Calculus Without Tears - Survey - Please Respond

[wdfla...@aol.com]

I'd really like to know what you've done with CWT.

If you reply to this email, you'll be sending a message to the CWT
Google discussion group, or you can reply to me directly at
wdfla...@aol.com.

Did you start doing the lessons? If no, why not? If yes, please
continue...

Describe the 'student', that is, age, math background.

How did you schedule the lessons? One per day? How many days per
week? Some other scheme?

How far did you get? Did you have any problems?

Did you finish the book? If not, why not?

If you did finish the book, do you feel that you learned the basics of
calculus? Were you happy with CWT? Disappointed?

In short - what did you like? What didn't you like?

For more info on the Google discussion group, go to

http://www.berkeleyscience.com

[Bob Schicke]

My son will be ten on 2/18/06. He goes to a private school and they give
a lot of homework (approximately 2 hrs. per night). I started having my
son do the lessons but he was complaining that he was overwhelmed. It is
really important to me that he does this though, but it looks as if I
will have to wait for the summer to get him back into it.
He didn't like the beginning part because it was very repetative.
Bob

[BricksPicks]

Dr. Flannery,
Mark Brickey on this end... I've got a youn'un that just turned 12 on Sat, and we're using David Quine's Making Math Meaningful in our Home School. I have looked over your materials, it looks well-laid out and understandable! It's been approx. 30 yrs. since I've been involved with calc.(remember slide rules!?!?!) ANd I was able to understand what you were up to! I'm looking at offering this calc. to our HS group this next fall, at the Jr/Sr Hi level, as an intro/prep for the "real" stuff for our (coming) 12th graders. I'll probably be picking your brain in a couple months for more info & skills concerning this...
THanks,
Mark


A favorite Scripture:
For you did form my inward parts: You did know me in my mother's womb.I will give thanks to you; For I am fearfully and wonderfully made... Your eyes did see my unformed substance,... And in your book all my members were written, ...were fashioned when as yet there was none of them....
Psalm 139:13-16 NAS(modified)


>------- Original Message -------
>From : wdfla...@aol.com[mailto:wdfla...@aol.com]
>Sent : 2/13/2006 3:12:44 PM
>To : CalculusWi...@googlegroups.com
>Cc :
>Subject : RE: Calculus Without Tears - Survey - Please Respond

[Sue...@aol.com]

We have 9 and 10 year old boys whom my husband  has worked with on the program.   They are excellent in math and are very competetive chess players. We also have a 5 month old baby girl. We used the program, but not consistently since the baby arrived. We really enjoy it and plan to do more with it soon. I also have a relative interested in the material. And I  would like to get the other books as well.

 

Sue Lilovich

[Sdmart...@aol.com]

Hi,

I bought both 1 & 2

My son is a senior he has understood math pretty well.

 

we started in book one, my son felt that it was rather easy,

book two he feels is a bit more challenging but not a lot.

 

We did book one in the first semester and we are now doing book two in the second semester

I feel some of the exercises need to be explained a little bit better

I would like to see a little more explaining and the check ums to not be on the same page as the problems, like maybe a different book or split it up some problems with the check ums and some with out so it is not so easy to find the answer. but have a book with the answers so the problems can be checked

I would also liked to have had some kind of testing and quiz pages.

In general I am pleased

 

Thank you

[wdfla...@aol.com]

I received some messages directly and I'm 'forwarding' them to the
group. I have combined them so as to minimize the number of emails. I
have only included messages from those who have started with the
lessons. This message is long but informative....

Dear Dr. Flannery,

My boys and I use your CWT program. They are 16 and 15 years old. We
follow a schedule which is simply self paced with a minimum of one
lesson per day. Most days they complete two to three. My oldest has
entered CWT after just mastering Algebra I. He is studying Geometry and
CWT simultaneously. My 15 year old is learning calc with CWT and
studying Pre-Algebra simultaneously. I would like to have a seperate
answer key for faster checking. The students themselves say they like
your program. Straight to the point - not too many colors, bells, and
whistles which are usually just a distraction. We are continuing with
the second volume, and plan to complete all three over the next
eighteen to twenty four months. I have other children who I plan to
start at younger ages in the program, but have not as yet. Hope this
helps - I look forward to volume three.

Mrs K

+++++++++

Hi Will,

Your first two books are a good intro to calculus for anybody, not just
kids. I used them with a couple of grade and middle-school teachers and
indirectly with a couple of Vietnamese middle-schoolers who love math.
In both cases, I found that they are not exactly self-teaching but they
are a great resource for a tutor who is teaching. They can clear the
tutor's head as well as give readings and illustrations that the tutor
can use. I have never seen a calculus book that is really
self-teaching (unless you are a genius like the 18th-Century (?) lady
reputed to have learned analysis from reading equations on her
wallpaper.)

When the kids get what is on one page (which sometimes takes a lot of
going back and forth), they generally do want to come back for more
(sometimes the same day, sometimes a bit later). So the interest is
there. You can see that their brains are going down very different
pathways than when just asked something like "If Jake paid two dollar
bills for the eggs and got back four quarters, how much were the eggs?"

When I tutor grade school math, I use the Singapore series 1-6, grades
1, 2, 3 and 6 from Russian texts that have been translated into
English, and a few other things (including some pages from the John
Saxon's books) but even those, except in rare cases, are not entirely
self-teaching. I would love to see what could be done with the books in
a classroom setting by an accomplished teacher. Next year, if the
funding comes through, there are some "specialty schools" due to open
that will offer innovative classes for grades 1-5 (as well as 7-9). If
one of my teacher friends can get
her foot in the door, she just might be able to plug as much of your
text as possible into a class somewhere between 5th and 9th grade.

It is safe to say that these books are a big mental stretch not just
for the kids but even more for the teacher. The material is more
conceptually voluminous than the usual record-keeping and ruler- and
scale-measuring functions of arithmetic. A new sort of "habitus" or
mind-set is required that takes some time to develop. I think teachers
will require repeated workouts with the books before they are
comfortable with the material. But my two guinea pigs are looking to
go into orbit with calculus (rather than just running on the arithmetic
treadmill) one more time. The 2 kids now bug their big brothers with
and sister with calculus questions.

Is book 3 ready to go? Can I order a copy?

+++++++++++++

I bought the book at mid-semester, thinking it would be for next year.
However, after reading the introduction, I went ahead and started my
son, sixth grade, age ten, on the course. I could see some improvements
might be made, such as perhaps changing the runner's distance to how
fast a tree is growing per year or how high an air balloon is going,
etc. Just a little more variety would spice it up. I also noticed some
small spelling errors, so far, in the book. ( I do check everything
myself!) BUT, overall, I really like the book. I only assign a few
pages at a time and if it takes two years, that will be fine with me
because we are continuing other math projects alongside this book. If I
had known about it, I would have started this course a year or two
earlier, but it seems to be suited for a range of years and I am very
pleased with the book.

[jeff...@allvantage.com]

Hi Dr. Flannery,
I have been using your CWT program with my 4th and 7th grade boys. They seem to
be comprehending it and find it fun. My boys find it challenging but they get
it without too much difficulty. As their math teacher even though I just took
1&2 Algebra and 1&2 Geomtry You make it easy for the teachers. The only think
that I would like is possibly a tear out page in the back with answers. I know
you have checksums but sometimes the answer key would make it easier for the
teacher in helping. Thanks for your curriculum. I'm sure we will purchase the
2nd volume shortly.
Mr. B

[wdfla...@aol.com]

These responses were sent to me....

My daughter is 8 years old, she is doing real well in math, my
intention was to start her on CWT next year by 4th grade. (she is home
schooled), but I just wanted to see how she will do. She liked it,
plus she understood the idea behind calculus. We are not done with the
book just yet. We do calculus twice a week. And sometimes once.
Definitely a good book to have, especially if she enjoys it.

Nadia

++++++++++++

William,
Thank you so very much for adding me to the web site. Yes, I study
Calculus Without Tears nearly 7 days a week. I have the first two
volumes and they are great. Believe me, the day is coming wherein this
material will be in classrooms across the nation and overseas. So get
ready for a huge publishing venture. It is only a matter of time
before the math world discovers the success of the formatted math
literature that you have labored upon to help people with math across
the nation. I hope to be ordering the 3rd. volume soon.
Joseph

[Susan Backfisch]

I got the CWT for my self because after 20yrs of no school I wanted the most basic refresher that I could find.  I always had a problem with calculus anyways and really wasnt looking forward to it.  But the CWT program not only refreshed my mind it helped me truly understand it better than whenvever I originally learned it.  I am in an accelerated techinal training program and math in general is the main focus.  So thank you very much for helping me re-learn the skills and giving me the tools to get through my first class!!!

 

Susan

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From:  jeff...@allvantage.com
Reply-To:  CalculusWi...@googlegroups.com
To:  CalculusWi...@googlegroups.com
Subject:  Re: Calculus Without Tears - Survey - Please Respond
Date:  Thu, 16 Feb 2006 17:42:18 -0500