Review Detail

4.2 13 0.5
Curriculas 5775
Have only used 7/6, 8/7, and algebra. But it is by far the best way to teach middle school and high school math. I teach the lessons, usually taking 5-10 minutes, depending on the content. And then my children are on their own. My special needs child takes several hours to finish a lesson, but my son can complete one lesson in under an hour. The book is well written, explaining all the examples completely, and the problems are based on the examples. They don't try to trip up the student. They do stretch their thinking, but they don't make the problems hard to work and they don't give them problems that contain concepts they haven't taught. There are quite a few problems, but like any subject, practice makes perfect. You don't learn a new song in piano by only playing it once and then moving one. You practice it multiple times a day for many days or even weeks. Same with English. We speak many times a day, every day. Math is just another language like English or music. It's needs lots of practice to be successful. I tutored math students when I was a high school student and also as a college student. I have used other programs and researched many more. There is no better program that Saxon, if you really want your child to learn math. I speak to adults often that say, "I'm not good at math." It's not the student, but the book and the teacher. Math is not colorful like art. It's not a story like history or reading. So some may think it's dry. That's not because of Saxon. It's a number after all. How interesting is the number 5 really? It's just a number. But it has great meaning and value and we need to understand it. $5 is different than 5 apples, for example. And it means something to me when it takes on the characteristics God intended for numbers. He created them. We should strive to use and understand them. Application is where they come in handy every day. Math can be fun when games are played using numbers at the elementary level. But higher math can't be "cute" nor should it be. Higher level math takes higher level thinking, but the foundation of understanding starts in elementary school. Saxon does a great job of teaching those higher level math skills that will be used as an adult. But a strong foundation at the elementary level, like RightStart, is paramount.
Grade levels used
  • 4
  • 5
  • 7
  • 8
Pros
Teaches middle school and high school math how it should be taught.
Cons
None
Do you recommend?
Yes, but only the original versions.
C
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