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If a 5th grader "decides" to learn some algebra, those are the cards the teacher will start preparing for that student, right? But to "learn" algebra, one trad

If a 5th grader "decides" to learn some algebra, those are the cards the teacher will start preparing for that student, right? But to "learn" algebra, one traditionally learns a set of concepts and practices those concepts in the form of large quantities of practice problems. Every math teacher I've ever met has said the key to mastery of math concepts is practice and repetition. So, if we go back to our 5th grader, and algebra comes up for him/her in the customized lesson plan, does that mean for the next year, algebra cards are going to appear, with a set of problems to solve, and links to... what, wikipedia pages that explain how to solve them? What happens when the kid decides he/she doesn't want to "explore" math anymore? Does that kid just not get a math education, at that time? Are we going to have 16 yr olds who never figured out that "exploring math" is going to be a key to being a competent adult? I'm sure what I wrote is quite commonly brought up and an answer exists, but I do wonder what that answer is -- to sum: what do you do when a kid doesn't want to "explore" an area of knowledge that we as adults know is going to be critical to functioning as one of us in the world?

Marcus316 12y ago
Not sure where you got the idea that it is entirely the child's choice what he learns. What I got out of the article is that the child's interests, strengths and weaknesses are taken into account to produce an individualized curriculum. If a child is weak in mathematics, the curriculum is adjusted for _that child_ to emphasize mathematics. It's not as simple as "Johnny wants to learn poetry and only poetry, so that's what we let him learn." At least, that's what I got out of the explanation. It's chaotic in that every student needs to be guided differently, and AltSchool is using technology to make that guidance easier for the teachers to apply across individuals. The idea is not to lose students in the crowd, but also not to let them lose themselves in the chaos.

Marcus316 12y ago

Not sure where you got the idea that it is entirely the child's choice what he learns. What I got out of the article is that the child's interests, strengths and weaknesses are taken into account to produce an individualized curriculum. If a child is weak in mathematics, the curriculum is adjusted for _that child_ to emphasize mathematics. It's not as simple as "Johnny wants to learn poetry and only poetry, so that's what we let him learn." At least, that's what I got out of the explanation. It's chaotic in that every student needs to be guided differently, and AltSchool is using technology to make that guidance easier for the teachers to apply across individuals. The idea is not to lose students in the crowd, but also not to let them lose themselves in the chaos.