>looks to the fly that after being EXPOSED at the BOE meeting for misrepresenting the true intent of the “Common Ground” document the school district is trying to perform a bit of revisionist history. Apparently they are not internet savvy enough to realize their pages have been cached or saved and have attempted to cover their tracks.Their website now reads.
“Math Information for Parents”
>At least they are being reactive to a parent’s statement.
That’s a start.
>To be “reactive” would be to say “Oops, we screwed up. We tried to make you dumb parents out there believe something that was NOT true and you found us out. Sorry”
Now, they’re caught covering their tracks. Do we really want people like this deciding such important things for our children? The word stooges comes to mind.
Regina Botsford and Debra Ives now have their own “mathgate.”
Welcome to Ridgewood Mr. Brooks.
>But they left the link so as not to make obvious what they have, nonetheless, made obvious. They’re trying to cover their a**.
If they’re going to leave the link there, they should include a “balanced” link–the email from Milgram stating that TERC is an illiterate math program.
Hell will freeze over…
>I would venture to say if things keep going the way they are going, Public Schools will be a thing of the past by the time our children have school age children.
The demand for reform will come about and the marketplace will supplant the largest and most expensive government monopoly, public schools.
And the sooner the better for all education consumers.
>Wait!
I don’t quite get it.
Are these two pages significantly different?
>Oh!
You know what you need to do — you should probably switch the two pages.
I assumed that the page on top was the earlier page, which I suspect a lot of readers will do.
If you switch the position, the reader will instantly see that they’ve taken out the phrase about “what we mean by balanced” and that they’ve done so in response to being busted by a parent.
>If they didn’t understand the report, do they understand the program?
>i’m perplexed…I don’t see your point here? They revised the site…so?
>good catch
>According to his Louisville job application, Brooks has a BA in History. So what qualifies him to be an expert on teaching math?? No wonder Ridgewood’s BOE didn’t mention his BA on the District web site. And he has only two years of teaching experience according to that job app??
>Investigations and other real math-deficient programs are usually supported by those who are not math-people. Investigations and other reform math programs are controversial and despised by those who believe in a traditional math background – being able to add, subtract, multiply and divide with fluency and accuracy without a calculator – because they themselves have found it to be useful in their lives. For most people it’s common sense to learn these basic concepts but parents who have taken advanced courses in math in high school and college, have engineering degrees, etc. especially notice these differences and understand the importance of learning them. They want their kids to learn what they know – not these unusual and confusing methods that are not providing a good foundation – and have the options for careers that require a solid math background.
>i’m perplexed…I don’t see your point here? They revised the site…so?
10:04 PM
The district attempted to use the Common Ground document in defense of their position on TERC / Investigations and reform math in general. Hence their original wording on the website of “What we mean by balanced approach.”
When it was brought to the public’s attention via the BOE meeting, that the intent of the authors, “R. James Milgram – thats the Stanford guy and Wilfried Schmid – he’s the Harvard guy”, was in NO WAY EVER to support these programs – and as the Stanford guy was quoted as saying “TERC is the 2nd most mathematically illiterate and damaging program, the first being Mathland ”
(notice you rarely hear of that Mathland being used anymore … )
and the Harvard guy being quoted as saying he finds “TERC/Investigations to be especially deficient”
it is clear from the web site changing of words and its timing that the district is trying to hide its opinion
and continues to be disingenious by even leaving that document out there —
The district’s material choice of TERC Investigations is a choice of “mathematically illiterate and damaging program” for your kids.
>Mathland went out of business. Their URL used to be
Mathland
You can see when you click on it that it no longer exists.
>this fuzzy math seems to be aimed at the most verbally aggressive students. This approach will leave 95% of the class wondering just what is it that they are doing. The AAUW keeps doing their job behind the scenes to trounce the life out of most students. It was nice of Mrs.Brooks to allow Mr. Brooks to add his name as “co-author”. It’s publish or perish, you know.
>behind every good man….
>Is it true that Mrs. Brooks received a MILLION dollar grant to promote Everyday Math?