Posted on 09/01/2010 10:39:44 AM PDT by nmh
Hundreds of N.J. students who can't do simple math were credited with passing calculus, according to a report on APP.com.
According to a Department of Education report, "there were other students, unable ultimately to evidence even simple math skills, who were unimaginably recorded by their schools as succeeding in Algebra II or even Calculus."
A report delivered at today's state Board of Education meeting will recommend four new policies to aid students who weren't proficient enough in reading, writing or math to meet state graduation standards.
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
John Thompson is a racist sob with a voice that makes him sound like he’s mentally impaired.
“There was a section for her comments and she let them have it about the idiotic spiral math program they started for kids younger than her during those years.”
Yes. Round and round they go. The frustration mounts and they call this “teaching”.
Parents today, MUST be involved with what their kids are leaning and be INVOLVED with it.
>> In all fairness, one of Princeton’s highest faculty members was poor at basic math. However he was a whiz at the higher levels. His name was Al Einstein I believe.
An impossibility.
Edison claimed proficiency with sufficient understanding of the higher levels. He was also declared an academic failure.
Neither of these cases provide rational justification for the systematic failures in education today.
That’s why I think an abacus would be a great substitute! It’s a bit lazy, but also encourages being smarter.
With an abacus they can see the calculations and not just wait for technology to tell them.
I agree! And also why I think every locker in a high school — guys locker — should have a melee weapon in it. Let the girls have the handguns and tazers.
Anyone who has had a young clerk try to count change and figure out a bill when the power goes off knows that the BS of teaching everything on Calculators does NOT teach math but teaches the use of calculators. I had a clerk ask me, just the other day, "how do you old guys do that?" when I told her what the total price would be and what my change would be(the power was down). She had no clue how to do math without a machine to do it for her and she had recently graduated HS.
Educators today use the theory of Multiple Intelligences.
The theory’s eight currently accepted intelligences are:
* Spatial
* Linguistic
* Logical-mathematical
* Kinesthetic
* Musical
* Interpersonal
* Intrapersonal
* Naturalist
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_multiple_intelligences
The way I reckon it an abacus positively exercises five of these eight!
A digital calculator, as used in most math classes today, exercises ZERO of them, and impairs at least one: Intrapersonal.
Sounds good to me.
Somewhere between when I went to school and my kids attended, scratch paper and a pencil got lost. My math books were always full calculations. Education has lost it. And I think on purpose. I still believe "The Dumbing Down of America" was/is real.
Ding! We have a winner! My wife interviewed at a local Christian Academy several years ago and the salary was crazy low, bordering an insult.
We recently changed churches over a similar issue. The issue is/was so many of the members thought nothing of going on welfare to get divorces, especially one’s with Massachusetts adresses and others would just quit work because they “didn’t like” the boss or some other lame excuse, then go sign the kids up for NH state benefits and get an un-employment check to boot!!! Way to many on the dole, yet homeschooling was look at as a “sin” and not to be trusted..... whoohoooooo! glad to not be there and we are fortunate to have found a decent church while we wait for the NZ imigration paper work to be processed so we don’t have to be here when the wheels finally come off.
My daughter took calc in college and the college policy was NO CALCULATORS at all.
So, she brought her slide rule and asked if she could use that.
After the stunned silence that anyone knew how to use it in the first place, mush less had one, they said sure. The rules didn’t say anything about slide rules.
It helped her get through the basic multiplication part easier.
Just as an aside, she can do plenty complicated math in her head. I adamantly refused to allow them calculators in homeschool until they reached about second year algebra and could prove to me that they could multiply in their heads. Then is was just a matter of convenience, to speed things up.
Please don’t think I was kidding too much with my answer in that one. In modern context, sure I was kidding. But, actually, if the schooling really worked the kids would be trustworthy and behaved responsibly enough for that.
I still remember the morning I wore my Hopalong Cassidy toy pistols and holsters to Kindergarten. The Principal stopped me in the hall and taught me how to reverse the holsters for a cross draw that allowed one to get a shot roughly on target quicker.
Tools are all good. It’s humans, and ONLY humans, who are both bad and good.
>>I still remember the morning I wore my Hopalong Cassidy toy pistols and holsters to Kindergarten. The Principal stopped me in the hall and taught me how to reverse the holsters for a cross draw that allowed one to get a shot roughly on target quicker.<<
Great story!
It’s sahmeful.
BTW what made you pick out NZ?
We are thinking about things too ... .
Maybe it’s better to reply via FR e-mail.
LOL!
Do you realize that years ago what they do in HIGH SCHOOL TODAY used to be done in Junior High without calculators. All of the subjects were more difficult and now the federal guidelines that you MUST abide by to get the Raise to the Top $$$$ are even LOWER STANDARDS! It’s crazy.
In elementary school I was accused of cheating for using my slide rule to VERIFY my longhand division results! Didn't matter that I had it all down on paper before I pulled out the slipstick.
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