tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212741399857110313.post5937638825619587389..comments2024-03-11T11:13:12.066-05:00Comments on Homeschool and Etc.: Assorted Education PostHappy Elf Mom (Christine)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15047347624037697311noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212741399857110313.post-28363456599295152032009-11-30T00:41:29.794-06:002009-11-30T00:41:29.794-06:00I like the idea behind a shower for new teachers, ...I like the idea behind a shower for new teachers, but I wish the schools would be funded to the point teachers no longer has to beg parents for school supplies.Daddy Foreverhttp://daddyforever.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212741399857110313.post-52076811793257759462009-11-26T10:15:05.678-06:002009-11-26T10:15:05.678-06:00Happy Thanksgiving to you also, Mary! I guess the...Happy Thanksgiving to you also, Mary! I guess the word "subversive" got to me. Knowing the teacher in question and her political viewpoints, and picturing them foisted on young minds didn't help, either.<br /><br />They're getting rid of the mushy math? I did *not* know that. Our school district has used Everyday Math for years and years and they justified it with the fact that our students tested well.<br /><br />Actually I like the worksheets in that it helps my boys to think in different ways that they are actually not very talented in, but I couldn't imagine grading an autistic child on "group" work. You know, there's a balance between holding someone accountable and setting the bar to an impossible (and in math, anyway) irrelevant standard.Happy Elf Mom (Christine)https://www.blogger.com/profile/15047347624037697311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212741399857110313.post-71663887544535957012009-11-26T10:09:30.355-06:002009-11-26T10:09:30.355-06:00Happy Thanksgiving Mrs C. :)
I can't say that...Happy Thanksgiving Mrs C. :)<br /><br />I can't say that I'm overwhelmingly comfortable with that last one, but I can absolutely see his point.<br /><br />Do you remember the "Whole Language" approach to teaching? Do you remember what a dismal failure it was in classrooms where the seasoned teachers didn't quietly teach phonics alongside it? Several years of kids went into high school barely able to read, much less sound out words or figure out their meaning based on the root words.<br /><br />How about Integrated Math that the state of Missouri just recently decided was a bad idea after four years of use? I sat in the classroom the night of a high school open house (first experience with a kid in public school) as the math teacher excitedly talked about what a great program it was and how it would prepare our children for the corporate world (working in groups to solve math problems, using calculators, and estimating answers). I remember thinking, this is a huge mistake. Later I saw his homework this class and wondered, "Where's the math?" Thanks to that nonsense, my oldest (an honors student), and a host of other high school graduates are sitting in remedial algebra classes in college. I dearly wish some teacher had decided to rebel. <br /><br />I've worked in and with schools and kids for several years (substitute teacher, money skills educator, youth programs, after school programs, etc) and I've sat at the lunch tables and in meetings and listened to teachers talk about struggling with balancing MAP test preparation with other subjects. If their scores weren't high enough in one area they were under pressure to neglect "less important" subjects in favor of raising those scores. The next year they got to play catch up because the scores in the neglected area. Almost by necessity, they are having to teach to the test instead of actually teaching the subjects. <br /><br />The bigwigs often don't know the classrooms or the kids as well as the teachers do. While I think accountability for meeting standards is important. If I were a teacher, I'd be inclined to do something similar if what I was doing was working and they were meeting the standards. It's when it stops working that the administrators need to asking questions.Mary O. Paddockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04097124493453341534noreply@blogger.com