Pulling in front of our house, the big brown truck delivered our first shipment of 2008-2009 school materials.
Opening the box we found Teaching Textbooks for 7th and 9th grades.
This is a major change for us, since we’ve used A Beka for both kids since kindergarten.
A Beka Math
Grades K-3 math books are cute and colorful. Grades 4-6 math tests and quizzes looked forboding without anymore color.
Grade 7 math books shocked us because it was impossible to distinguish where one lesson began and another ended. In order to see in-depth answers to word problems, an extra book had to be ordered. Grade 8 was no better.
Although my primary concern was dd entering Algebra I, I was concerned about ds entering Math 7.
Although he does well with math, he prefers to daydream.
Surprisingly he beats us at mental math while shopping and playing board games.
High School Math Banter
Listening to high school mom’s banter about the pros and cons of math curricula helped me narrow down a choice.
Math-U-See
Although Math-U-See was positively mentioned, it was in reference to the same manipulatives I used with my kids when they were younger, but they never liked them.
VideoText
Sounds like VideoText is the mother of all high school math programs, which terrifies us. My kids do not enjoy math, nor do they plan to become math majors.
Teaching Textbooks
Everything I heard about Teaching Textbooks sounded amazing! With a reputation for reluctant math students, TT engages kids in a simplified way so that they grasp the math concept.
With the books come all the CDs needed to have a math tutor at hand to explain the lessons and every single math problem. Eureka!
After the student pops in a CD to learn the lesson, one of the Sabouri brothers explains the lesson (talking to the student, not at the student) while a pencil moves across the page, doing the math.
Since there are samples on the TT website, I chose a lesson I had vague memories from in Algebra I. Wow! I felt as if I understood the lesson better now than I did when I was in high school.
One of the arguments against TT is that it’s not in-depth enough, so it doesn’t prepare a student for the SAT or college.
I’ve heard some moms say they are glad their child can solidify the basic concepts instead of being overwhelmed and moving too fast. Exactly what I’m thinking!
Then I found reviews of kids who after using TT, maxed the math portion of the SAT and did just fine in college math.
Researching TT at the Homeschool Bookfair
At the homeschool bookfair I talked to lots of moms at the TT table.
One mom said they used to love using Math-U-See until they got to Algebra I, until she went nuts trying to figure out the concepts.
After they discovered TT, her oldest whizzed through math, barely needing the CDs. He did well on the SAT, while his friend, who also used TT, maxed the SAT. The younger dds of this lady did not like math until they used TT.
TT for 7th Grade is Different
TT has a different approach to Math 7 and below, in that all the work is done on the computer, which concerned me.
My son tried out a demo CD at one of the computers at the TT table.
After popping in the CD and listening to the lesson, the student can figure out the practice problems on a pad of paper before entering the solution into the computer program. After 3 errors the program will explain the concept.
There are selectable characters to interact with the student.
While talking to the ladies, I watched him interact with the product.
Given two numbers to subtract, both 6 digits long with several numbers to carry, my son computed everything in his head before correctly entering the answer.
Why can’t he do this on a sheet of A Beka paper?
There was also a record keeper built in for the teacher to keep check with the student’s progress, which might be what we need to get over the hump.
Epilogue 2024
My daughter did okay with TT, but still needed my guidance. By the time she entered college we learned she needed vision therapy, due to her eyes sometimes seeing double.
Despite one of her college classes teaching Common Core math, she kept doing math the old-fashioned way. When her classmates discovered how she more easily computed math problems, they asked her to tutor them, which she did after each class.
My son did very well with TT, the PSAT, and the SAT, earning some scholarship money for college.
