polled a group of homeschoolers this past weekend, asking "How much time do you spend on math"... the consensus was "How much time do you spend on math?".. i.e.  the I didn't really get an answer, but was asked in turn how much time my kids spent on the subject.

I thought my answer would be, up to 90 minutes a day or more for high school students... but no.  It seems I may be the only one of that opinion.  You see, my kids were not math whizzes and it took that long to get through a math lesson and then practice, especially in the high school years.  This started in middle school, where we were doing AT LEAST and hour a day, and it just took more and more time as they death with Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry, and so forth.

And even after all that work, they just did OK on the SAT/ACT exams in the subject.  It was their verbal scores that won them their acceptances and scholarships.

So I'd like to ask a bigger audience.. how much time you spend on math, in what grades, and why.  And what are/have been the results.  I really want to know.

2 comments:

Usethebrains Godgiveyou said...

I'm very happy to chime in. My son nearly flunked grade 8 because of Algebra...so we began homeschooling, seeing the writing on the wall. I have my degree in special education, and could not teach him math. Finally realized he had a pretty severe learning disability, and the 2 years of trying with no success made sense. Finally, we went to ALEKS.com, suggested by LDOnline, a group for kids with learning differences. He worked maybe 2-3 hours a day for a year, we didn't bother with Science and History which he excelled in. At the end of 1 year of self-teaching, he could pass the Compass Test in tech college, and did not qualify for remedial math...which was a miracle in itself. He still needs a calculator, but that's not a big deal, most adults use them.

Too much information? Soryy...

Happy Elf Mom (Christine) said...

Rose spends about 45 minutes and Woodjie can spend 2 to 2 1/2 hours on the same lesson. I don't know how long I can keep this up, but I really don't want him too far behind. They are both working on second grade stuff.

12 grade year of homeschooling, Finishing Strong

We are almost done with my college prep series. There will still be a video on completing the transcript.    Stay tuned... meanwhile, ...