Teaching Math the Liberal Way

[Annie]

And there is the problem: the stupid people.

Which by your definition is anyone not 'gifted'? I'll tell you right now, if you want 'the best' look for someone average to bright with a great work ethic, rather than 'gifted.' They are those that accomplish the most. Though they are lost with stuff early on in school just 'thrown', which has been going on in math for way too long.

 

[Mr.Conley]

Which by your definition is anyone not 'gifted'? I'll tell you right now, if you want 'the best' look for someone average to bright with a great work ethic, rather than 'gifted.' They are those that accomplish the most. Though they are lost with stuff early on in school just 'thrown', which has been going on in math for way too long.

No, that's not anywhere near my definition. It's the children who refuse to learn who are stupid, and there are more and more of them everyday.

 

[red states rule]

No, that's not anywhere near my definition. It's the children who refuse to learn who are stupid, and there are more and more of them everyday.

Oh no. Dems may increase their base after all

 

[Annie]

No, that's not anywhere near my definition. It's the children who refuse to learn who are stupid, and there are more and more of them everyday.

Where do you get 'kids that refuse to learn'? Are you a teacher? That problem is not found before 4-5th grades. In every case, the child has been addressed as a problem, which the parents refuse to deal with. Not a kid problem, a parent problem.

The math problem starts much earlier, in texts, not kids.

 

[Mr.Conley]

Where do you get 'kids that refuse to learn'? Are you a teacher? That problem is not found before 4-5th grades. In every case, the child has been addressed as a problem, which the parents refuse to deal with. Not a kid problem, a parent problem.

The math problem starts much earlier, in texts, not kids.

Not a teacher, but spent the last 4 months teaching part time before quiting in disgust. That's in addition to my own personal experience in public school. Kid's don't care (granted I've been talking about middle/high school, not elementary when I say that) and that's the problem more than parents, more than teachers, more than unions, more than textbooks, more than anything.

You've got this 10-15% that care and the rest who don't. It isn't correlated to intellgence, or economics, or ethnicity, but that's the way I see it.

 

[Annie]

Not a teacher, but spent the last 4 months teaching part time before quiting in disgust. That's in addition to my own personal experience in public school. Kid's don't care (granted I've been talking about middle/high school, not elementary when I say that) and that's the problem more than parents, more than teachers, more than unions, more than textbooks, more than anything.

You've got this 10-15% that care and the rest who don't. It isn't correlated to intellgence, or economics, or ethnicity, but that's the way I see it.

And I might suggest that your conclusion is based on your age, experience AND the fact of the age group you were dealing with.

Let me ask you, WHAT IF you worked your tail off and always failed? Would you keep banging your head? The brightest kids, not 'gifted', but bright, give up when success does not follow work. That is what is happening with math, has been for years, just check US scores. It's not the kids, it's the programs.

 

[Kagom]

No problem. I should have made my point more clear. But I am worried about those kids - they do not have a clue as to what they have to do to make it in the real world

I'm quite aware of that!

I typically help my friends who don't know how to do things like that. It's sad that a lot of people are that way and that really, even if we improve things on the teacher's end, it is still dependent on them in regards to wanting to improve and learn.

 

[LuvRPgrl]

Teaching math is interesting. My opinion is that there is no single methiod of teaching children mathematics. However, there are general methods that could possibly be most effective for certain segments of the population. Determining who learns best under what conditions is the key though.

Unfortunately, the teachers dont have the last say so in what methods to use. Its reserved for the administrators who dont know jack, or jack shit. They do however, have to justify their jobs somehow. Shame on them, they will stand before God and be punished for making life hard for so many by not providing a good education, but instead being more concerned about increasing their pay and vacation time.

 

[LuvRPgrl]

Not a teacher, but spent the last 4 months teaching part time before quiting in disgust. That's in addition to my own personal experience in public school. Kid's don't care (granted I've been talking about middle/high school, not elementary when I say that) and that's the problem more than parents, more than teachers, more than unions, more than textbooks, more than anything.

You've got this 10-15% that care and the rest who don't. It isn't correlated to intellgence, or economics, or ethnicity, but that's the way I see it.

If the kids dont care to learn, its not their fault. It ultimately is the responsability of the teachers, parents and other adults to instill the desire to learn in kids. Period.

 

[red states rule]

If the kids dont care to learn, its not their fault. It ultimately is the responsability of the teachers, parents and other adults to instill the desire to learn in kids. Period.

Do you mean the teachers actually have to accomplish what they are being paid to? The teachers union will have something to say about that!

 

[Gem]

If the kids dont care to learn, its not their fault. It ultimately is the responsability of the teachers, parents and other adults to instill the desire to learn in kids. Period.

I'm glad to see that you have included the students parents in this equation. I think that all too often in society today they are being left out of this when we discuss how to "fix" whats wrong in schools today.

I get to school at 6:30AM. I leave at 5PM. I skip my lunch (25 minutes) at least 3x per week to work with students in my room or to do work that I couldn't get done during my prep period. My prep period (30 minutes) is spent grading papers, planning for upcoming classes (I teach 4 different subjects), or making interesting, exciting materials for these classes because my students are, in large part, disinterested in school. I have gotten an undergraduate degree and two masters degrees in various aspects of education, I take classes all year long and throughout the summer months (in addition to working a full-time summer job to supplement my income, which isn't enough to support a family) in order to better reach my students. I participate in homework after school programs, the student council, the school musical, and I tutor before and after school.

And I am not special, not unusual, not anything but the "norm." From my experience the vast majority of teachers are like me.

But here's a taste of what we are up against:

- Parents insisting that her child is put into Learning Support because he refuses to work and it is "simply too hard for her" to argue with him about doing it.

- A parent who put one of their children into foster care because "they weren't getting along." And then was surprised that he had emotional issues when she brought him back to the house.

- Parents who won't return phone calls - despite the fact that they come 2x or more per week, at home and at work

- Parents who threaten to sue because they did not get weekly updates on grades (even though the reason they didn't get a weekly update was because they got a report card that week...which is, in essence, an update)

- Students who state flat out that their parents tell them homework is stupid and doesn't matter

- Parents who respond to the statement, "You're child hasn't turned in a homework assignment in 4 weeks," with "Well then stop giving them homework, duh."

- Students on drugs. (Parents who are either completely in denial or who say, "Aw, hell...its just a little pot.")

- Parents who care more about grades than learning, so they call to complain about projects that are too hard, too in-depth, too complicated because they want to be planned out, regulated, and spelled-out so that a 100% is easy to get.



I'll stop, even though I could go on and on and on. There are many concerned, involved parents. But there are also MANY parents like the ones I described above...and although I spend a lot of time with these students...if nothing I am discussing is being reinforced at home - its gonna make my job a helluva a lot more difficult, if not impossible.

In saying all of this, I should say that I think education in this country is heading downhill...I take a very libertarian approach and believe that the fact that the government has done nothing but toss more money at it and regulate it more and more and it has done nothing but tank demonstrates that more money and more government is NOT the answer.

But...I do feel VERY strongly that the majority of teachers in this nation are not the problem (Even the liberal ones). Most teachers are working their asses off in a very tough environment.

(P.S. Sorry for the rant...but PSSAs - Pennsylvania's state assessments start tomorrow...and being told that its my fault that a student - who doesn't give a shit about school and whose parents don't give a shit about school - scores basic or below basic on these tests gets a bit exhausting)