Q: What is your educational philosophy regarding Algebra?
A: Enlightenment. Algebra can be a scary subject. People either love it or hate it! There is rarely a middle. So if you love Algebra, you are well on your way to success. But for those who have not been enlightened as to what a beautifully crafted natural phenomenon it is, they just struggle along, not really getting it. This approach has been my hallmark for success.
Q: How do you go about getting my child to succeed in Algebra?
A: What I do is show the student what a beautiful language it is. After all, it is the language of creation. It has natural order and is beautifully stable. There is order in everything God created and He created Algebra as a tool to explore understand the natural laws of the universe. No higher level math can be done without a through ability to use Algebra. It can be summed up this way: It is a set of rules that teach you how to manipulate equations so that you can put them into a form that you can use. You will use the language of Algebra in Geometry, Trigonometry, Calculus, Statistics, Physics and all other higher level maths.
Q: Should I continue to use Saxon for Algebra I and II or should I try another curriculum?
A: I get this question from homeschool parents often. My response is that Saxon is tried and true. It just works. However, it does get tricky at this point. Because I have taught Saxon for so many years, I am aware of its strengths and weaknesses. I adjust my teaching accordingly. If the lesson explanation is not clear to me, it is not going to be clear to the student. So occasionally I will teach lessons differently, always letting the student know that we are taking a different approach for this lesson because it makes more sense this way.
I am always willing to try other homeschool textbooks.