ALGEBRA I SAXON IS A YEAR-LONG COURSE FOR STUDENTS IN GRADE 7.

Algebra I Saxon is offered to those who prefer to continue with Saxon into the secondary school years. It is best suited for students who may benefit from repetition, or those who find math to be particularly challenging. Students who are more concrete thinkers will do well in this class as it provides an understanding of how to resolve more complex problems and functions. Topics covered include signed numbers, exponents, and roots; absolute value; equations and inequalities; scientific notations; unit conversions; polynomials; graphs; factoring; quadratic equations; direct and inverse variations; exponential growth; statistics; and probability. Algebra I Saxon will provide students with the strong foundation needed to continue to grow in their understanding of – and appreciation for – the wonderful truths found in mathematics, not to mention the preparation necessary for more advanced math subjects. It is offered in You Teach and Live Online formats.

The Veritas Approach to Math

Unlike some classical educators, we believe math is a crucial subject. It’s necessary for a well-rounded, rigorous classical education. In the grammar years, math provides content for developing memorization tools. In the dialectic years, subjects like Algebra I and Geometry develop students’ reasoning skills. In the rhetoric years, Pre-calculus, Calculus, Statistics, and Business Math lead students to value math in real-world applications.

At Veritas, we’re convinced that math has been dumbed down in America.١ Most students are more capable than we think. Our mission is to help make sure your children don’t become a dismal math statistic. For more than 25 years, we’ve been proving that our math standards shouldn’t come from what we were raised with. After all, if the education we ourselves received was as education should be, why would we be doing something different for our children? A study of historical٢ and international math standards helps us see this clearly.

Maybe the best way to understand our approach is to mark some milestones.

Veritas recommends Saxon Math for K–6th, Jacobs for Algebra I and Geometry, Foerster for Algebra II and Pre-Calculus, and Larson for Calculus.

Saxon, with its incremental advances and continual review, works best with the grammar stage. Thankfully, Harold Jacobs understands the dialectic student and has written a superb curriculum for them with Algebra I and Geometry. One of his former students, Paul Foerster, writes where Jacobs left off, providing us our favorite texts for Algebra II and Pre-Calculus. Finally, Larson, a most prolific producer of Calculus texts, provides the capstone to our math curriculum.

Some prefer to stick with Saxon into the secondary school years. We are fine with that—even offering live class options using Saxon—but prefer texts written with more of a classical pedagogical approach.

Today, all math education needs to address the use of technology. At Veritas, it’s simple: use technology as a tool, not a crutch. Learning to work a two-variable algebraic equation is important. When mastered, however, why waste time plugging and chugging the numbers to develop a graphing solution? Let a machine do the number crunching. Students simply need to know how to do it.

Math is crucial to classical education. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

١Americans are lagging in math: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/02/15/u-s-students-internationally-math-science/

٢A Brief History of American K-12 Mathematics Education: https://www.csun.edu/~vcmth00m/AHistory.html

٣Is Calculus necessary? http://www.math.harvard.edu/~knill/pedagogy/use/index.html

Live Online

Algebra I Saxon is offered as an alternative to the standard Algebra I course. It will help those students who may struggle with math or those who benefit from more repetition. Students who are more concrete thinkers will do well in this class. It will assist students in better understanding the need to resolve more complex problems and functions. Topics covered include signed numbers, exponents, and roots; absolute value; equations and inequalities; scientific notations; unit conversions; polynomials; graphs; factoring; quadratic equations; direct and inverse variations; exponential growth; statistics; and probability. Algebra I Saxon meets the Algebra I requirement for the VSA Associate Level diploma only.

Live Online – The Veritas Approach

Veritas has been offering live online classes since 2006. Here are some reasons why you should consider our live courses:

• Classes meet twice weekly for 75–90 minutes.
• Synchronous interactions use audio and video.
• Engage with material throughout the week, per assignments.
• Interaction with peers from across the globe. It's not uncommon to have students from five or six different countries in one classroom.
• 20:1 student:teacher ratio, with an emphasis on individualized attention.
• World-class teachers, more than two-thirds have advanced degrees.
• Veritas Scholars Academy is accredited by Middle States Association

You Teach

You Teach is our term for those who take our curriculum and teach it themselves, whether at home or at school.

The course kit includes all the materials for the teacher and a student for teaching Algebra I with Saxon. The kit is based on the Saxon Algebra 1 Home Study Kit. While we have found that, as students become more dialectic many benefit from a different approach, some prefer the incremental three steps forward, two steps back approach for which Saxon is known. This level includes a 1 year license to the Saxon Digital Teacher to help explain concepts to students. They also provide relief for the parent/teacher whom may have other children or tasks needing attention.

Course Kits are offered as a discounted package. However, you may only need some of the books. Select the ones you need below for easy ordering.