Questions about Potomac Upper School

[Anonymous]

How is the foreign language instruction in the Upper School at Potomac? Same question for Math.

I've heard from a neighbor (2 kids at Potomac) that the upper-level Math teachers are somewhat "hands-off," in the sense that they don't give a traditional presentation of new material, gives examples of how to work out problems, let kids ask Qs, etc. Instead, they leave it up to the students to try to figure out the new material first and then approach the teacher with any questions. Is that accurate? Does that work for most students? Do they go to office hours if they need help? Or are many students working with tutors to understand the new material? Perhaps this is the new way of teaching that wasn't around when I attended high school back in the Dark Ages.

Finally, how much homework do Potomac students typically have each night? Has the new schedule helped open up more time for students to get work done at school?

[Anonymous]

This is common with many of the better high schools. Similar to college approach.

[Anonymous]

OP it’s called the flipped classroom model of teaching. Just another crazy idea created by education consultants trying to justify their existence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is common with many of the better high schools. Similar to college approach.

Not at all, unless things have changed drastically. I attended one college for undergrad (math major) and TA’d as a grad student at another. Both HYPSM. Classic lecture and recitation structure with direct instruction.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Interesting to know this style of teaching happens at some schools. How do the kids handle it? I'd imagine those with a natural affinity or talent for math would do fine, but not everyone has that gift. Do those students get tutors?

Also, any info about the homework workload?

[Anonymous]

Sounds like lazy teaching to me!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Interesting to know this style of teaching happens at some schools. How do the kids handle it? I'd imagine those with a natural affinity or talent for math would do fine, but not everyone has that gift. Do those students get tutors?

Also, any info about the homework workload?

the kids who do well with this style have very good self-advocacy skills and are not afraid of asking questions or "looking dumb". Or their parents just get tutors for them

[Anonymous]

My kids would really struggle with this method.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like lazy teaching to me!

It is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Interesting to know this style of teaching happens at some schools. How do the kids handle it? I'd imagine those with a natural affinity or talent for math would do fine, but not everyone has that gift. Do those students get tutors?

Also, any info about the homework workload?

the kids who do well with this style have very good self-advocacy skills and are not afraid of asking questions or "looking dumb". Or their parents just get tutors for them

tutors and the teachers literally do not teach.

[Anonymous]

The issue is that not all students should take math at an accelerated and honors level. That is why the school has three levels of math courses. Parents cannot except that their child is perhaps not capable to succeed in the highest levels so they want the school to water down the honors level program.

[Anonymous]

Typo: accept not except. Sorry

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The issue is that not all students should take math at an accelerated and honors level. That is why the school has three levels of math courses. Parents cannot except that their child is perhaps not capable to succeed in the highest levels so they want the school to water down the honors level program. [/quote

That's not the issue. Some children, regardless of intellect, are not naturally gifted at math. They go to school in order to learn it. Potomac simply refuses to teach those children math, prohibits them from taking an honors or higher level in math, thereby locking them out of any top colleges, despite their intelligence, hard work, and high performance in other classes. One of my kids was like that. Incredibly smart. Begged their way into honors level Pre-calc because they only got a B+ their freshman year. A horrible young woman, who had only an undergraduate degree from a very low ranking party school, was the teacher then and she was awful. She had no idea how to teach the class-because they basically don't teach it. Was degrading to my child, bringing her to tears many times. No other course was ever like this, my daughter had As in advanced classes otherwise. Fortunately, that teacher is gone, but it is still very indicative of this very lopsided way of teaching math at Potomac.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The issue is that not all students should take math at an accelerated and honors level. That is why the school has three levels of math courses. Parents cannot except that their child is perhaps not capable to succeed in the highest levels so they want the school to water down the honors level program. [/quote

That's not the issue. Some children, regardless of intellect, are not naturally gifted at math. They go to school in order to learn it. Potomac simply refuses to teach those children math, prohibits them from taking an honors or higher level in math, thereby locking them out of any top colleges, despite their intelligence, hard work, and high performance in other classes. One of my kids was like that. Incredibly smart. Begged their way into honors level Pre-calc because they only got a B+ their freshman year. A horrible young woman, who had only an undergraduate degree from a very low ranking party school, was the teacher then and she was awful. She had no idea how to teach the class-because they basically don't teach it. Was degrading to my child, bringing her to tears many times. No other course was ever like this, my daughter had As in advanced classes otherwise. Fortunately, that teacher is gone, but it is still very indicative of this very lopsided way of teaching math at Potomac.

So do they teach math in the more traditional method at the "regular" grade level (geometry or calculus that is not accelerated/honors/AP)? Why don't the parents speak up about this? I can't imagine your child is/was the only one affected by this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP it’s called the flipped classroom model of teaching. Just another crazy idea created by education consultants trying to justify their existence.

No, this is not flipped classroom. Flipped classroom is when a teacher assigns direct instruction work (usually videos) that provide background knowledge to be done as homework and then the next day in class involves the lab/document analysis/some other type of activity-based lesson to engage with that content.

https://bokcenter.harvard.edu/flipped-classrooms#:~:text=A%20flipped%20classroom%20is%20structured,that%20involve%20higher%20order%20thinking.