tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762201600804179432.post6482643541974450..comments2023-12-15T07:51:27.673-08:00Comments on Betrayed - Why Public Education Is Failing: Help Improve Math Education in SpokaneLaurie H. Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367210923946752695noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762201600804179432.post-50905490951542614662009-02-19T16:24:00.000-08:002009-02-19T16:24:00.000-08:00Ask you board members to watch carefully what happ...Ask you board members to watch carefully what happens with Beaverton's adoption of Everyday Math textbooks. The MSP running their adoption is PRISM. Public sentiment is about to change for them and they had better be prepared for some criticism. People are fed up and mad. This is a good time for young teachers to step aside and take a back seat.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762201600804179432.post-46322651868251893232009-02-19T14:47:00.000-08:002009-02-19T14:47:00.000-08:00Your district is using some of the worst math curr...Your district is using some of the worst math curricula in the country. What a shame.<BR/><BR/>You might consider setting up a demonstration of three fifth- or sixth-graders in front of your school board. Select one top student, one in the middle, and one who is struggling. Give each a deck of single-digit flash cards in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Don't tell them in advance and don't let them practice; it has to be a "cold" test. Have them do a few problems in front of the board. Chances are the middle student and the struggling student will not be able to do those 2nd- and 3rd grade level problems. In some districts, even the top students can't do math in their heads, and would fail at that very easy task. It might be the best way to get the school board's attention.<BR/><BR/>The thing is, the district will trot out the top few students who get the 5's on AP Calc as if that shows their reform math selections are great. (Note that only a small fraction of those kids who take the AP Calc test actually get the 5's that get them college credit, in most districts. Find out your %'s -- if only two or three kids in a graduating class of 400 get AP college credit, that's a damning bit of evidence.)<BR/><BR/>The point is, the top students are kids who would excel no matter what the curriculum is. You have to look at the effect of the curriculum on the 80% of the kids who are in middle ground -- neither brainiac whiz kids at math, nor special ed. Those are the kids who are getting so cheated by these crazy "new math" non-math curricula. And just throwing test stats at the school board won't work. You have to show the kids in action, and struggling.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com