CPS math and how to balance schoolwork & extracurricular activities @CPS
Hi all,
Our child will start College Prep this fall. Just wanted to get your perspectives on how math is taught at CPS. We're not familiar with this type of Harkness/questions-based teaching style. For parents with children at CPS, how is it working out for your kids? Our kid did extremely well on the ISEE & in middle school, but definitely not a math genius, and we don't look forward to having to tutor at home. By the way, do most kids skip Math 1 at CPS? Do most CPS students go beyond calculus-BC? (All the CPS kids we talked to at the open house seemed incredibly confident about their math ability...)
Finally, we know the question about how to balance school and extracurricular activities is asked a lot. But still, just wanted to get some parental advice so we can keep our kid challenged but not get caught up in the rat race. What is a good guideline? What do you do to keep your kid sane? Have you ever consider transferring your kid out of CPS because the other kids are simply too "stellar"?
Parent Replies
I wish I could contact you directly, since I hate bashing CPS in public, but I think the school's system of teaching math is atrocious. If your child is really good at math, it won't hurt them. If your child is okay, like mine was, it can be a struggle. Most of what she learned in math came from her very fantastic math teacher (Irving Lubliner) at Bentley. The concepts he instilled in 7th & 8th grade got her through CPS. When it came time for SATs in junior year, we got a tutor. That's not unusual, but math was the only thing she needed help in. Senior year was a struggle, and we went back to the tutoring place for help. It was worth it.
I don't know if most skip Math 1, but I would not be surprised, since many of the entering frosh will have had introductory calculus in middle school. Ours stopped at Math VAB [AP AB].
Nah. Never considered leaving. Our kid was stellar. Just not in math. :) The English teachers are wonderful. The history teachers as well. The science teachers rock. Don't know about all the languages, but CPS is a stronghold for Latin and debate.
You may (or may not) find this reassuring about the pressure. Our daughter found the first year easier than her middle school years at Bentley. I think CPS, to its credit, does realize that not every student comes in with the same academic intensity, and allows for an adjustment to the expectations of one of the top college prep schools in the country. Sophomore year was not as easy a ride. :) Would we do it again if we had the chance to back in time? Absolutely. No question. One interesting thing our daughter said after her first year in college was that she realized how much more she could have gotten from her teachers at CPS had she put in even more effort. She did not make the same mistake twice.
Feel free to contact me if you have any other questions. My daughter graduated almost 10 years ago, so my frame of reference is dated and getting more so, but I'm happy to help.
Welcome to CPS! The math program now works well for our College-Prep student, but it did take some getting used to. Our kid was frustrated in the beginning, pushed through it, and now says she loves math in a way that she didn't before. One thing she did was utilize the tutoring center on campus and met with her teacher weekly. She no longer meets that often, but the second she's unsure of a concept, she's emailing asking for an appointment. Her teacher has been kind and open and genuinely loves teaching (as have all her teachers this year.) She tested into Math 2, but she has friends in Math 1, and she also knows students who started in Math 2 and moved to Math 1.
I can't speak for other kids and how they stay sane, and everyone's different, but for ours it helps if she stays very organized. When she studies, she's studying, not answering texts from friends or getting distracted. She participates in extracurricular activities, debate, sports, and on campus clubs, and yes, sometimes, especially as we're entering the last few weeks before finals and studying ramps up, it seems like a lot, but then the school gives a break (either a 3 day weekend or no homework weekend,) just when they seem to need it the most. But importantly, she loves it there, wants to go, and thanks us for the opportunity to study at College Prep. Her rat race is with herself. She wants to understands concepts completely, so she pushes herself. Not sure what to do about that other than make sure she has fun on the weekends and laughs at every opportunity! Good luck and again, Welcome!
I have tutored two math students from CPS. Even though I was a classroom teacher, it took me awhile to acclimate to 1. Not having book 2. Relying only on student notes, and 3. The wide rannge of non trivial and richness found in HW problems.
I worked with students in Math 2 and 3 . I don't know what the typical students enrolled in.
As far as your son goes, I would want you to be sure your child can take excellent notes or buddy up with someone who does. It's critical. And that he have strong skills from the prior class because the concepts from the previous class are used right away and throughout the course and students are expected to pull out those past skills. And of course the most obvious recommendation not to fall behind at all. Never.
After these ominous sounding warnings from me, I agree with CPS students who feel they know math very well after CPS. The curriculum is outstanding.
I too wish I could speak with you privately because I really value so many of the people and aspects of CPS. However Math has been "atrocious" (like that work from another poster!) all the way through. If your kiddo isn't super strong in Math, it's tough. The school now uses the Philips Exeter Math program and depending on the teacher, it can be a completely "student-run" experience. It just doesn't work for some kids - but works great for others. Math tutors have been our reality since Freshman year, unfortunately, and even then it's a struggle. My kid also knocked the ISEE, middle school math & the ACT out of the park, but that did not translate with this curriculum's approach.
We did consider transferring at several points - honestly mainly because of Math. But there was enough other wonderful stuff and great, deep learning/critical thinking training going on, that we stuck it out. I think it comes down to your kid's personality and temperament whether or not they get energized or demoralized by the high level of pressure and intensity. I've seen both with my kid's friend group. It's for sure an intense place, but lots of kids love it and there are some really stellar teachers who are all willing to go above and beyond to help kids succeed. Welcome and I hope it's a great experience for your child!
Thank you for all your honest and helpful replies. Sounds like there will be quite an adjustment for most students. As I mentioned in my previous post, our kiddo is very smart, but is not one of those genius type. Both my wife and I have background in science/computer science and should be able to help out. However, considering the tuition we're paying (and after a long day at work), we prefer to leave all the teaching to the school. Of course, if we have to, we wouldn't shirk off our parental responsibility. Anyway, just have a follow up question: has there been any discussion with the administration to change this particular style of teaching or at least have a hybrid style of introducing math concepts?
Hi. I'm curious. Why not have your kid try the class before making up your mind? Give it time as most kids, no matter where they go to high school, need some time to adjust to a new environment and expectations.