Honors Math classes being poorly taught (Churchill)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First period math teacher at Winston is a dud

My child’s is too. I’m guessing it’s the same teacher. He’s been there for a number of years and has quite the reputation, if it’s the same one.

Did you put it in the survey?

I absolutely did.

[Anonymous]

Amanda Brooks is the Math Teacher who has no clue at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Amanda Brooks is the Math Teacher who has no clue at all.

I've no idea how good or bad she is, but she teaches at Hoover, not Churchill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First period math teacher at Winston is a dud

My child’s is too. I’m guessing it’s the same teacher. He’s been there for a number of years and has quite the reputation, if it’s the same one.

Did you put it in the survey?

I absolutely did.

We had the same one as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First period math teacher at Winston is a dud

My child’s is too. I’m guessing it’s the same teacher. He’s been there for a number of years and has quite the reputation, if it’s the same one.

Did you put it in the survey?

I absolutely did.

We had the same one as well.

Please call/email the school to let them know if you didn’t include it in the survey. The school sounded so surprised when I shared my child’s experiences and I don’t know how that can be. This has been going on for a long time. With more people sharing their experiences, perhaps we can finally get some change.

[Anonymous]

I can't figure out why there is such a huge difference between the honors and regular classes. Kids getting Ds in honors, switch to regular, then get high As, like high 90s. Those kids are not being challenged at all. This is the case for my child. Now has a 97% average in regular level math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't figure out why there is such a huge difference between the honors and regular classes. Kids getting Ds in honors, switch to regular, then get high As, like high 90s. Those kids are not being challenged at all. This is the case for my child. Now has a 97% average in regular level math.

I totally agree. My kid says the Honors math class is too hard, which it shouldn't be, and the regular class is much too easy. The honors math class is only hard because it's not being taught correctly - missing information, not being taught in the right order, problems on tests they've never seen before. I wish someone would get a handle on what's going on in the math department and fix it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't figure out why there is such a huge difference between the honors and regular classes. Kids getting Ds in honors, switch to regular, then get high As, like high 90s. Those kids are not being challenged at all. This is the case for my child. Now has a 97% average in regular level math.

I totally agree. My kid says the Honors math class is too hard, which it shouldn't be, and the regular class is much too easy. The honors math class is only hard because it's not being taught correctly - missing information, not being taught in the right order, problems on tests they've never seen before. I wish someone would get a handle on what's going on in the math department and fix it.

Agree with the test questions, they are pulled out of nowhere. Truth be told, that is how I recall hard college math class tests were run, WRT odd questions, but this is HIGH SCHOOL.

[Anonymous]

My DC, in a different W HS had the same thing: barely a C in honors, switched to regular on day 25 and has a 100% in math now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DC, in a different W HS had the same thing: barely a C in honors, switched to regular on day 25 and has a 100% in math now.

I think it is a curriculum issue. The school team is trying to develop an Honors Curriculum. They are not experts in writing a curriculum and some don't have a firm grasp on the subject. The classes have the blind leading the blind. Students end up taking tests that have material that wasn't taught. Mrs. Hecker says it will take time to fix. Meanwhile, kids are still struggling.

[Anonymous]

Even at the same level, there can be huge differences in how well things are explained between two teachers. S1 In Hon Geom, straight As. S2 with dif teacher, struggling to get Cs. We had to pay for a tutor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC, in a different W HS had the same thing: barely a C in honors, switched to regular on day 25 and has a 100% in math now.

I think it is a curriculum issue. The school team is trying to develop an Honors Curriculum. They are not experts in writing a curriculum and some don't have a firm grasp on the subject. The classes have the blind leading the blind. Students end up taking tests that have material that wasn't taught. Mrs. Hecker says it will take time to fix. Meanwhile, kids are still struggling.

I agree with you, but why are teachers writing the curriculum? Shouldn't MCPS have curriculum experts to develop a standard Honors Math curriculum throughout the school district?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC, in a different W HS had the same thing: barely a C in honors, switched to regular on day 25 and has a 100% in math now.

I think it is a curriculum issue. The school team is trying to develop an Honors Curriculum. They are not experts in writing a curriculum and some don't have a firm grasp on the subject. The classes have the blind leading the blind. Students end up taking tests that have material that wasn't taught. Mrs. Hecker says it will take time to fix. Meanwhile, kids are still struggling.

I agree with you, but why are teachers writing the curriculum? Shouldn't MCPS have curriculum experts to develop a standard Honors Math curriculum throughout the school district?

NO, MCPS should BUY a textbook. It is already out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC, in a different W HS had the same thing: barely a C in honors, switched to regular on day 25 and has a 100% in math now.

I think it is a curriculum issue. The school team is trying to develop an Honors Curriculum. They are not experts in writing a curriculum and some don't have a firm grasp on the subject. The classes have the blind leading the blind. Students end up taking tests that have material that wasn't taught. Mrs. Hecker says it will take time to fix. Meanwhile, kids are still struggling.

You don't open schools without teachers and books.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC, in a different W HS had the same thing: barely a C in honors, switched to regular on day 25 and has a 100% in math now.

I think it is a curriculum issue. The school team is trying to develop an Honors Curriculum. They are not experts in writing a curriculum and some don't have a firm grasp on the subject. The classes have the blind leading the blind. Students end up taking tests that have material that wasn't taught. Mrs. Hecker says it will take time to fix. Meanwhile, kids are still struggling.

I agree with you, but why are teachers writing the curriculum? Shouldn't MCPS have curriculum experts to develop a standard Honors Math curriculum throughout the school district?

NO, MCPS should BUY a textbook. It is already out there.

That would work for me, too. I don't understand why the individual schools need to create an honors math curriculum.