My daughter is a really good student in a very competitive school. This year she is taking algebra, even though she is only in eighth grade. She already feels stupid in this class, and her grades are lower than her usual ones. She is having a lot of trouble with her homework, and none of us can help her. Should she go back to a pre-algebra class or just continue struggling on? - Uncertain
Answer: It is a bit soon to throw in the towel, since your daughter has only been in school a few weeks. There are, however, several things that she needs to be doing right now in hopes of turning things around quickly. First, she needs to talk to the teacher to see if the teacher is willing to give her some special help until she catches on to the material better. Extra help might also be available from an honor student or an older student who has already completed the class. It could be helpful for her to do her homework with a classmate, as long as they work together rather than just copy each other's answers. Another possibility is a tutor who could teach her how to handle algebra.
Classes like algebra require special study skills that your daughter might not yet have acquired. She needs to be taking notes in class of every example that the teacher presents to the class. Then before she starts her homework, she should go back over these notes, reread the textbook explanation, and redo the lesson's examples in the textbook. By doing these three things, she will be far more knowledgeable about how to do her homework assignments.
There are a couple more factors in your daughter's difficulties with algebra. As students begin to take more advanced classes, not just math, they need to realize that they will have to put in more time and effort. Good students are often surprised to discover that they will have to work harder to get the same grades that came easily to them previously. This might be the first time that your daughter has really had to dig in and study to get good grades.