kitchen table math, the sequel: Nailed it!

Saturday, July 9, 2016

Nailed it!

Nice op-ed from a 37-year veteran teacher who nails it to the wall, regarding what teaching has become–a slave to reform ed ideas. And how veteran teachers survive it.
“The education reform movement has choked, stifled and smothered veteran teachers. It has poo-poo-ed their historic knowledge and the vast wealth of experience they have collected. Education reform has replaced it with ridiculous chants, mantras, beliefs and a bowing before the goddess of data and technology. A great false association has taken place. It is believed that because shiny new green teachers (the ones who quit in mooing herds within their first five years) are adept at computer usage they are also are harbingers of true new fix-it-all education. And this works for principals who desire compliant teachers to implement the new stuff. Who better to do it than flexible indentured newbies who feel indebted to the principal for employment.
“Veteran teachers have seen the following elementary educational fixes. And we survived them. Well, some of us did.
“MATH: Math Their Way, Math Land, Mathematics Unlimited, Callifornia Math, Excel Math, Math Expressions, Dot Math, Math Manipulatives, New Math, Common Core Math … and more.
“The How of Teaching: Self-contained classes, blended (switching classes), Team teaching, combination classes, combination bilingual classes, after school programs, learning centers, projects, leveled ELA, Immersion cooperative groups, pair-share, No Child Left Behind, Race To The Top, Common Core, Goals and Standards numbered and written on the board, behavior modification plan this, behavior modification plan that and more.”
Couldn’t have said it better. And I’ve tried, believe me!

14 comments:

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ChemProf said...

My mother complains about this, and mostly ignores it at this point (as a 50 year veteran of her district). But she knows the administration would love for her to retire, in part because she doesn't follow the trend of the moment.

owen thomas said...

thanks, catherine johnson.

barry *has* said it better;
you could look it up.

the thing is: suchlike enormous
bureaucracies as 'puplic ed" are
doomed in their very nature to lie
at every turn. there is no remedy.

a great teacher once took the trouble
to type it out for me personally; i'm
lazy to look up the actual document but
the words were to the effect that "fixing
problems in math-ed is like picking
dandelions... it might look better for a short
while, but the dandelions will soon be
be back, in greater numbers than before.".
he was not wrong.

blessings.

Barry Garelick said...

Owen,

Actually, the post above was mine, not Catherine's. Glad you think I've said it better elsewhere.

I like the dandelion quote. I'd like to use it. Do you remember the teacher's name?

sindhu said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
owen thomas said...

sure i remember: underwood dudley. "traditional math" is looking good.

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I’m happy to find so many useful info here in the post, we need work out more techniques in this regard, thanks for sharing.

Hannah
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