Back when I went to public school I tested in the gifted categories for both reading and math. However, once I got to algebra my education fell apart. "Higher math" just didn't make sense to me. However, I switched to homeschooling in Middle School and ended up going to a homeschool co-op where a Japanese teacher was teaching both a Japanese language class and the math classes.
In three months I learned more about the logic behind mathematics, and by extension more about math period, than I learned in the previous 14 years in public school. I took one math class from here years and years ago and I can still do calculus. The Japanese method for teaching math is just simply amazing (it helped that she was ranked number one in the nation (Japan, not the US) when she was in high school, this woman was seriously brilliant, she just got knocked up by an American and ended up having to quit Todai).
In three months I learned more about the logic behind mathematics, and by extension more about math period, than I learned in the previous 14 years in public school. I took one math class from here years and years ago and I can still do calculus. The Japanese method for teaching math is just simply amazing (it helped that she was ranked number one in the nation (Japan, not the US) when she was in high school, this woman was seriously brilliant, she just got knocked up by an American and ended up having to quit Todai).