I know more than a few parents who have fought this battle
Frustrated parents sneak 'old math' to kids
NEW YORK (AP) -- On an occasional evening at the kitchen table in Brooklyn, New York, Victoria Morey has been known to sit down with her 9-year-old son and do something she's not supposed to.
Brigitta Stone struggles to help Gillian with homework but doesn't want to confuse her with old math methods.
"I am a rebel," confessed this mother of two.
And just what is this subversive act in which Morey engages -- with a child, yet?
Long division.
Yes, Morey teaches her son, who'll enter fifth grade in the fall, how to divide the old-fashioned way -- you know, with descending columns of numbers, subtracting all the way down. It's a formula that works, and she finds it quick, reliable, even soothing. So, she says, does her son.
But in his fourth-grade class, long division wasn't on the agenda. As many parents across the country know, this and some other familiar formulas have been supplanted in an increasing number of schools by concept-based curricula aiming to teach the ideas behind mathematics rather than rote procedures.
They call it the Math Wars: The debate, at times acrimonious, over which way is best to teach kids math. In its most black-and-white form, it pits schools hoping to prepare kids for a new world against reluctant parents who feel that the traditional way is best and that their kids are being shortchanged.
But there are lots of parents who fall into a grayer area: They're willing to accept that their kids are learning things differently. They just want to be able to help them with their homework. And very often, they can't.
"Sometimes I'll meet up with another parent, and we'll say, 'What WAS that homework last night?' " said Birgitta Stone, whose daughter, Gillian, is entering third grade in Ridgefield, Connecticut, next month. "Sometimes I can't even understand the instructions."
Funny, perhaps, but also a little sad. "It's frustrating," Stone said. "You want to help them. And sometimes I can't help her at all."
Still, Stone agrees that kids should be thinking differently about math. And so she doesn't interfere by teaching her kid the old ways. "I don't want to confuse her," she said.
Morey, on the other hand, feels no guilt. She says her son was relieved to learn long division. "He wants a quick and easy way to get the right answer," she said. "Luckily, he had a fabulous teacher who said long division wasn't in her plan, but we were free to do what we wanted at home."
And as for the concepts-before-procedure argument, she quipped: "Would you want to go to a doctor who's learned about the concepts but never done the surgery? Would you want your doctor to say, 'I had the right idea when I removed your appendix, though I took out the wrong one?' "
Such reasoning is not unfamiliar to Pat Cooney. As the math coordinator for six public schools in Ridgefield, which over the past two years have implemented the Growing in Math curriculum, she's seen a lot of angry parents.
"I had one parent who was probably as angry as a parent could be," Cooney said. "I've had irate phone calls. Some think we're giving the kids misinformation. They think we're not doing our jobs."
One problem, Cooney says, is that parents remember math as offering only one way to solve a problem.
"We're saying that there's more than one way," Cooney said. "The outcome will be the same, but how we get there will be different."
Thus, when a parent is asked to multiply 88 by 5, we'll do it with pen and paper, multiplying 8 by 5 and carrying over the 4, etc. But a child today might reason that 5 is half of 10, and 88 times 10 is 880, so 88 times 5 is half of that, 440 -- poof, no pen, no paper.
"The traditional way is really a shortcut," Cooney said. "We want kids to be so confident with numbers that it becomes intuitive."
As for parents, Cooney hopes that if they're teaching kids at home, at least it won't be "let me show you how you really do it," she said. She's spending the rest of her summer working on plans for more family nights at school, to better explain the system.
The "Math Wars" have been playing out since at least 1989, when the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics issued a document recommending concept-based teaching -- which was, the group says, distorted by critics and "exaggerated in every direction."
"Our position is that math ought to be reasonable and kids ought to be able to make sense of it," saidHank Kepner, president of the council and a teacher for the past 45 years.
The problem, he says, is that "a lot of adults view math as a cut-and-dried thing, not a method of reasoning." As for parents enforcing their own methods on kids, "You don't want a kid pitted between parent and teacher," he said. "I would hope there would be an open conversation, involving the teacher." But ultimately, "the more adults a kid sees talking about math, the better."
Sam Pennell, 10, of Brooklyn, hears about math a lot: His dad, Mark, is an architect, and father and son have been known to discuss the volumes of cylinders to be filled with concrete. "He understands the concept of pi," Mark Pennell said of his son. "He doesn't question it too much."
Since Sam is good at math, his father supplements his classroom work with, for example, the old way of multiplying 175 times 142. "I'm doing this to broaden his perspective, to keep him from getting bored," Pennell said. He thinks Sam could be challenged more at school but otherwise isn't hugely bothered by the concept-based curriculum.
His wife, though, finds it mystifying. A writer with degrees from Barnard and Stanford, she still finds herself flummoxed by her son's schoolwork.
"There never seems to be any explanation in the workbooks," Allison Pennell said. "And there's no textbook to refer to." Her son doesn't usually need her help, but when he does, she said, "I'm such a numbskull. I don't think I could pass fourth-grade math."
For teacher Melissa Hedges, a longtime elementary school teacher in Milwaukee, the key is to keep the lines of communication open.
"I'll ask parents to sit down and really have their child walk through what they're doing and why they're doing it," Hedges said. "Even if it's messy. The beauty in math comes from getting involved, knowing what you're doing and why, exploring big ideas."
Remember, Hedges said, "in the end, we're all after the same thing. Sometimes it's easy to lose that focus."
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Special Meeting Recap
From the BCCT
District takes steps toward restoring schools
By MANASEE WAGH
After several decades, it’s time to initiate serious updates in Morrisville schools, say area residents.
The school board recently voted 7-1 to start preliminary work to replace the boilers in the high school building and Grandview Elementary.
Some school board members and residents call it the first step toward restoring the schools, which have been in need of repairs for years.
“This is the beginning of something. People should applaud this beginning,” said resident Sharon Hughes.
The district will use Vitetta, a Philadelphia-based architectural and engineering corporation, to begin assessing the work necessary to replace the boilers, as well as looking into two new burners for the elementary school.
Morrisville residents have been calling for a plan to get the deteriorating high school and both elementaries in better shape since the current board canceled plans to build a consolidated K-12 school.
But there’s a problem with taking action on the boilers now, the board minority said.
Evaluating the needs of two schools, designing a custom boiler for each and completing installation could take six months. That would put the project’s conclusion well into the heating season, according to Tim Lastichen, district facilities director.
The price tag for the boilers alone is more than $100,000, not counting the labor and any expenses that could crop up along the way, he said at the Tuesday board meeting.
Some residents and the board minority complained this is a poor time to start an expensive project without a long-term restoration plan that would take the schools’ many other problems into account.
In May, the board voted to hire Wick Fisher White, an engineering firm, to do a $30,000 study of the work needed at the high school and two elementaries. The next step was to advertise for several companies to do that work.
On June, 12 companies submitted proposals to work on all three school buildings. Bill Hellmann, the board president, later cut that down to five and removed M. R. Reiter from the equation without consulting the rest of the board, said board member Robin Reithmeyer at Tuesday’s board meeting.
She voted against going forward on the boiler replacements without a plan that included all three schools.
However, some board members and residents attending the meeting thought it was a bad idea to wait any longer.
“The reason for moving forward is to address an important item,” said board member Brenda Worob, referring to the boilers.
Plus, part of the original $30 million bond that the previous board borrowed to fund a consolidated school needs to be spent soon, Hellmann said.
Board member William Farrell suggested the district not delay the boiler project just because it would take a long time. Maybe the district wouldn’t complete it in time for this year’s cold season, but at least the preparation work would be done, he said.
As for the second elementary school, M. R. Reiter, Lastichen didn’t think it was worth investing in a new boiler, though residents complained that it was too cold for comfort there during the winter.
“Reiter’s so bad, I think it should be bulldozed. I wouldn’t spend money on it,” Lastichen said during the meeting.
M.R. Reiter’s future is still up in the air.
In May, Hellmann unveiled a tentative plan to save money by combining the schools somehow, but no clear action has been taken in that direction yet.
A temporary fix for providing heat in the winter may be to bring modular heaters into Reiter and the other schools, said board member John Buckman.
The district will hold a community action plan meeting at 7 p.m. July 22, in the LGI room of the high school to discuss the boilers and other issues. Residents are encouraged to participate.
District takes steps toward restoring schools
By MANASEE WAGH
After several decades, it’s time to initiate serious updates in Morrisville schools, say area residents.
The school board recently voted 7-1 to start preliminary work to replace the boilers in the high school building and Grandview Elementary.
Some school board members and residents call it the first step toward restoring the schools, which have been in need of repairs for years.
“This is the beginning of something. People should applaud this beginning,” said resident Sharon Hughes.
The district will use Vitetta, a Philadelphia-based architectural and engineering corporation, to begin assessing the work necessary to replace the boilers, as well as looking into two new burners for the elementary school.
Morrisville residents have been calling for a plan to get the deteriorating high school and both elementaries in better shape since the current board canceled plans to build a consolidated K-12 school.
But there’s a problem with taking action on the boilers now, the board minority said.
Evaluating the needs of two schools, designing a custom boiler for each and completing installation could take six months. That would put the project’s conclusion well into the heating season, according to Tim Lastichen, district facilities director.
The price tag for the boilers alone is more than $100,000, not counting the labor and any expenses that could crop up along the way, he said at the Tuesday board meeting.
Some residents and the board minority complained this is a poor time to start an expensive project without a long-term restoration plan that would take the schools’ many other problems into account.
In May, the board voted to hire Wick Fisher White, an engineering firm, to do a $30,000 study of the work needed at the high school and two elementaries. The next step was to advertise for several companies to do that work.
On June, 12 companies submitted proposals to work on all three school buildings. Bill Hellmann, the board president, later cut that down to five and removed M. R. Reiter from the equation without consulting the rest of the board, said board member Robin Reithmeyer at Tuesday’s board meeting.
She voted against going forward on the boiler replacements without a plan that included all three schools.
However, some board members and residents attending the meeting thought it was a bad idea to wait any longer.
“The reason for moving forward is to address an important item,” said board member Brenda Worob, referring to the boilers.
Plus, part of the original $30 million bond that the previous board borrowed to fund a consolidated school needs to be spent soon, Hellmann said.
Board member William Farrell suggested the district not delay the boiler project just because it would take a long time. Maybe the district wouldn’t complete it in time for this year’s cold season, but at least the preparation work would be done, he said.
As for the second elementary school, M. R. Reiter, Lastichen didn’t think it was worth investing in a new boiler, though residents complained that it was too cold for comfort there during the winter.
“Reiter’s so bad, I think it should be bulldozed. I wouldn’t spend money on it,” Lastichen said during the meeting.
M.R. Reiter’s future is still up in the air.
In May, Hellmann unveiled a tentative plan to save money by combining the schools somehow, but no clear action has been taken in that direction yet.
A temporary fix for providing heat in the winter may be to bring modular heaters into Reiter and the other schools, said board member John Buckman.
The district will hold a community action plan meeting at 7 p.m. July 22, in the LGI room of the high school to discuss the boilers and other issues. Residents are encouraged to participate.
Schools News Around the Blogosphere
Economy takes toll on education funding
National Public Radio
By Larry Abrahmson
Education budgets are getting hit by higher costs for fuel and food, and by lower tax revenues due to the real estate downturn. School budgets often take a slap when the economy sputters, as it's doing now. But some states are trying to protect schools from lousy economic conditions.
The Great Crisis in Workforce Skills Debate
Tom Sticht, Columnist EducationNews.org
In June 2008 a National Commission on Adult Literacy presented the final report of a two year study of the skills of the American workforce and the demands for skills in the workplace. Entitled "Reach Higher, America:
Overcoming Crisis in the U.S. Workforce", the report states "Almost a decade into the 21st Century, America faces a choice: We can invest in the basic education and skills of our workforce and remain competitive in today's global economy, or we can continue to overlook glaring evidence of a national crisis and move further down the path to decline."
Student Gains in Privately Managed Philadelphia Schools - Nearly Double Those in District Schools
State Tests Show Increases in Student Achievement at EdisonLearning Schools in both Reading & Math
School test scores recently released by the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment reveal that schools partnering with private education management organizations (EMO's) - including EdisonLearning - showed greater gains in student achievement than the schools operated by the Philadelphia School District.
"a warehouse for children of color."
HISD urged to reconsider alternative schools deal
Houston Chronicle
Ex-official blasts management of alternative schools
The Houston school board must decide next month whether to continue working with the private company that runs the district's two schools for students with serious discipline problems.
Disrupting Class may offer best hope for U.S. schools
Houston Chronicle
Surprise No. 1: America's public schools are actually improving, average scores inching upward despite increased numbers of immigrant and often poorly prepared children.
Teachers 'fear' smart students
The Age
An advocate says schools need special strategies for the gifted. TOO many teachers fear having very bright students in class because they feel ill-equipped to deal with them, according to a visiting campaigner on gifted children.
Calm Down or Else
New York Times
By BENEDICT CAREY
Unable to handle behavior disorders, many schools use forcible restraint. Is it abuse? The children return from school confused, scared and sometimes with bruises on their wrists, arms or face. Many won't talk about what happened, or simply can't, because they are unable to communicate easily, if at all.
National Public Radio
By Larry Abrahmson
Education budgets are getting hit by higher costs for fuel and food, and by lower tax revenues due to the real estate downturn. School budgets often take a slap when the economy sputters, as it's doing now. But some states are trying to protect schools from lousy economic conditions.
The Great Crisis in Workforce Skills Debate
Tom Sticht, Columnist EducationNews.org
In June 2008 a National Commission on Adult Literacy presented the final report of a two year study of the skills of the American workforce and the demands for skills in the workplace. Entitled "Reach Higher, America:
Overcoming Crisis in the U.S. Workforce", the report states "Almost a decade into the 21st Century, America faces a choice: We can invest in the basic education and skills of our workforce and remain competitive in today's global economy, or we can continue to overlook glaring evidence of a national crisis and move further down the path to decline."
Student Gains in Privately Managed Philadelphia Schools - Nearly Double Those in District Schools
State Tests Show Increases in Student Achievement at EdisonLearning Schools in both Reading & Math
School test scores recently released by the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment reveal that schools partnering with private education management organizations (EMO's) - including EdisonLearning - showed greater gains in student achievement than the schools operated by the Philadelphia School District.
"a warehouse for children of color."
HISD urged to reconsider alternative schools deal
Houston Chronicle
Ex-official blasts management of alternative schools
The Houston school board must decide next month whether to continue working with the private company that runs the district's two schools for students with serious discipline problems.
Disrupting Class may offer best hope for U.S. schools
Houston Chronicle
Surprise No. 1: America's public schools are actually improving, average scores inching upward despite increased numbers of immigrant and often poorly prepared children.
Teachers 'fear' smart students
The Age
An advocate says schools need special strategies for the gifted. TOO many teachers fear having very bright students in class because they feel ill-equipped to deal with them, according to a visiting campaigner on gifted children.
Calm Down or Else
New York Times
By BENEDICT CAREY
Unable to handle behavior disorders, many schools use forcible restraint. Is it abuse? The children return from school confused, scared and sometimes with bruises on their wrists, arms or face. Many won't talk about what happened, or simply can't, because they are unable to communicate easily, if at all.
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