[Cincinatus' Wife]

educators - sorry about the copy-paste. But then, it really is hard to call them educators.

[raisincane]

When they are done with the course, they need to abandon the NEA.

[Diogenesis]

Education in Massachusetts is a joke.

Given the love affairs for Bulger and Laboy --- forgetaboutit.

[Zorrito]

In collges, the low IQ students become education majors. No wonder they join a union; it gives these semi-illiterates job protection and income far, far greater than their worth.

Support school vouchers!

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

``It's a vicious cycle,'' Fortmann said. ``People don't learn math very well in school, they avoid math while preparing to become grade-school teachers in college, and the cycle continues. What we're hoping to do here is break the cycle.''

Whenever our grade-school teacher would announce the arithmetic homework was a page of number-crunching problems, I'd groan along with the rest of the class.

But when she announced a page of word problems, the rest of the class would caterwaul, and I'd be relieved--there were so few of them on the page, and there was actually a reason to be interested in the problems.

I didn't actually learn that I was good at math--that math was really about the word problems I enjoyed much more than the number-crunch that I detested--until tenth grade.

[NewHampshireDuo]

OK, here we have a 4th grade math teacher who's struggling with the curriculum. What's wrong here?

[xzins]

I don't think educators are the issue. I'm sure there'll be some benefit from having them take a few more how to teach classes and a few more math classes.

But, think about it.....does that really sound like it's gonna impact anything in a significant way?

If you've ever looked at an old McGuffy Reader or an old 6th grade graduation examination, it becomes clear that far more work was gotten from the students in days gone past.

Has the human creature changed since then? Are hearts shaped differently, are eyes in different places, are legs missing joints they used to have?

Since there's no difference in the human creature itself, then it must be something else that accounts for student's work output being far less.

I'm going to bet that teachers WANT to get more from students, but that they CANNOT get it no matter what they try. Why?

The family culture and the culture of the educational establishment BOTH prevent it is my guess.

[mathluv]

We have been doing this in Texas for over 20 years. Modules, then Institutes, have been developed for training teachers in teaching math from PreK through Geometry. Thousands of teachers have been trained. The state standards have gone from TABS to TAAS to TEKS to TAKS. The state tests are supposedly getting harder.

I am not sure that it has really made a difference. There are still teachers who do not like math, and should not be teaching it.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

``Fourth grade is a rigorous year with that [testing] cloud hanging over us in the spring,'' said Washington, who teaches at Mill Pond Elementary School. ``My background in math is not the strongest, and I'm pretty aware of that.''

Apparently teachers don't get much math past 3rd grade.

[spunkets]

It beats me why they can't do this simple math already. They paid all that money to go to school and get their degree, yet they're still ignorant.

"$12 million in state funds and $8 million from districts."

Throwing money at this won't help. All they need to do is buy a $40 grade school math book and read it. I'm sure there's some 6th graders that would be willing to coach them for some spending $s also.