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Original poster

Maths help

86 replies

mathsmum314 · 13/05/2016 17:36

New to MN...

Son in year 9, very academic, loves maths. Last year he became bored in class, wasn't progressing. Teacher explained he was working at highest level but would give more extension work.

New GCSE, harder material, new grades 8+9, not allowed to do it early, additional maths unlikely etc It sat uneasy with me but didn't see any other options, trusted the teachers/school, and hoped the harder GCSE would be enough of a challenge.

Choices made and started GCSE material. My son wants to be either a mathematician or physicist, he loves both. On way to school today he looked at his timetable groaned and said "oh no I hate maths class". I can't let him spend another 2 years hating maths class and destroying his love of the subject.

For example, he spent all last week doing indices, and all this week doing standard form. He usually finishes the work within 5 minutes and gets extensions doing ... more indices and standard form. He might as well have spent two weeks practising his 2 times tables. What he really needs is to move into the sixth forms AS maths class but school says that's not feasible.

Any suggestions on what I can do, what I can realistically press the school to do, because its heart-breaking to see something my son loves being destroyed.

OP posts:
Original poster
mathsmum314 · 13/05/2016 18:31

He does find the math challenges fun, sadly he was sick when they did it this year, got a copy and he did it later at home but wasn't admissible...

He has been allowed to move up a year group in another subject, caught up and overtook the year 10's pretty fast. He was also allowed out of school to do a computer engineering module at university, fitted in really well with the students and joined in with some of their social/weekend revision sessions.

Head of school is very supportive about doing something but it just doesn't filter down to concrete change in the class. I dont even blame the teacher, its like they are in a straight jacket.

OP posts:
titchy · 13/05/2016 18:29

Unless they're going to go to university aged 16 putting them in for A level when their peers are going GCSE just shifts the problem. What do they then do at sixth form if they've already done A level?

claraschu · 13/05/2016 18:23

Hi Noble sorry to disagree, as I you are clearly vastly more knowledgeable than I am about maths teaching.

Can I just say that it is different to teach able children for a year or two and get a snapshot of their life than to be the parent of such a child, and watch them be gradually disenchanted. I really think the system fails them. If a child has an unusual aptitude for maths, it can be very harmful to them to go through the UK system.

They have to do a lot of work which is boring and obvious to them starting when they are very young. They are MUCH better at maths than the other children in the class, often better than the teacher. This is very off putting.

My son's teachers all thought he was doing wonderfully, that he was excited and eager; they didn't see the gradual process of him deciding that maths wasn't as interesting as he had thought.

noblegiraffe · 13/05/2016 18:07

People who don't have children who are really really good at maths don't understand this, and that includes a lot of teachers.

Actually I do understand this having taught exactly such a child who was sitting in A-level classes in their uniform alongside sixth formers. Socially it's not great, and when they're that good, maths A-level won't present much of a challenge either. Sitting A-level early and running out of secondary maths way before finishing secondary school causes problems with timetable get, teaching and uni entry.

The UKMT mentoring scheme is ideal, I'm presuming that a natural mathematician is doing well in the maths challenges. This is training material for the follow-on rounds. If they excel nationally they will be invited to maths training camps for international competitions.

The UKMT provides monthly problems with solutions for junior, intermediate and senior levels. They can also assign a university undergrad to mentor the student through the problems via email.

claraschu · 13/05/2016 18:05

It is crap, because when they are little, kids continue to want to learn outside of class, but from about age 13, they get too much homework, and their social life becomes very absorbing. My son started just being bored and put off. It was sad.

Schools are determined to keep people in the right year group for maths; often they only care that a child who is good at maths will get an A* on his GCSE, and don't see beyond that to the wasted enthusiasm and lost joy.

Original poster
mathsmum314 · 13/05/2016 18:01

I have been round all the other state schools in the city but none of them offer anything more than one he is in.

OP posts:
Original poster
mathsmum314 · 13/05/2016 18:00

Yes claraschu you have described it quite well. A simple solution would be to give him an advanced maths text book and let him get on with it in the corner of the room but school wont do that for some reason. He is well behaved, works on his own quietly, wont need any teacher help so I don't understand why school is so against him doing different work.

OP posts:
claraschu · 13/05/2016 17:58

Sorry OP I don't really have any advice, just a lot of sympathy. Schools in the UK are not set up to challenge children who have a great intuitive understanding of maths. The national curriculum is very restrictive for this kind of child.

Original poster
mathsmum314 · 13/05/2016 17:56

Thanks Noble, I know its not sensible to move in an AS class, was trying to indicate what level he is actually at.

Can UKMT actually be done in the class regularly? He does massive amounts of stuff like this outside of school, NRICH is what he is in his bedroom doing right now. So really what your saying is instead of extension material I should press for something completely different?

OP posts:
claraschu · 13/05/2016 17:56

I have a son like this. What he needed was to do AS maths. Extension work and Mentoring schemes are ok, but they don't address the problem of being bored and turned off by the school maths classes. People who don't have children who are really really good at maths don't understand this, and that includes a lot of teachers.

Mu son was put off maths because of too many years of uninspiring and repetitive teaching. It was like putting a person who speaks French into a beginning French class, and expecting him/her to do lots of very simple homework; young children don't tolerate this well, even if they get a little bit of extension work in addition to what the rest of the class is doing.

My daughter has a boy in her school who is doing a maths A level in year 7 (small, very alternative, private school, sorry). He is learning and having fun. Some kids are just like that...

noblegiraffe · 13/05/2016 17:44

What he really needs is to move into the sixth forms AS maths class

This would be a really bad idea for various reasons.

If your DS loves maths ask the school to get him on the UKMT mentoring scheme - he can work through their monthly problems when he has finished the classwork.