Homeschooling High School - What If Math Isn't Working?

For homeschooling parents, the fear of failing at high school math is probably right up there with the fear of death or public speaking. Whenever the curriculum you are currently using isn't working for your student, you might want to take into consideration adding a tutor. It doesn't have to be a math professor or anything. Usually just another high school student that is farther along in math will do the trick. They will talk the same language that way. I did give my students the answer key to their math books and only took it away on test day. My youngest rarely used it, but my eldest would work with the answer key for pretty much every problem, sometimes almost copying it one number at a time. But you know, it ended up being like copywork when they were younger and would copy sentences. Finally, he "got it. " For extra problems, you can find workbooks available for Algebra 1. They usually are not expensive - maybe $10? You may even find them at the library. My eldest "failed" algebra 1, because he was using a book that didn't work for him. We switched to Jacobs Algebra and he repeated algebra 1. He did MUCH better. Jacobs has wonderfully written explanations. Perhaps your child might learn better with written, as opposed to visual, instruction. My older son is now getting straight As in electrical engineering at the university - so there IS hope, even after a failure! For further video help, you might want to look at The Teaching Company high school algebra You can also consider using a different curriculum altogether, if your current one just doesn't match up with your child's learning style. It's possible to "pass" the SAT and ACT even if you aren't far along in math. Various colleges don't have a math requirement for entrance, so you can find those colleges if you need to. The most crucial thing is that you teach math at your student's level, and get some success before moving on. I hope that helps! I remember how fearful and frustrated I was. And yet now my son is doing well in engineering school, and takes college math classes for fun! But I really didn't "teach" him high school math. You don't have to teach it, they just have to learn it!