Please help, need math advice - from Chalkdust to TT?

[Chris in CA]

my dd is in 7th grade this year, she has done Rod & Staff from 1-6th and I put her in Chalkdust Pre-Algebra for 7th. She is bright, but math is hard for her. We are taking it very slow, only on chapter 3 right now and it took her 5 days to do the chapter review. I'm thinking about jumping over to Teaching Textbooks. Any thoughts? I am not a math person, so I'm in unfamiliar territory here as she is my oldest. I know TT gets a bum rap from some, but if she doesn't get Chalkdust maybe something else will be painless and she might actually remember it.

ps-I'm really not interested in Lials

[Claire]

We did not do well here with the old Chalkdust basic math program. My dd also struggles with math. I think TT would be an excellent option, although I have to confess to a bias for Lial's Basic College Mathematics for pre-algebra. We could easily have spent two years on BCM but didn't have the time. It is very thorough and in-depth. However, my dh (who is very math-bright) did spend a lot of time with dd working through Lial's.

[Chris in CA]

Thanks Claire, I think the medium is bad for her, she is very much a visual learner (print) rather than auditory. Sigh
I was dh could teach this, but we are both at a loss

[StaceyinLA]

why Lial's would be ruled out if she learns well from print. Lial's BCM has everything spelled out in the book with examples right there in front of you. I guess I am just wondering why the video programs work so well if she doesn't learn auditorily, since most of that is talking...

[Chris in CA]

We tried it in 6th, it is a college text and just too much for dd, just not a good fit - worse than Chalkdust for her. She is visual, but more in the print-visual way. She is more involved in the process when in a book, than video. She took notes etc, but it just didn't stick
I hope that clears up my convoluted post : )

[momee]

Hi Chris -
If you've looked it over and think it may work, DO IT! :D
I am so glad we changed to TT. Yes, it's not altogether the most popular program on these boards BUT it has worked wonders for us. I was frozen in my decision for too long because of a few "bad" reviews here. I was afraid I would be giving my son something inferior.

It may be considered too slow for some but we think it does a great job of ensuring the aspects of working through certain types of problems are taught and reviewed. I also feel it has rejuvenated my son's confidence in his mathematical abilities - how important is that!!! To ME, that is more important right now than being sure we cover every nuance of pre-algebra. Only time will tell quality wise whether we made the right decision but day to day grind wise - no question we did!

He needed a bit of hand holding but not my hands, lol.

I find it very helpful to have both the visual workings of the discs and the auditory explanations to refer back to when there is a problem.

I am no longer dreading math with my high schooler but feel we can confidently maneuver through what we have to know to be finished with math at the end of high school.
I think reading through old posts on TT you'll find alot of the kids that end up switching to it have tried different programs and ended up having problems then have experienced success with TT. Endorsement enough for us to switch and I'm so glad we did.
HTH
Stephanie
ps he's finishing the program in about three weeks if you want to buy it used...

[Chris in CA]

Hi Stephanie!
Thanks so much for your encouragement. Funny, now going slow sounds good to me. I can see the proverbial handwriting on the wall, she isn't remembering anything.... We talked this morning, I think I'm going to go with TT 7 for the rest of this year, and then begin TT pre-algebra in the fall, that way I won't set her up for a fall again - bad mommy : (
I love what you said "He needed a bit of hand holding but not my hands, lol." EXACTLY!
I'm an English Lit girl, not a math person
The irony is that I was going to go with TT at the beginning of the year, but was scared away by the negative posts - shame on me for falling to peer pressure at my age : )
Dd is so bright and last year loved math, this year we both loathe it, I hope TT will help with that.
Not that CD is a bad program for others, just not a good fit for this dd.
What level are you selling?
thanks again