On NOW at RadioFR!
Doug from Upland interviews JAYNA DAVIS discussing the OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING
Posted on 12/04/2002 9:41:55 AM PST by Lizavetta
Yes it is. A careful observer will notice that the downward spiral of student performance in California over the last thirty years or so roughly parallels the continual introduction of "new" ideas into the California educational system ;)
Tell us what math texts YOU like.
I want practice, hands-on, and application in a text. I will pull from wherever needed to reach students. I know some teachers like Saxon. It does seem to work for some kids. The other two will work for more kids.
Don't forget the inert gas atmosphere you need to keep your tungsten wire from going "Poof!" within seconds of applying the current.
Hmmmm... It didn't go poof the last time I was doing a bench test to see how much current through it would melt a copper foil at close range... I was using 15 mil W though, that's right hardcore stuff...
Had ABeka through grade school. I recall alot of long division... Rote, bored the p!ss outta me, but did the job... Saxon had a very cleancut conciseness that attracted me as a youngster...
Saxon has got to be the best physics text out there for homeschoolers at any rate... Take Bob Jones, for example. That piece of dog waste must've been written by a bunch of English majors, I swear to God. They should stick to building their barbwire fences to keep the Catholics and other infidels out and leave science alone...
Argon works well.
A simple, progressive math test will do the same without the embarassment of showing ones' lack of knowledge (or abundance of knowledge which can be frowned upon by peers) in front of the class. I still don't see what there is to discuss. If they class can multiply and divide, then move on to bigger things.
Thinking and reasoning are very important in learning math. Math is not always about practicality. If so, use a calculator. Funtionality is based on thinking and reasoning and applying what you have learned.
I would never argue that thinking and reasoning aren't important in math. But, if a problem doesn't have a purpose or goal, it is useless. And if students find it useless, they probably won't work with it. Finding one of an infinate number of answers to a question, to me, has no goal. It sounds more like "Dr. Spock meets Pythagerus". :)
Math is changing - in some good ways and some not so good ways. My first year to teach was when "new math" started. The texts were new, and I had not had any of it in college - (like graphing inequalities on a number line). My ex tried to help our first grade son, and could not do the math - <, > were new in the texts. Now things are getting moved down further in the curriculum, and basics are getting less emphasis. Manipulatives were new 20 years ago in the US (40 in Europe), and are rarely used now. There are times when they are very beneficial, but teachers tend to teach how they were taught. Many consider them too time consuming.
Math hasn't changed a bit; the methods of teaching have. Oh granted, we do more digital now, but the quadratic equation hasn't changed and the only thing different with pi is how many decimal places it has been successfully been carried out.
I beleive that the changes in teaching methods have shown up negatively in the results on standardized testing over the last 40 years. This is particularly true on tests that haven't been dummied down since the late 1950's.
To be honest, I don't blame this entirely on teaching methods; I put most of the blame on social promotion and other feel-good claptrap that serves only to lower the standard of the class to its weakest link.
Finding certified teachers is hard, whether math or otherwise. There are too many who are ill-prepared. I blame a lot of this on universities. The profs that can do research get more time and money. Those that can teach get run off. Teachers are not highly valued in our society. Discipline is becoming non-existant in our schools. All of this leads to kids learning less.
I can understand that. Putting up with kids and their parents without the ability to flunk the ones that don't make the cut and without the ability to expel the troublemakers is probably a big reason. Why enter a profession in which you seemingly cannot do anything right?
Is the publishers information comparative or anecdotal? I have seen or heard of few classroomes where it has really worked. Most are leaving it, or supplementing it heavily.
The touchy-feely, rainforest, can't-we-all-get-along, problem-solving mantra is a canard.
There is nothing touchy feely about PROBLEM SOLVING. It is thinking, applying, and using basic math skills.
Development of critical thinking skills and the ability to problem solve comes after a strong foundation in the basics has been laid. Upper division high school and then college are the correct places to put the burden on students for complex problem solving.
Our children are problem solvers before they enter school. Not encouraging problem solving in everyday life is a disservice to them. Evidently we don't agree on what true problem solving is.
I agree and see that as a important lesson in education.
This bears repeating. First the basics, then using the basics to solve.
On NOW at RadioFR!
Doug from Upland interviews JAYNA DAVIS discussing the OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING
I have four children and I honestly have not noticed this in them, or any other child. And whatever abilities to solve children may inherently have, I don't believe it has any meaning in terms of abstract mathematical principals. Young brains are not capable of abstract thought until later - they're simply not wired that way.
Evidently we don't agree on what true problem solving is.
Perhaps not....but at least we can have a civil disagreement, right?
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