Unhappy with math teaching in early elementary

[Anonymous]

FCPS thinks their lousy math curriculum is good because the parents are spending millions on Kumon, RSM, aSOp, and Mathnasium.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FCPS thinks their lousy math curriculum is good because the parents are spending millions on Kumon, RSM, aSOp, and Mathnasium.

Yes. It is not an accident that after-school math tutoring businesses are thriving all over Northern VA — and in most cases the after school. tutoring is filling the math instructional gap, rather than pushing kids ahead. Sigh.

[Anonymous]

We know an FCPS Elementary math teacher from church. She said math all fell apart when they dropped paper textbooks.

She blames people at Gatehouse for making these bad decisions — ultimately caused by Gatehouse being out of touch with teaching elementary age kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We know an FCPS Elementary math teacher from church. She said math all fell apart when they dropped paper textbooks.

She blames people at Gatehouse for making these bad decisions — ultimately caused by Gatehouse being out of touch with teaching elementary age kids.

There is no way to review or to see the progress.

[Anonymous]

Are you sure all the math centers are are on the computer? At that age my kid didn't bring home papers, but that was because the math centers involved using a lot of manipulatives and playing math games with manipulatives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a first grader and really bothered by all this online math learning. I get no math papers back and basically blind at what they are doing in school. It sounds like they have math centers, which basically is playing math games on the computer. Little kids should not be on the computer this much. My kid can’t even write her numbers perfectly yet. This is how little they use paper and pencil for math.

My sweet summer child, you are on for a long and disappointing road with FCPS. No textbooks, endless screen-time, woke political nonsense, and disruptive and low-performing students sucking up 90% of the teacher's time and attention ...

[Anonymous]

I wish I could have Gatehouse see how very poor the math curriculum is at the elementary level. The daily dealing of this with DC is eye-opening. It's embarasisng talking to family in other states and comparing the "holey" no textbook approach of FCPS. The comparison with other states is in start contrast. The rest of the United States isn't plowing millions of dollars into math tutoring to stay afloat. The Google Slides that Gatehouse created in 2020 are still being used in our elementary school daily and it is a terrible way to engage young minds. The concepts are scattered, nothing is driven to mastery, and the students are left with holes in their skillset year after year. Parents are relying on private vendors to fix the deplorable curriculm of FCPS. Disappointing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need to take responsibility for your own child’s education. It’s really annoying, but you can’t count on the school, now or in the future. Get workbooks and do 15 minutes together every day in math and if you can, other subjects too.

This is the way.

+1.

OP I will say that math through 2nd is pretty bad - this is on VDOE not FCPS. If your kid gets into AAP the math moves faster, which is good for math-loving kids. Unforunately the online versus paper thing is teacher-by-teacher. Some teachers absolutely fell in love with the slide decks they put together during Covid and continue to use them even though they are a pain compared to worksheets. Other teachers don't. I have no idea how bad the paper crunch is at schools and if teachers are being pressured not to print (have heard rumors that this is so), which wouldn't help. Also I believe, as a teacher PP mentioned, the ST Math pressure is real. It happened to one of my kids. She was getting useful printed homework from her teacher and then - bam - ST Math was all there was.

We supplement most subjects in FCPS, but since my kids entered AAP haven't had to do too much with math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a first grader and really bothered by all this online math learning. I get no math papers back and basically blind at what they are doing in school. It sounds like they have math centers, which basically is playing math games on the computer. Little kids should not be on the computer this much. My kid can’t even write her numbers perfectly yet. This is how little they use paper and pencil for math.

Look at Kate Snow's first grade math book

[Anonymous]

Also https://kateshomeschoolmath.com/math-makes-sense-teach-elementary-arithmetic/

[Anonymous]

When you've talked with your child's teacher and asked, what have they said?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a first grader and really bothered by all this online math learning. I get no math papers back and basically blind at what they are doing in school. It sounds like they have math centers, which basically is playing math games on the computer. Little kids should not be on the computer this much. My kid can’t even write her numbers perfectly yet. This is how little they use paper and pencil for math.

High school math in the county is not great either. Tutors are necessary for many kids.

[Anonymous]

It doesn't get any better.

The whole afterschool tutoring thing around here wouldnt exist otherwise to the degree it does.

[Anonymous]

Hi op,

Is his school piloting the new “E3” or “Equity Cubed” math curriculum many FCPS ES use?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi op,

Is his school piloting the new “E3” or “Equity Cubed” math curriculum many FCPS ES use?

I don’t think so. I know they use ST Math. I’m really not sure what they are doing.