Help! considering Videotext

[cabdriver]

HI,
I need the help of all you mathy people out there. My daughter just finished TT pre-algebra. I would agree it is not rigorous enough. We supplemented with BJU pre-algebra for some more difficult concepts. I am looking at Videotext Algebra because I like the idea of someone else teaching the higher level math subjects. I get them, but am not sure I can teach them. Does anyone have experience with this program? How does it stack up against more traditional programs for PSAT and SAT testing?
Thanks for all your help!!

[JFS in IL]

used VideoText in 8th grade. He got through almost all of it - ran out to time so did not do the last module. Then ds went to 9th grade at public school and took geometry - got "A"s. This year he is in Algebra 2 and getting "A"s again. His teacher has admitted to us that he knows of VideoText and thinks it does a far better job teaching algebra than the standard school class/text.

Why did we use VideoText? In 7th grade my ds wanted to try public school and so he went. Was in pre-algebra - and almost flunked by the end of the year. the teacher refused to move him into algebra in 8th grade - w/o her approval he could not take it. So we homeschooled - used VideoText - and he "got" it.

Module A of VideoText does review pre-algebra. Do not skip it - it also is teaching and laying the groundwork for being successful with the rest of the program (btw - no calculators used in VT !!).

I NEVER took algebra (long story) back in the day - am mathophobic - yet, peering over ds's shoulder, I UNDERSTOOD algrebra as VT presented it!! I love "teacher in the can" VT

Hope this helps. You can always buy only one or two modules to see if it works with your kid - and they are easy to resell, too. Just use notepaper and do not let the kid write in the workbook.

[ccm]

My *mathy* family sat down and watched various VT lessons when I was considering the program. They agreed that it was an excellent algebra course.

My son (Electrical Engineering major) was impressed with the way the concepts were presented. My daughter is a math major and my husband has an MBA in finance so I value their opinions.

So, at this point, I will be using VT with my youngest daughter once we finish Saxon 8/7 (Tom Clark says that VT can be used once Saxon 7/6 is mastered but we need to *cement* some topics before moving on).

I also love math, so my youngest daughter is the only one in the family who struggles with math. She has some LD's but I think a lot of her difficulty comes from jumping around to find the *perfect* math curriculum in the early stage of homeschooling (Mea culpa).

[mcconnellboys]

I can't compare it to other programs, because we only used VT for higher maths. My math hating son tolerated it and completed Algebra I and II using it.

He returned to private school this year and has an A in geometry. He will take trig/pre-calc next year (at least some of which is included in VT) and so I guess that will be the test of how well it prepared him, stay tuned. I still own it, so I'm hopeful that he can use it as reference if he needs it at that time.

It seemed perfectly sound to me; perhaps not for someone who is going to major in a math related field and who needs a lot of math theory, etc. - I don't think there's a lot of extraneous stuff in there - but it does cover higher level math pretty methodically. My CPA, CIA, CMA, CISA husband found it acceptable in working through some of the Algebra II programming with him. He thought it was set out in a very straightfoward, easy to understand manner.

I actually thought that TT and Chalkdust were very similar to VT, so your info is news to me. I guess I'm glad I chose this program instead of one of the others I might have gone with.....

Regena

[cabdriver]

Thanks for all your comments!! I liked the looks of the program but it is always great to hear from people who have used it successfully.(or unsuccessfully) My dd is very good at math- she's only in 6th grade, so I guess if it doesn't work well we have time to try another more standard text.
If there are other comments, please pass them along.