Does this site have a lot of people in education?

The only idea I have is that you start threads at reddit teaching subs. When I post a any "help me" question at that site - I often post in 2 (if not 3) related subs. So many assholes will insta downvote. It doesn't matter how long/short/well-phrased your question is. It's how the site works.

Tragically - American teachers are far too familiar with dilemmas like yours.

unironically get a permission form from the parents to get the kid to play certain video games that are very math heavy. they can teach basic math skills very easy. then have them do assignments similar to in CS or math but make it about the game. :shrug-outta-hecks:

i have a cousin that i did this with. ultimately requires initiative on the part of the kid but positioning it in a way that seems fun and out of the ordinary is the way to go imo. math education in the USA sucks dick

Back in my day we edutainment games like Math Blaster and Reading Rabbit, not sure what the modern day equivalents are.

I usually lurk but I'll log back in to my old throwaway account because this is something I actually know about and have opinions on. I've been in education for about a decade, my training is in disability studies, I'm licensed to teach high school math, and I've been working as a tutor specifically for kids with learning differences almost that whole decade, etc

As other commenters have noted, this is likely the result of a combination of factors: undiagnosed processing disorders, attention disorders, teachers or admins not noticing, etc. But in terms of what you actually DO about it:

I see this CONSTANTLY, with math specifically. Math builds on itself in a way that most other subjects don't, so if you fall behind early, it compounds for the rest of your life. Reading is the same way, but there's more support for reading and more practice reading in your daily life than there ever is for math.

So there's two things I care about: the kid passing the class (I'm paid to do this) and the kid actually learning something and building their skills and confidence (what I actually care about). We can solve these at the same time with a two-pronged approach.

Prong 1: short-term solutions, getting the kid participating in learning a bit more by accommodating his needs so that he can follow along. This is a combination of calculator use and training (may need formal accommodations for this), learning to take practical notes that help on assessments, and probably a lot of individual review and checking for understanding. All of this, especially if he has formal accommodations, is the teacher's responsibility, but it seems like that's unlikely to happen. You can help here by making sure any formal accommodations are made, and by filling in the gaps (calculator training is a good place to start, you can gloss over the mechanics of the tough stuff so that he gets big picture stuff for now) if you can. That's a lot for you to take on, and he'll notice if any supports go away, so it's a serious commitment to make--don't do it unless you can follow through.

Prong 2: long-term solution, actually learning math and filling in those gaps. Just like a student who struggles to read will have trouble analyzing Shakespeare, a student who struggles with arithmetic will have trouble with... everything past that. So he's got to just learn his basic arithmetic cold. That means single digit addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, off the top of the dome, no exceptions. Multi-digit he can use notation for, but the single-digit stuff is not optional--it simply has to be memorized. This is actually easier than most students think. There are a lot of games (commenters in this thread mentioned some good ones) to help with this, which can help with buy-in from the student. In terms of pure return on time spent practicing, nothing beats drilling times tables. Every day, 15-20 minutes, computerized flash cards, spaced repetition, DRILL THAT SHIT.

I like to measure progress towards proficiency with a website like this: https://www.timestables.com/speed-test/. If they can do the 0-12 times tables with perfect accuracy and average time under 3s, I consider them proficient. Some students like this naturally, others need an incentive: I have a standing $100 bounty to any student who can beat my times, and a lot of the middle schoolers respond really well to that.

Only after that's done can you move onto other stuff--as you said, there's no point doing anything other than definitions/concepts until the arithmetic is done, because you can't do any practice, and the practice is what cements the learning.

So that's to get started. That's a lot of work for you, so if you're committed to doing it, try to find an ally or two to help. Parents are good, if possible. Siblings, too. Peers are best but that's tough. Mentor types, like an older kid your students thinks is cool, are great--ideally that's the role you fill.

Hope this was helpful, happy to answer questions here or in a DM if you have them

Get that kid to drop to normal CS, as a start

No point having them in AP if they can't do arithmetic

Idk, this almost feels more like a question of school bureaucracy than your pedagogy.

Given how far behind he is, ideally, there should be some kind of math class he could enroll in to learn fundamentals instead of taking this class. I'd talk to the teacher.

If you devote all your time to give him one on one instruction and he barely passes this class, you haven't done him a favor if he actually wants to learn CS skills, since he won't be prepared for the next level of material.

Khan academy has courses that start with the absolute basics. Khan’s explanations are kind of annoying but you can also google around if you don’t understand. It’s all free too.

Throwing in the term Discalculia and ADHS here. Not saying that is the case, but beside bad school systems which are only good at filtering people out there are plenty of undiagnosed people who are measured at climbing trees when they are fish.

He needs to get those learning gaps filled in ASAP, and that requires either very good self-teachinh skills and the time to do it, or the institutional support to take remedial courses and/or tutoring (which also takes time, of course).

You're completely correct that without these foundations, his current coursework is going to be more difficult and some of it will be impossible. If he can't do core arithmeric, at minimum it means he will need the option of a calculator and probably more time during tests, but he will still find it impossible to answer new questions if he lacks the conceptual basis of what the math is about.

The suggestions of math munchers and so on are good ones, but I fear the bigger issue is not being comfortable with the concepts of division or multiplication, so while memorization is useful it still might only be a memorization skill. These are ideas taught in grades 3-5, so it's important to see how much remedy is still needed and to make a realistic plan to get him up to speed.

I think the most important question is whether he is intetested in and comfortable with this remedial work, because if he is you can give him books and other resources.

PS common core math was designed for exactly this kind of learning gap. You might find that to be a good direction because it will feel like a new thing and aproach rather than remedial.

deleted by creator

Maybe offload basic homework (like multiplication tables) onto him with exact this/honest explanation? If he improves (checking just by quizzing him for 5 min not dumping hours and not grading anything), there is room to move further, if he doesn’t that’s not something for him/something he wants.

Let him use a calculator. I have discalculia and inattentive ADHD. I cannot keep track of numbers particularly well in my head, but I understand the concepts.

See if you can help him be refered for an assessment so he can get an IEP. I had one in highschool and it meant teachers had to make accommodations for me.

deleted by creator