To convince people, yeah. Although I totally concur with the video, it strikes me that people unaware of the flaws of the current fuzzy math syllabuses won't know what he's getting at, e.g. the rhetoric is effective only if you've been converted.
What I hate about the book series is its attempt to seem advanced or "connected" (in "context") through the use of unnecessary bombastic vocabulary. Even if your language skills are superbly good, it may take a while to decipher what they are actually saying. What more about the rest of the students? The immigrant students come into the afterschool help room all befuddled. They think it must be their English, when it is in fact the book that native speakers find it hard to comprehend.
I have way too much experience with this book even though I've never gone through the course.
When I came back to the US from Singapore, my sister was one year younger than me, so she went to 8th grade while I went to 9th.
I went straight to Algebra II, picking up mostly where I left off in Singapore, maybe repeating a few topics over again. (My peers went on to learn basic differentiation in secondary three -- integration would come in sec 4.)
My sister however, being in 8th grade in the final year of middle school, got to try out the funky new math syllabus that had been implemented.
Because of the book, where she had started one year behind me (like a younger sister one year younger would), now she is behind two. Which makes her two years behind her Singaporean peers her age.
Also, taking Algebra II in my freshman year was possible in my high school when I came back in 2005, but not now, because the new programmes followed my sister to high school, where most freshmen and sophomores now take a form of "integrated algebra".
Meanwhile, the city is considering a 56 million dollar bond for a new high school building.
But the building is perfectly fine! It's the syllabus!
I sadly work in a high school where this math series is being inflicted upon the students. I've been there five years, and my bright kids constantly have complained about how much they hate this math series. On top of that, they are well behind their peers who aren't using this nonsense, and most of them realize it. Our math scores on the ACT and SAT are in the toilet; we've only had one National Merit Scholar out of a student body of 1600 in the five years I've been there, and she missed the whole introduction of this crap.
Ach, the National Merit Scholar programme. I remember foolishly telling the truth on the citizenship question (I could have easily said that I was a PR seeking citizenship, but I knew I wouldn't be actually seeking citizenship because Singapore forbids dual citizenship and I was planning on keeping my Singaporean citizenship first while eventually lobbying for a change to a law back home.)
Boom! Even though I got top 99th percentile, instant disqualification.
Now my lack of such an award is looking very bad on my college applications where all the rival students will probably have it and I won't.
All this because my country's (anti) dual citizenship law!
But the building is perfectly fine! It's the syllabus!
oh, yeah
oh, yeah
Our new $40,0000 middle school building came equipped with PowerPoint projectors in each and every classroom. Ed doesn't have this at NYU; if he wants to use visuals he has to reserve a room.
But we've got them.
Three years later, they're obsolete and we've now got Smart Boards in every single classroom in the district.
$400 replacement light bulbs
The projectors will be allowed to disintegrate; the Smart Boards will be used as screens for PowerPoint.
One of the teachers told us, "We would all have been better students if we'd had Smart Boards when we were in school."
Then she told us to go downstairs and donate money to the PTSA & the IEF.
The PTSA & the IEF are doing some very good things, and some interesting things....I've re-joined the PTSA, and I'll be attending the IEF fundraisers.
Our math scores on the ACT and SAT are in the toilet; we've only had one National Merit Scholar out of a student body of 1600 in the five years I've been there, and she missed the whole introduction of this crap.
Parker and Hill, two math professors at Michigan State U did a statistical study of performance of students who went through the Core Plus curriculum and how they performed in first year calculus. It was published in MAA's American Math Monthly. Copy accessible at: http://www.mth.msu.edu/~hill/HillParker5.pdf
In the early grades, kids are told that "arrays" refer to data or objects grouped in rows and columns. Then, they find out later that these are matrices. But the books really are describing tables. When they do talk about what might be called real matrices, the explanations are superficial because they haven't taught the kids anything yet.
This is math appreciation (at best), not learning and applying math. In 8th grade, this is a waste of time. They should be focused on defining and solving systems of equations by hand. THAT provides a great (and traditional) introduction to matrices - solving systems of equations.
But nooooooooooo! Educators get to decide on K-12 math, not fussy professors or parents.
I, of course, do not want to reveal where I'm at. But there is dissension--but not among the vast majority of math teachers unfortunately. Most of my department routinely ridicules the curriculum; another colleague who is a science teacher is a one man remedial math program through coaching academic team. Kids hate it too--I've heard bitter complaints for years. There is, however, one bright spot. A tremendously talented teacher who has one section of the courses that use this book ignores it. He puts it on the shelf, keeps under the radar, and teaches real math. The kids love him. He says he teaches math the way they'll need in college, and he pushes kids very hard and stretches their abilities as far as they'll go. He's practically a folk hero for his refusal to do this garbage. I only hope he stays out of trouble with vested interests and with the ideologues of his own department.
To respond to your questions: I meant the majority of the teachers in the department. I am actually not sure of this, but I believe that most of the ones who teach this (it's only used for about the first two years of HS for most) do support it.
The science teacher has a strong physics background--he is able to fill in a lot of good geometry, trig, and advanced algebra/basic calculus. I coach along with him, and we are dismayed at getting creamed by other teams when it comes to math, both in math depth and in speed. We don't even compete until our kids are seniors and are finally back into more traditional math courses.
who left the comment saying we desperately need h.s. math teachers with strong backgrounds in physics???
I wanted to make sure I saved that
The science teacher has a strong physics background--he is able to fill in a lot of good geometry, trig, and advanced algebra/basic calculus. I coach along with him, and we are dismayed at getting creamed by other teams when it comes to math, both in math depth and in speed. We don't even compete until our kids are seniors and are finally back into more traditional math courses.
These two YouTubes might be the Final Word.
ReplyDeleteI mean, really.
Is there anything left to say?
We should just collapse ktm-1 & ktm-2 into one gigantic Crap-Plus post, including the two videos and maybe a transcript.
"Is there anything left to say?"
ReplyDeleteTo convince people, yeah. Although I totally concur with the video, it strikes me that people unaware of the flaws of the current fuzzy math syllabuses won't know what he's getting at, e.g. the rhetoric is effective only if you've been converted.
What I hate about the book series is its attempt to seem advanced or "connected" (in "context") through the use of unnecessary bombastic vocabulary. Even if your language skills are superbly good, it may take a while to decipher what they are actually saying. What more about the rest of the students? The immigrant students come into the afterschool help room all befuddled. They think it must be their English, when it is in fact the book that native speakers find it hard to comprehend.
I have way too much experience with this book even though I've never gone through the course.
When I came back to the US from Singapore, my sister was one year younger than me, so she went to 8th grade while I went to 9th.
I went straight to Algebra II, picking up mostly where I left off in Singapore, maybe repeating a few topics over again. (My peers went on to learn basic differentiation in secondary three -- integration would come in sec 4.)
My sister however, being in 8th grade in the final year of middle school, got to try out the funky new math syllabus that had been implemented.
Because of the book, where she had started one year behind me (like a younger sister one year younger would), now she is behind two. Which makes her two years behind her Singaporean peers her age.
Also, taking Algebra II in my freshman year was possible in my high school when I came back in 2005, but not now, because the new programmes followed my sister to high school, where most freshmen and sophomores now take a form of "integrated algebra".
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, the city is considering a 56 million dollar bond for a new high school building.
But the building is perfectly fine! It's the syllabus!
I sadly work in a high school where this math series is being inflicted upon the students. I've been there five years, and my bright kids constantly have complained about how much they hate this math series. On top of that, they are well behind their peers who aren't using this nonsense, and most of them realize it. Our math scores on the ACT and SAT are in the toilet; we've only had one National Merit Scholar out of a student body of 1600 in the five years I've been there, and she missed the whole introduction of this crap.
ReplyDeleteAch, the National Merit Scholar programme. I remember foolishly telling the truth on the citizenship question (I could have easily said that I was a PR seeking citizenship, but I knew I wouldn't be actually seeking citizenship because Singapore forbids dual citizenship and I was planning on keeping my Singaporean citizenship first while eventually lobbying for a change to a law back home.)
ReplyDeleteBoom! Even though I got top 99th percentile, instant disqualification.
Now my lack of such an award is looking very bad on my college applications where all the rival students will probably have it and I won't.
All this because my country's (anti) dual citizenship law!
*sigh*
What I hate about the book series is its attempt to seem advanced or "connected" (in "context") through the use of unnecessary bombastic vocabulary.
ReplyDeleteThis is going in the pantheon.
But the building is perfectly fine! It's the syllabus!
ReplyDeleteoh, yeah
oh, yeah
Our new $40,0000 middle school building came equipped with PowerPoint projectors in each and every classroom. Ed doesn't have this at NYU; if he wants to use visuals he has to reserve a room.
But we've got them.
Three years later, they're obsolete and we've now got Smart Boards in every single classroom in the district.
$400 replacement light bulbs
The projectors will be allowed to disintegrate; the Smart Boards will be used as screens for PowerPoint.
One of the teachers told us, "We would all have been better students if we'd had Smart Boards when we were in school."
Then she told us to go downstairs and donate money to the PTSA & the IEF.
The PTSA & the IEF are doing some very good things, and some interesting things....I've re-joined the PTSA, and I'll be attending the IEF fundraisers.
But not because of Smart Boards.
Cranky
ReplyDeleteHi!
Thanks SO much for posting.
What's going on with this curriculum?
Any chance it will be dumped?
Any dissension in the ranks?
THANKS!
Our math scores on the ACT and SAT are in the toilet; we've only had one National Merit Scholar out of a student body of 1600 in the five years I've been there, and she missed the whole introduction of this crap.
Parker and Hill, two math professors at Michigan State U did a statistical study of performance of students who went through the Core Plus curriculum and how they performed in first year calculus. It was published in MAA's American Math Monthly. Copy accessible at:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mth.msu.edu/~hill/HillParker5.pdf
In the early grades, kids are told that "arrays" refer to data or objects grouped in rows and columns. Then, they find out later that these are matrices. But the books really are describing tables. When they do talk about what might be called real matrices, the explanations are superficial because they haven't taught the kids anything yet.
ReplyDeleteThis is math appreciation (at best), not learning and applying math. In 8th grade, this is a waste of time. They should be focused on defining and solving systems of equations by hand. THAT provides a great (and traditional) introduction to matrices - solving systems of equations.
But nooooooooooo! Educators get to decide on K-12 math, not fussy professors or parents.
professors are darned fussy
ReplyDeletei happen to know
These two videos are actually a phenomenal resource for non-math majors like me.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I already believe what this guy is saying, but to HEAR the full-throttle contempt of a real math person....
It's powerful.
In its way, it's more powerful than the McDermott & Maas (sp) videos.
That's not a criticism of either; we need them, and I use them.
But the "homemade" quality of these two, the sheer, spontaneous, REAMING of EVERY SINGLE LITTLE THING inside the books ---
It's devastating.
There aren't too many parents who, having watched these, are going to feel CONFIDENT that their local educators know better.
ReplyDeleteMany parents will still feel they should respect their educators, support them, go along with them.
But confidence that they are right will be severely undermined.
I, of course, do not want to reveal where I'm at. But there is dissension--but not among the vast majority of math teachers unfortunately. Most of my department routinely ridicules the curriculum; another colleague who is a science teacher is a one man remedial math program through coaching academic team. Kids hate it too--I've heard bitter complaints for years. There is, however, one bright spot. A tremendously talented teacher who has one section of the courses that use this book ignores it. He puts it on the shelf, keeps under the radar, and teaches real math. The kids love him. He says he teaches math the way they'll need in college, and he pushes kids very hard and stretches their abilities as far as they'll go. He's practically a folk hero for his refusal to do this garbage. I only hope he stays out of trouble with vested interests and with the ideologues of his own department.
ReplyDeleteCranky-
ReplyDeleteCan I post this "up front"?
btw, the official edu-term for this kind of thing is "clandestine teaching."
OK, I have no idea what the official term is, or whether there is an official term.
ReplyDeleteBut it works, so I say: let's have an official term!
When you say the vast majority of math teachers...are you talking about across the country?
ReplyDeleteAnd: the science teacher who remediates -- is he remediating math?
Or science?
Or both?
To respond to your questions:
ReplyDeleteI meant the majority of the teachers in the department. I am actually not sure of this, but I believe that most of the ones who teach this (it's only used for about the first two years of HS for most) do support it.
The science teacher has a strong physics background--he is able to fill in a lot of good geometry, trig, and advanced algebra/basic calculus. I coach along with him, and we are dismayed at getting creamed by other teams when it comes to math, both in math depth and in speed. We don't even compete until our kids are seniors and are finally back into more traditional math courses.
You are welcome to post this "up front."
oh gosh, that reminds me
ReplyDeletewho left the comment saying we desperately need h.s. math teachers with strong backgrounds in physics???
I wanted to make sure I saved that
The science teacher has a strong physics background--he is able to fill in a lot of good geometry, trig, and advanced algebra/basic calculus. I coach along with him, and we are dismayed at getting creamed by other teams when it comes to math, both in math depth and in speed. We don't even compete until our kids are seniors and are finally back into more traditional math courses.