I would like to tell parents about a Spokane mathematics tutoring program, currently held at Gonzaga University during both semesters of the school year. It’s held on Saturdays, about three times a month, from 10-11:30 a.m.
The tutors are handpicked engineering and mathematics students from Gonzaga. The program is geared toward students in grades 3-12, and they will take anyone (from any school district) who can make it there.
The tutoring is done individually or in groups of two or three. This is not a classroom format, so it’s tailored to meet individual students’ needs. The tutors will teach the students anything they need to learn, but the goal is to teach them the mathematics they’ll need for the future they envision for themselves.
I would like to take a moment to mention again that the main math curricula in Spokane Public Schools are reform curricula: “Bridges,” “Investigations in Number, Data, and Space,” “Connected Mathematics” and “Core-Plus Mathematics.” Mathematicians and math advocates have criticized reform curricula, especially these ones, for their lack of rigor and clarity and their illogical approach to the subject. If your children take solely reform classes – and without some sort of intervention, remediation or tutoring – they are likely to require costly intervention before they begin college classes, a trade, or a job requiring any sort of arithmetic.
I encourage you to speak with people who are well trained in actual mathematics. You also can look through this blog, specifically these articles:
Birth of reform = Demise of Math Skills
The "Laws" of Learning
What's Wrong With Public Education?
The Gonzaga tutoring program is run at no cost to parents. The organizers ask only that if you sign up, then you make sure your children are there. Space is limited, and the tutors are volunteering their time.
If you’re interested in this program, please call Andrew Holguin at 998-7752.
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Tutoring at Gonzaga University is a very good place for your student to get help. But, as Laurie says, if your student is learning only the "approved by Spokane School District mathematics," she is right that your student won't do very well at all on any math placement exam given by a college or university. If your think your student has any ability in math or science or related fields, get tutoring for him or her NOW. I have been a private math tutor for 25 years and have seen too many math gifted students who have never learn enough math or who think that they aren't very good in math. Students need help as soon as possible. If they have reached 9th or 10th grade without any regular extra help in math, they can just about say goodbye to any careers which require even one semester of calculus. Nowadays more universities require calculus for more areas than you would expect. So invest in your children: get them competent tutors or better still, get the Spokane School District to throw out the junk which they are passing on as "math." I am not advertising for clients as I am now retired. I just hate the fact that so many of our students are being cut out of so many career options.
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