tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post4467148014767967120..comments2024-03-26T04:19:38.862-07:00Comments on kitchen table math, the sequel: book clubCatherine Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-48354977623576946892007-12-30T06:35:00.000-08:002007-12-30T06:35:00.000-08:00My favorite middle school practice:Once a year, a ...My favorite middle school practice:<BR/><BR/>Once a year, a week before the budget vote, the entire foyer is filled with student artwork.<BR/><BR/>Then we vote the budget in and everything goes away until the next budget vote.Catherine Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-78705865598677658262007-12-30T06:34:00.000-08:002007-12-30T06:34:00.000-08:00One of the issues in animal welfare is the "barren...One of the issues in animal welfare is the "barren environment."<BR/><BR/>These are the words I use to describe the feeling of the middle school to me. It is a barren environment. The town built a beautiful new school with a soaring foyer and the two-story walls are empty except for the occasional drinkin', druggin' celebrity parent poster.<BR/><BR/>Last year the big glass walls up front were papered over in tacky printed our "FOCUS" words.<BR/><BR/>Fairness<BR/><BR/>Ownership<BR/><BR/>Sharing<BR/><BR/>That was it. FOCUS words everywhere, blocking the light.<BR/><BR/>No student work, no athletic trophies, no student art work - nothing.<BR/><BR/>Nothing, nothing, nothing.<BR/><BR/>Except for the "Student of the Month" display by the guidance office.<BR/><BR/>Thank God the kids spend their days inside classrooms not the foyer. <BR/><BR/>The teachers create interesting & stimulating visual environments.Catherine Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-33781267723522528832007-12-30T06:31:00.000-08:002007-12-30T06:31:00.000-08:00I'm really sick of these talented kids having to l...<I>I'm really sick of these talented kids having to live off the crumbs thrown to them.</I><BR/><BR/>I was thinking about that yesterday, using the metaphor of food, which is exactly right.<BR/><BR/>These kids are living on thin gruel.Catherine Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-56027284408039529002007-12-30T06:28:00.000-08:002007-12-30T06:28:00.000-08:00I'll get all this stuff up front..... AACCKK!!Well...I'll get all this stuff up front..... AACCKK!!<BR/><BR/>Well, at least I've got the URL recorded.Catherine Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-44316301841418745032007-12-30T06:26:00.000-08:002007-12-30T06:26:00.000-08:00However most parents were so grateful their kids g...<I>However most parents were so grateful their kids got ANY extra consideration (such as it was) that they were reluctant to press hard for appropriate challenge.</I><BR/><BR/>Absolutely.<BR/><BR/>The one parent of a mathematically gifted child I know here is SOOOOOO up against it.<BR/><BR/>Another family left the district.<BR/><BR/>Moved to Chappaqua.Catherine Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-57438216129156119212007-12-30T06:24:00.000-08:002007-12-30T06:24:00.000-08:00Whoops, didn't intend for that to be ambiguous. Th...<I>Whoops, didn't intend for that to be ambiguous. Thought a relative pronoun or clause automatically referred back to the nearest noun?</I><BR/><BR/>That's funny!<BR/><BR/>I think you're right (it's fun being a writer & not knowing grammar!)...but I'm so used to people not knowing this that I have to check---<BR/><BR/>(I wonder if this is a convention that's starting to change....otherwise why wouldn't I assume you meant acceleration?)<BR/><BR/>hmmmCatherine Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-23845457903482848732007-12-29T21:12:00.000-08:002007-12-29T21:12:00.000-08:00Parents did the instruction.Yup. I used to volunt...<I>Parents did the instruction.</I><BR/><BR/>Yup. I used to volunteer to take the gifted kids out of the classroom once a week and work with them in the hall. Although I was supposed to do the projects with them, sometimes I taught them math. My bad.<BR/><BR/>Scale models! So did they actually use that term, or was it reform math's "stretching and shrinking" (which drives me nuts since those words don't necessarily imply an operation in more than one dimension).VickyShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01379636377049707525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-9716189002447083652007-12-28T18:16:00.000-08:002007-12-28T18:16:00.000-08:00These kids were in lock step in the Everyday Math ...<I>These kids were in lock step in the Everyday Math journals just like the rest of the class--they just did more work!</I><BR/><BR/>That's the situation in 6th grade. Brain teasers, enrichment, but on top of the EM pages in the regular classroom.<BR/><BR/>I photocopied the last two pages in my daughter's EM journal -- she completed it with no help or instruction the second week of school. I met with the teacher, showed her the pages, asked that she consider some curriculum compression or acceleration or she might spend the whole year reviewing.<BR/><BR/>Instead, she was assigned to do the "dog house" project in addition to the regular classroom work. At the same pace.<BR/><BR/>The dog house project was supposed to be an independent project where kids work in a group to create a scale model of a dog house. The arithmetic was somewhat challenging, so they used calculators.<BR/><BR/>The hardest part was the scale drawing as the door required a semi-circle. My daughter has never seen or used a compass before.<BR/><BR/>So I got to teach my daughter how to construct a semi-circle using a compass. <BR/><BR/>The teacher handed the "gifted" kids a packet, sent them into an empty classroom, and told them they had to work on it by themselves.<BR/><BR/>Parents did the instruction.LynnGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11467061079495021347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-48814718027096318262007-12-28T14:26:00.000-08:002007-12-28T14:26:00.000-08:00[M]ost parents were so grateful their kids got ANY...<I>[M]ost parents were so grateful their kids got ANY extra consideration (such as it was) that they were reluctant to press hard for appropriate challenge.</I><BR/><BR/>In the large elementary public school my children attended, the high ability math kids were grouped together into their own math class. I assumed they would be accelerated. Turns out it was just "enrichment." These kids were in lock step in the Everyday Math journals just like the rest of the class--they just did more work!<BR/><BR/>I complained, but the gifted instructor cautioned me to stay quiet or we might lose the program altogether. Big whoop, as my boys would say.<BR/><BR/>I'm really sick of these talented kids having to live off the crumbs thrown to them.VickyShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01379636377049707525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-63002468428060434302007-12-28T05:37:00.000-08:002007-12-28T05:37:00.000-08:00we teachers were told to do enrichment as opposed ...<I> we teachers were told to do enrichment as opposed to acceleration, which is what parents were asking for<BR/><BR/><B>Which were parents asking for?</B></I><BR/><BR/><BR/>Whoops, didn't intend for that to be ambiguous. Thought a relative pronoun or clause automatically referred back to the nearest noun ?<BR/><BR/>The parents in the gifted program usually wanted to see some acceleration as well as enrichment. Not ridiculous acceleration, but more instructional time spent on research, rigorous math (algebra, advanced applications of percents, ratio, geometry) formal writing, critical reading/writing skills. Most of these students were rarely or never challenged in the regular curriculum. Providing some "enrichment" didn't change that (though most found it fun and interesting -- they never had to really exert themselves). Many lacked persistence and follow-through for this reason.<BR/><BR/>However most parents were so grateful their kids got ANY extra consideration (such as it was) that they were reluctant to press hard for appropriate challenge. I felt the program really did not address the needs of gifted kids. To the amazement of admin, I requested a transfer out of the gifted program. Kids were great, curriculum stank.<BR/><BR/>PS, thanx for Elmore references, am reading with interestAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-7438346635160512282007-12-27T18:06:00.000-08:002007-12-27T18:06:00.000-08:00Thanks for reminding me why we homeschool.We aim t...<I>Thanks for reminding me why we homeschool.</I><BR/><BR/>We aim to please!Catherine Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-32341627301560247022007-12-27T16:46:00.000-08:002007-12-27T16:46:00.000-08:00Thanks for reminding me why we homeschool.Thanks for reminding me why we homeschool.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-38660057187404420282007-12-27T16:37:00.000-08:002007-12-27T16:37:00.000-08:00We got marginal notes on the order of "Interesting...<I>We got marginal notes on the order of "Interesting idea!" or "Good explanation" or "More detail needed" and, of course, "See me"</I><BR/><BR/>yeah<BR/><BR/>again....we get "weak inferential thinking" and the like<BR/><BR/>Back in 6th grade a lot of the canned comments on the Interim Report, WHICH ARRIVED IN PEOPLE'S HOMES ON CHRISTMAS EVE, were so negative parents were having family blow-ups all over town (because they blamed their kids, too).Catherine Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-53959173578905253772007-12-27T16:35:00.001-08:002007-12-27T16:35:00.001-08:00I keep scanned copies of tests & I tell the school...I keep scanned copies of tests & I tell the school I'm doing so.Catherine Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-30291730219181403842007-12-27T16:35:00.000-08:002007-12-27T16:35:00.000-08:00The problem is that the teacher never allows the k...<I>The problem is that the teacher never allows the kids to take home their tests and quizzes! I had to email the teacher to allow my son to take home his first test. He had to bring it back into school so that the teacher could put it in his portfolio!?!</I><BR/><BR/>oh no, no, no, no, no<BR/><BR/>The tests come home for our signatures -- that way we've acknowledged in writing that we know our kid hosed the latest Earth Science multiple-choice extravaganza and has weak inferential thinking.<BR/><BR/>If we don't sign and send the test back in for the portfolio the grade is dropped further.Catherine Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-52519945316379346182007-12-27T16:33:00.000-08:002007-12-27T16:33:00.000-08:00Grade deflation must be terribly discouraging. Gra...<I>Grade deflation must be terribly discouraging. Grade inflation is like living in the land of Oz.</I><BR/><BR/>Give me Oz!<BR/><BR/>This has become a theme for me.<BR/><BR/>If I'm going to be doing the teaching, they need to give my kid As.<BR/><BR/>I'm serious about that.<BR/><BR/>Of course, as I mentioned earlier, if they gave my kid As I wouldn't be doing any teaching.<BR/><BR/>I'd (probably) be assuming he was doing great.<BR/><BR/>Basically, in a nominally high-performing district, grades are used to hold the parents accountable.Catherine Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-28424079658294444862007-12-27T16:31:00.000-08:002007-12-27T16:31:00.000-08:00You really have to mull that one over to get the f...You really have to mull that one over to get the flavor of the district.<BR/><BR/>The teacher's reason for saying that his/her kids' grades were too high was that the kids in the other Honors class were doing worse.<BR/><BR/>Instead of seeing that as evidence that her kids had worked harder & had earned their higher grades, or that he/she had worked harder and had helped them earn higher grades, the conclusion was: "Your grades are too high."<BR/><BR/>Their success was illegitimate, illusory, false.<BR/><BR/>A correction would follow.<BR/><BR/>One student said, "It's almost as if they don't want us to do well."Catherine Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-60189708094311889322007-12-27T16:29:00.000-08:002007-12-27T16:29:00.000-08:00One of the Honors teachers at the high school told...One of the Honors teachers at the high school told her class, last fall, "Your grades are too high."Catherine Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-9309277454351588842007-12-27T16:28:00.000-08:002007-12-27T16:28:00.000-08:00I'm surprised by the grade deflation in Catherine'...<I>I'm surprised by the grade deflation in Catherine's school, especially in MS. This does appear to run against the grain of the ed school, middle school model philosophy, doesn't it?</I><BR/><BR/>I think it's consistent with ed school philosophy, as I believe palisdesk has pointed out.<BR/><BR/>Ed school opposes achievement and tracking/grouping.<BR/><BR/>One way to prevent the development of an academic elite is to grade those kids harder, which is precisely what the middle school did to students in the accelerated math class <I>without telling the kids or their parents</I>.Catherine Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-42190678285339463092007-12-27T16:25:00.000-08:002007-12-27T16:25:00.000-08:00we teachers were told to do enrichment as opposed ...<I>we teachers were told to do enrichment as opposed to acceleration, which is what parents were asking for</I><BR/><BR/>Which were parents asking for?Catherine Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-74656897824665785542007-12-27T16:24:00.000-08:002007-12-27T16:24:00.000-08:00Secondary colleagues tell me that the average inde...<I>Secondary colleagues tell me that the average independent level of their ninth grade entrants in a college-prep track is 5th grade literacy --6th grade math. This would pretty well match what I see in our own middle school: most of our "good students" in 8th grade have writing and math skills typical of a strong 4th grader. Sadly, these are kids who probably could be doing MUCH better, but have never been challenged or forced to work hard, because they were doing so well compared to others who were barely functional.</I><BR/><BR/>I think we're doing a little better due to proportionally higher SES....<BR/><BR/>Still, last summer C. could not tell me what a price reduced by 10% was.<BR/><BR/>This is a kid in accelerated math -- AND HE IS TYPICAL. Two other people told me the exact same thing about their accelerated kids.<BR/><BR/>Ed raised the question of college admissions with the superintendent. We've got highly educated parents here, more than a few with Ivy League degrees. I'd make a small wager that we have fewer kids getting into Ivy League schools than parent population with Ivy League degrees.<BR/><BR/>She was dismissive.<BR/><BR/>"We have to educate everyone."Catherine Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-78691833704290097902007-12-27T16:20:00.001-08:002007-12-27T16:20:00.001-08:00Extra Help, as far as I can see, is deeply in effe...Extra Help, as far as I can see, is deeply in effective.Catherine Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-88640199591061089322007-12-27T16:20:00.000-08:002007-12-27T16:20:00.000-08:00I taught a class entitled (in those un-PC days) "A...<I>I taught a class entitled (in those un-PC days) "Academic Rehab" for kids who were capable but weak in math and language skills. The mandate was to get them up to grade level by end of 8th grade. I learned about DI, PT and other effective teaching methods in those days. It was even OK to use them!</I><BR/><BR/>We have no remediation, essentially.<BR/><BR/>In its place: Extra Help.<BR/><BR/>Our entire district is fixated on Extra Help.Catherine Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-71174479799928265532007-12-27T16:19:00.000-08:002007-12-27T16:19:00.000-08:00I remember someone on Elizabeth Carson's list once...I remember someone on Elizabeth Carson's list once saying if you want to do "real world" math you should be taking shop and learning how to measure wood.<BR/><BR/>Absolutely.Catherine Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-47799297967343009482007-12-27T16:18:00.000-08:002007-12-27T16:18:00.000-08:00This wasn't entirely a bad thing, because there wa...<I>This wasn't entirely a bad thing, because there was, and always will be, a subset of students whose strengths are not in academic work and who need basic academics, life skills and apprenticeship-type programs to make their way in the world. Those kids are neglected in our current "all shall excel" theoretical framework.</I><BR/><BR/>I haven't spent much time trying to figure out the whole vocational ed thing....but I think it is NUTS not to be teaching "checkbook math" to everyone <I>if only as a way of teaching arithmetic & algebra 1</I>.<BR/><BR/>Yesterday and today I wrote 18 separate lessons on linear functions (18!) because C. missed 4 days of school just before Christmas. <BR/><BR/>(btw, writing those lessons was a huge help to me. I discovered all kinds of gaping holes in my own knowledge of linear functions...)<BR/><BR/>He did fantastically well with those lessons today, most of which I illustrated using money and prices, e.g. "cost of renting a bicycle is $20 plus $3/hr."<BR/><BR/><I>y</I> = 3<I>x</I> + 20Catherine Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.com