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My district has paid a conflict resolution facilitator to meet with several math focus groups. Why? Because parents from two of the six schools have voiced various concerns over their schools' math program, TERC aka Investigations in Number, Data, & Space. The focus groups consist of parents from the district. The district has a total of six elementary schools, two middles schools, and a high school. The focus groups have put parents from two elementary schools together.
What's ironic?
Tonight was the focus group meeting of parents from the two elementary schools with the TERC math curriculum. Too bad the facilitator did not show up.
Do you think petty cash can pay for the sitter?
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24 comments:
"conflict resolution facilitator"?
Isn't the person really an appeasement facilitator? Do the schools have anything to offer the parents? Or, do they think that it's just a matter of educating the parents?
So the parents met with people from the school, but no facilitator showed up? Did everyone just go home? What's the role of a facilitator when the school has nothing to offer?
I'd be very wary of professional "conflict resolution facilitators". Try googling the Delphi Method sometime. It's quite the eye-opener.
One parent called the superintendent. When he arrived, he checked to see if his office recieved any late message from the facilitator and then sent everyone home.
While left alone in the room, another parent and I looked at the books on the shelves.
Very informative.
Especially the
"Public Relations Source Book" - Supporting Improvement in Mathematics Education.
And the other books - all circa 1990 and well aligned to those infamous 1989 NCTM standards.
Especially seeing the Trailblazers math curricula material.
My district is in a time warp.
"My district is in a time warp."
Yes, many of our districts exist in this same time warp. For the most part, they are products of this 90's school of education dogma and they know little else. It's really like a religion to them-- changing is tantamount to abandoning your religion and converting to something else. Sadly, the schools of education are in the same time warp and they keep churning out more believers.
einoh is correct. Look up Delphi Method.
Our schools had an open house a few years ago where teachers and parents (and anyone from the town) got to talk about a new 5-year plan. They brought in a facilitator, didn't allow any questions about fundamental assumptions, and then guided the discussion towards evolutionary changes only.
A common Delphi Technique is divide and conquer. The facilitator splits people up into groups, but the facilitator decides who is going to be in the groups. (Sometimes random groupings do the trick.) Then they get the groups back together to compare notes and come up with a consensus or resolution, under facilitator control. Unless the opposition group has a pre-defined plan and goals, they are isolated and marginalized.
They way it might work for TERC is that in the small groups, "balance" will become the main topic of discussion. Some teachers will agree that more focus should be made on mastering the basics. Who knows what this means exactly, but it will all sound good. Who doesn't want balance. I was in a parent-teacher discussion about Everyday Math and when the discussion got to balance, it was all over.
So, the groups will get back together and everyone will smile and talk about balance. The school might even talk about some material they have to supplement TERC. It might even be provided by the TERC people.
At the end of the night, you will still have TERC.
Parents opposed to TERC (etal) have to get together separately and decide on a goal like demanding a change to Singapore Math, or at least, an option of Singapore Math. You have to tell them what you want. You can't go to a facilitated meeting without your own agenda. If you want something, tell them exactly what you want. Then, perhaps, a facilitated meeting might work, but it can't be more than two separate groups; parents and teachers. The goal isn't to figure out what the problem is. The goal is to get what you want.
If you start talking about balance, you've lost. But then again, you've probably lost already. They won't offer a separate path, and they have to be concerned about ALL students. In other words, your little Johnnie or Suzie might be the brightest kid in school, but they have to be concerned about ALL kids. (In other words, you're just interested in your own child.) That was message I got from my son's ex-school. And I was told, by the way, that many of "their" kids do quite well in high school. They jump right into the AP Calculus path. End of discussion.
Here's a good link for an explanation on being Delphi'd:
http://www.illinoisloop.org/committees.html
There's a lot there, so scroll down.
Also, when you go to actual districts in the Math section of the website, it's amazing how many districts have hired these public relations companies to talk to the parents.
I think the facilitator not showing up to this meeting could build momentum. It may be the opportunity to bring in parents who have been outside the fold. They may be more ready to listen now that the district has dropped the ball. Calling a meeting on your own (sans facilitator) right about now might be very beneficial.
"The school might even talk about some material they have to supplement TERC. It might even be provided by the TERC people."
My sons' school has SME, SuccessMaker Enterprise, a computer math program. Guess who the publisher is? Yes, Pearson, the same publisher of TERC.
I suppose I should count myself lucky. It could be worse. My sons could be at the schools who do full investigations.
One bright spot, however, is that I found a list of topics up for discussion at another school in my district. One of the topics is Singapore's Early Bird Math.
"Sadly, the schools of education are in the same time warp and they keep churning out more believers."
Yes, and my county just hired over 700 new teachers. Most of them fresh out of ed school.
I love that Delphi link that you posted. I laughed out loud several times while reading it -- I had an old employer who was a master Delphier, if you will.
There was a link off that page that went to a list of tips for administrators for dealing with "difficult" parents. My favorite tip was on "coping with questions" --
Coping With Questions: Five Basic Responses:
"Respond only:...Flat answers prompt more questions, and 'yes' and 'no' answers mean that you are a victim of their questions, playing on their field."
"Respond and insert: Answer and elaborate with information not directly called for...this will establish you as the expert."
"Insert and respond: Preface your answer with reflections or information. Set the stage. This is a great way to break bad news."
"Insert only: If you're not going to answer the question, then you'd better make the content of your alternative good."
"Ignore: Go on as if the question was never asked."
Good stuff!
I enjoyed the (how to combat) Delphi link as well and learned a lot. Thank you!
I was somewhat surprised when I dug into it to learn that much of the information was supplied by persons whom I would consider to be more conservative than I am.
Of course, advocating the memorization of math facts is now viewed as conservative so perhaps I am a conservative after all ....
After reading some of the articles on Illinois Loop, I think we've all been Delphi'd!
SusanJ,
I just read a piece on American Thinker about Saul Alinsky and Hillary Clinton. Wikepedia has this to say about the Alinsky/Clinton link:
Alinsky was the subject of Hillary Rodham's senior honors thesis at Wellesley College, "There Is Only The Fight...": An Analysis of the Alinsky Model.[10] Rodham commented on Alinsky's "charm," but rejected grassroots community organizing as outdated. Once Hillary Rodham Clinton became First Lady of the United States, the thesis was suppressed by the White House for fear of being associated too closely with Alinsky's ideas.[11]
Don't try to prove that textbooks, curricular materials or teaching methods are the best.
From "How to Deal with Difficult Parents".
That has to be my favorite. Who needs proof that the methods and materials being used with my tax dollars to teach my children works?
Unbelievable.
wait
wait
This was the actual focus group.
The focus group where the facilitator was going to talk to riled-up parents in the two elementary schools with TERC.
This reminds me.
I gotta get hold of that Scarsdale article.
Scarsdale is contemplating dropping Trailblazers.
btw, this is why the Yahoo list works so well.
It's the spaced repetition thing.
You just keep saying what you have to say.
Drip, drip, drip.
Very hard for a school to defend itself, because schools limit communication - and you're communicating a lot.
A school simply cannot devote the time and resources it would take to counter everything I put out, nor can they adopt the informal, personal, and frankly political tone I can use.
You can't accomplish anything in meetings, other than to throw a monkey wrench into things (that you can do, but it takes some practice).
You have to write.
There may be analogues to writing; not sure.
Ed is writing letters to the editor this year. He's essentially set him up as an Irvington School District columnist.
His letters are so good that so far the paper runs them prominently, up front.
Also, when you go to actual districts in the Math section of the website, it's amazing how many districts have hired these public relations companies to talk to the parents.
YAHOO LIST!!!!
Don't try to prove that textbooks, curricular materials or teaching methods are the best.
I've learned that lesson myself.
I absolutely do not, EVER, utter the words "research shows."
"Respond and insert: Answer and elaborate with information not directly called for...this will establish you as the expert."
"Insert and respond: Preface your answer with reflections or information. Set the stage. This is a great way to break bad news."
"Insert only: If you're not going to answer the question, then you'd better make the content of your alternative good."
"Ignore: Go on as if the question was never asked."
Wonderful, wonderful stuff.
WOO HOO
"Ignore" doesn't work with me.
I am absolutely not deterred from repeating the same question 10, 20 times.
Or posting it on the internet, for that matter.
Which reminds me, time to tell the district I'm going to FOIL the middle school model docs.
I once sat with the director of SPED here, of whom I was very fond, as she asserted that the multi-sensory class at Dows Lane didn't work and should be disbanded. It didn't work, she said, "Because a lot of the kids end up getting classified anyway."
There were 2 other parents sitting at the table; the director was holding court.
I said, "How many kids would be classified without the class?"
She talked on, directing her comments to one of the other parents.
I said, "How many kids would be classified without the multisensory class?"
She talked on.
By then I was DYING TO KNOW how many kids would be classified if they didn't have the class.
I said, "How many kids would be classified without the multi-sensory class."
She said, "I don't know."
"Ignore the question" so doesn't work with me.
A couple of weeks ago I watched a masterful performance of "Ignore the question."
This was in a small meeting.
A teacher said, emphatically, "XXXXXXX."
A parent answered with, "YYYYYYY."
The teacher zoomed right on, nodding vigorously, agreeing full force, "XXXXXXXX."
It was a sight to behold.
The parent, clearly, had said, "No."
The teacher enthusiastically heard "no" as "yes."
I think we've all been Delphi'd!
I just got back from a BOE meeting where we were, for the most part, overwhelmingly Delphi'd.
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