>I am a teacher of mathematics in a metropolitan school district. I have witnessed over the years the down spiral in quality of curricular resource materials for mathematics. I have found it increasingly necessary to enhance, augment, and compensate (for) the materials with which I have been expected to teach. The politics by which inferior resource materials have been foisted on math teachers (and therby students and parents) is insidious and anti-educational. State, district, school, and corporate administrators (attempt to) pressure, misdirect, and manipulate teachers to buy into the math flavor fad of the day. Teacher input is all but ignored unless (of course) it reinforces what the powers-that-be wish to be heard and/or publicized.
Administrative media access so highly filters the information which is output to the public that the quite intelligent and well-meaning parents, who want only to advocate what is best for their children, are often undertandably confused by the discrepancy between administrative lip-service and academic results (e.g. WASL). Being that the math WASL has been all but diefied (unjustifiably) as an academic measure, parental angst becomes preyed upon by smooth talking demagogues offering a reformist concoction of snake oil and mediocrity to remedy a near-disaster of their creation. The apple of mediocrity will always be mediocrity regardless of how well is polished or spiffed up by the minions of fuzzy mathematics. Each year the number of students arriving to my classroom without basic and essential arithmetic skills in place
increases. Many students cannot do simple arithmetic operations without a calculator.
Basic multiplication, division, addition, subtraction, fraction, decimal, exponent, and percent facts are often just not in place… the simple stuff! Often, students are recommended from middle school into high school courses for which they are either less than adequately prepared or for which they are not prepared at all. TERC & CMP exposure and/or induced calculator “dependency” (in elementary and middle school are the usual culprits. Those students who arrive and are indeed ready to advance must then patiently endure the requisite review process in order to bring as many of their classmates up to speed as possible. The math reality… it is insufficient that a student can merely perform calculations on a calculator. Unless an inculcated arithmetic process is operative (consciously or unconsciously) in the student’s reasoning, use of the calculator becomes little better than a crap shoot. It is just as important to have a sense of when an answer is not in the ballpark as when it is. Without a developed sense of knowing the difference, one answer might often be just as well as any other answer.
If I had a Lotto ticket for each time I heard a student remark that an answer was correct because “that’s what the calculator says”, I would have won the lottery long ago.Calculators do not speak. Calculators do not have an opinion. Calculators calculate. (A hammer does not suggest where to place the nail. That is the carpenter’s job.)Good “basic math skills” supply the basis for good mathematical reasoning. Calculators cannot reason. Reasoning is the student’s job. CMP, TERC, IMP, CPM, Core Plus, Everyday Math, etc,… all fail the student. The fundamental cognitive tools of mathematical reasoning (basic skills) are abandoned by these curricula. Rather, these curricula nurture a handicap… a dependence upon the superficial and uninsightful non-reasoning tool, the calculator.Calculators do have their uses. But those uses first need to be tempered by experience… the experience of an acquired comprehensive body of knowledge and interpretive skill. As an educator, I do my best to guide my students through the process of acquiring that mathematical experience. Such experience will surely serve them qualitatively far better (than mere calculator “dependence”) as they progress through their education and, insofar as choices are made, through their lives.
The advocates and purveyors of fluffy math curricula do not seem to be genuinely concerned with the academic and future well-being of students. Such advocates and purveyors seem only to be concerned with the promotion of their ideological agenda(s). I believe that the next step forward should start with one (or more) step(s) backward. Fluffy math texts (and corporate interference) should be scrapped regardless of administrative or governmental pressures. The true educators (parents and teachers) should take back the educational system and do what is right for the kids. Thank you.
NOTE: My point of view tends to get me into hot water with school and district administrators. It is a small price to pay.
>Here’s a sound bite from a college kid who got IMP in high school (that’s a reform math program.) It’s taken from her blog:
“I’m the product of a “guinea pig” program called “IMP” (or Interactive Mathematics Program) that was done in my school district during my high school years. It took math (as in 1+1=2) and turned it into a class that I learned “critical thinking involving math, history and english” which basically means if I was able to bullshit an answer around the question and have the correct punctuation on my homework assignments I got full credit. This equates to me getting A’s in math throughout high school, but the extent of my actual math ability is that of, say, a fourth grader (okay, so that’s a slight exaggeration…but you get the idea).”
>7:31PM
Uprisings and change usually start with the low man on the totem pole.
And beneath that teacher on the totem pole sits the parents of this district (don’t believe this post – read Dr. Ives presentation – slide 16 – it does not include PARENTS – look at the latest power point presentation the district has on its website – date June 2007 but oddly while the presentation preaches investigating concerns and addressing them, the district goes off and PURCHASES TERC2).
And from reading the posts by the HSA people (thank you for speaking out!) it seems parents have been speaking out against this reform math TERC and now CMP in the middle school, SINCE THE BEGINNING OF ITS ARRIVAL.
The math in Orchard and Travell and GW and BF are all DOA (dead on arrival)
But sadly the administration (B&I) and principals at TRavell and Orchard haven’t a clue – they are pounding on its chest trying to bring it to life – but it is already DEAD.
Math takes hard work. Nothing wrong with that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZtrapsjjng
>”And beneath that teacher on the totem pole sits the parents of this district”
Actually the parent/taxpayer is not only above the teacher, but above the BOE and the entire roster of state and federal officials who do what they do because WE ARE PAYING FOR IT.
We are customers of education services, not mere recipients.
If we remember that, we will act accordingly.
>The parents can kill TERC and this is how…
Refuse to have your child do homework the TERC way. If you child is asked to write a story, write in 5 real math problems, double-digit addition or subraction, something you get of another math book and have them do that instead.
Write a note to the teacher that you don’t believe in TERC and refuse to have your child waste homework time on a stupid exercise.
If the TERC books are sent home, cross out the pages and write your own problems.
You could also throw them out, that would be good too.
You can’t stop them from doing it in the classroom, but you can refuse to have your child do the homework.
If you child is marked wrong, meet with the Principal.
My guess is the teachers will accept the traditional work in lieu of TERC and TERC will slowly die.
I saw that one of the math moms had her child’s homework all neatly filled out…she should have refused to let her kid do it.
By the way, I didn’t think of this, one town in New Jersey did this to get TERC out of their school and it worked.
Same technique for CMP2.
>2:01 That is a GREAT idea.
Thank you!
I’m on board. We are now officially a household that has banned TERC and CMP2.
>3:45–
Are you really going to tell your middle schooler they don’t have to do their math homework? How are you going to pull this off?
Won’t this mean your middle schooler will learn even less than CMP offers (which is already skimpy enough?)
Will you be getting your kid tutoring?
I might be on board too, but I can’t think how to do this.
>If every parent (or the majority) did this, the teachers would take it to the top (superintendent).
The problem comes when it is only a handful of parents that are willing to do this.
Their children may be penalized.
Also, the math curriculum is the responsibility of the Assts Supertintendent of Curriculum (Botsford), the Math Supervisor (Ives), Principals and the Superintendent (Brennan) – teachers may not have the power to choose the math curriculum and may not have any real say in the matter.
Teach your children separately how to do MATH – tutors, Kumon, Huntington, etc… Have them use real math as the FIRST way to approach a problem.
Yeah, they may get some answers wrong – but they will with reform math too – insist on sticking with real math. And if the teachers object – ask the teachers WHY they cant EXPLAIN the deep UNDERSTANDING of real math, as that is what your child is to be taught.
For middle school, SAXON is a great product to use at home. It is a good product for elementary school children too. Singapore Math is great for elementary school as well. Both products are made for home schoolers – with teaching guides, textbooks, workbooks — and more.
But know only an army of parents showing enmasse at a BOE meeting can affect the school board.
The math moms and some dads have been speaking since early spring at BOE meetings – Brogan, Bombace, et al know there is a real problem but refuse to engage.
Brogan seems to be the strongest backer of Botsford.
It is also an election year…. Brogan and Bombace are up for re-election.
Perhaps its time for BOE members up for election to hear what their constituents in Travell, Orchard and ALL of Ridgewood (CMP in BOTH middles schools) really feel about their response to the math issue and ALL issues…
>Talk to the principal. Simply ask for Non CMP2 homework. I was told that they will not give accelerated children CMP2. Get your child accelerated!
>”Are you really going to tell your middle schooler they don’t have to do their math homework? How are you going to pull this off?”
Go online and buy the Saxon homeschooling program for 6th and 7th grade.
Replace the CMP2 homework with the Saxon homework…this way your child is learning something, math the right way.
I’ve know quite a few people who already use the Saxon home schooling stuff and say it works well.
Same thing with TERC2, use Saxon, Houghtom Mifflin or Singapore home schooling programs and pull the worksheets from those books.
>”Talk to the principal. Simply ask for Non CMP2 homework. I was told that they will not give accelerated children CMP2.”
My bet was this was at GW…but I’m sure you could probably negotiate with the Principal at BF also.
I believe this program was FORCED on the middle schools and the Principals did not pick it.
>Botsford and Ives must go in addition to bombace and brogan.
that’s the only way to end it.
>We’ll need two traditional math bodies to run for the two open seats on the BOE. They’ve got to have the guts and the time (a whole lotta time) to get into this fight. B&I has the entire group in their clutches and they are not going to let go. We might have to go as far as getting a court order to stop the further implementation of TERC, etc., on the grounds of breach of contract. It won’t be short or easy but it is well past time to act instead of whining.
>A BOE candidate should run on TRADITIONAL EDUCATION in the core subjects.
Get some grammar into the classroom and make sure the science isn’t ruined by a reform science NSF curriculum.
The sad part is that the math is only one piece of the problem.