Does anyone like Curriculum 2.0?

[Anonymous]

It's the students (our children) stupid. Has MCPS done any focus groups with the children/students of curriculum 2.0 (particularly in math). I'm sure MCPS has not any surveys and focus groups with the children regarding curriculum 2.0 because they fear what they will learn. So much for the management expertise (management consulting 101 for dummies and dcummies) in our $2.2 billion/year public educational system!

[Anonymous]

Are middle schools going to revamp their curriculum? What is going to happen when the current 3rd grade students (first group to receive 2.0 I believe) reach middle school? They will go from having one teacher full time to seven teachers. They will all have received the same math instruction, right? Then what? Everybody takes 6th grade math? No advancement in middle school either?

[Anonymous]

Of course, how do you expect MCPS to narrow the achievement gap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a parent who is very much involved in my kids school on many levels. My son was reading news papers and chapter books while in Kindergarten and is looking to create his first video game by the start of 2nd grade LoL.

I actually do like the Curriculum 2.0 and here is why?

The focus is to encourage students to be able to THINK critically – not simply regurgitate the thoughts of others. Instead of teaching children to make good decisions by telling them what to do, they are taught to make good decisions by giving them decisions to make; teachers are no longer teaching but facilitating.

Also students are introduced to advanced concepts earlier the before; so basically a kindergartener is introduced to concepts from 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade and then reinforced, revisited and expanded upon again and again for the next few years.

MCPS might be thinking the focus is to encourage students to be able to THINK critically, but the in reality students are just regurgitating the new curriculum. In math, the concepts are not built upon and are not connected from unit to unit. The kids (including my son in 3rd grade) are just spitting out the work as the teacher modeled it. The new information is lost as soon as the subject matter moves on to another new concept. It is not retained for future use because it has no relevance and is not used.

Does my son know why he is doing it the way the teacher has modeled? No. He is questioning why anyone would do math that way because he knows of easier ways of solving the problems. He just isn't allowed to use the methods he already knows because they want him to do it a new way with 10 steps vs. the 2 step method my son knows.

Also, we are talking about early elementary school students. Some people are just more naturally critical thinkers (your engineers, poets, philosophers, etc.) and some people are just more factual, it is because it is type people (accountants). I think elementary school should focus on basic skills (like math facts, long addition, long subtraction, etc.) to build upon when the child matures and can grasp the big picture better. They are wasting valuable time and the kids are suffering because they are introducing an untested curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's the students (our children) stupid. Has MCPS done any focus groups with the children/students of curriculum 2.0 (particularly in math). I'm sure MCPS has not any surveys and focus groups with the children regarding curriculum 2.0 because they fear what they will learn. So much for the management expertise (management consulting 101 for dummies and dcummies) in our $2.2 billion/year public educational system!

My son attends an elementary school in Potomac. In years past, classroom behavior was usually not an issue. Since the introduction of 2.0 however, there has been a rise in disruptive behavior.

Why? Kids finish the "on state level" objectives quickly. Probably some could master end of the year standards in September. They do the assignments quickly and then there is nothing for the child to do. There are no extensions because the teachers have not got them from the Carver Center. People are still writing the curriculum so the teachers get the assignments in bits and pieces. Children are spending large chunks of their day with nothing to do.

Is a child going to sit there with nothing to do? No. A logical child at that point will make up something to do (talk to a friend, play with an object in his desk, get up and walk around, etc.). That child then gets in trouble.

Just a negative trend I notice and a huge problem with 2.0. You can not teach minimal state standards and expect that to be enough for every child. MCPS used to aim at having children achieve more than just minimal state standards. The new report card reflects the notion that state standards is MCPS's only objective and all they need to teach your child.

[Anonymous]

Does my son know why he is doing it the way the teacher has modeled? No. He is questioning why anyone would do math that way because he knows of easier ways of solving the problems. He just isn't allowed to use the methods he already knows because they want him to do it a new way with 10 steps vs. the 2 step method my son knows.

My DD has the same experience. Math is more of a game of how to follow instructions and present the problem solving in the model the teacher expects. There is no critical thinking, just pattern recognition. Its worse since the material is so easy. Sadly. DD who used to be very interested in Math thinks its boring and not useful just something you have to do.

[Anonymous]

To answer OP's original question "Does anyone like Curriculum 2.0" -

I'm sure the administrators who are writing the new curriculum love it because they are getting paid to write it.

I'm sure the people (ie. Staff Development Resource personnel) love it because it gives them something to justify their salary and keeps them employed.

I would say by looking at most of the posts in the 3 threads on this forum that parents HATE 2.0. Who would want their children to be subjected to being a guinea pig population for a curriculum that is still being written and hasn't been tested or validated?

Kids in 3rd grade at my son's school hate it. They used to be part of the accelerated class. Now they have huge chunks of time with nothing to do and are not learning anything relevant or new. They have to sit once they demonstrate state standards and wait for the rest of the class to catch up.

It would be great if administrators like Starr would do random pop ins at schools to see what life is like on a day to day basis for our children. They are out of touch with reality if they believe their own propaganda that teachers, students, and parents love the new curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a parent who is very much involved in my kids school on many levels. My son was reading news papers and chapter books while in Kindergarten and is looking to create his first video game by the start of 2nd grade LoL.

I actually do like the Curriculum 2.0 and here is why?

The focus is to encourage students to be able to THINK critically – not simply regurgitate the thoughts of others. Instead of teaching children to make good decisions by telling them what to do, they are taught to make good decisions by giving them decisions to make; teachers are no longer teaching but facilitating.

Also students are introduced to advanced concepts earlier the before; so basically a kindergartener is introduced to concepts from 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade and then reinforced, revisited and expanded upon again and again for the next few years.

This might work with other subjects, but it makes no sense whatsoever when teaching math. The previous curriculum already has too much of this -- jumping around from one topic to the next, a "spiral" curriculum. In math, every topic builds on the previous one. Multiplication follows from addition as fractions follow from multiplication, etc. By jumping around you are interfering with the kid's ability to learn the material and more importantly to grasp the logical beauty that is math. And then you have a whole generation of kids who think that math is boring and pointless and hard.

[Anonymous]

1000+ the previous post.

Everday math was horrible because of all the jumping around from topic to topic and no connections throughout the year. If MCPS could stumble upon a system worse than Everyday math, they did. It's called Curriculum 2.0.

[Anonymous]

Where is the community response? In 2008 Maryland was voted one of the top five state school systems in the nation, along with Virginia. Montgomery County Public Schools have been rolling out the new Curriculum 2.0 and as we have heard over and over, "the goal is proficiency." Another name for proficiency is competence. Compare that with other schools systems whose goals include excellence (which we have always been told to strive for). Our teachers are working harder than ever, with less support in the class room. And now so many decisions have been made that include no more honors, no more recognition for acceleration or advanced abilities, no more rewards or reasons for our kids to strive....the goal is proficiency. While the completely different curriculum may end up being a challenge for some, there is no concrete plan to address the needs and abilities of students who learn quickly and at an accelerated pace and who would benefit from regular advanced instruction. If a student demonstrates proficiency on a topic, where is the commitment of our school system to provide for those children beyond the common core? who would benefit from more in-depth critical thinking ? The Montgomery County Public Schools website answers this question by saying the curriculum itself is enriched and advanced. This is a non-answer. There may be many reasons that are given for the new curriculum. But advanced and accelerated learners are by definition being ignored. It is not the fault of our teachers. With the new curriculum they are not given the tools they need to both serve and move the majority towards proficiency and address the needs of advanced students. We demand more from Montgomery County. If we as parents do not take action, I wonder if in 2013 we will still be considered one of the top five state school systems in the nation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Where is the community response? In 2008 Maryland was voted one of the top five state school systems in the nation, along with Virginia. Montgomery County Public Schools have been rolling out the new Curriculum 2.0 and as we have heard over and over, "the goal is proficiency." Another name for proficiency is competence. Compare that with other schools systems whose goals include excellence (which we have always been told to strive for). Our teachers are working harder than ever, with less support in the class room. And now so many decisions have been made that include no more honors, no more recognition for acceleration or advanced abilities, no more rewards or reasons for our kids to strive....the goal is proficiency. While the completely different curriculum may end up being a challenge for some, there is no concrete plan to address the needs and abilities of students who learn quickly and at an accelerated pace and who would benefit from regular advanced instruction. If a student demonstrates proficiency on a topic, where is the commitment of our school system to provide for those children beyond the common core? who would benefit from more in-depth critical thinking ? The Montgomery County Public Schools website answers this question by saying the curriculum itself is enriched and advanced. This is a non-answer. There may be many reasons that are given for the new curriculum. But advanced and accelerated learners are by definition being ignored. It is not the fault of our teachers. With the new curriculum they are not given the tools they need to both serve and move the majority towards proficiency and address the needs of advanced students. We demand more from Montgomery County. If we as parents do not take action, I wonder if in 2013 we will still be considered one of the top five state school systems in the nation.

MCPS was ranked fifth among county-based school systems with student populations of 65,000+. That's not top five in the nation. That is fifth among such school systems.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/press/index.aspx?pagetype=showrelease&id=2192&type=archive&startYear=2007&pageNumber=10&mode=

"The Forbes analysis focused on 775 counties with more than 65,000 residents that had the highest average property taxes. Forbes narrowed the final list to 97 by looking at the jurisdictions where more than 50 percent of the education spending came from property taxes. The study examined the per pupil spending costs adjusted for the cost of living in these communities and compared them with national student performance indicators such as SAT scores and participation rates and high school graduation rates. "

Regardless, RE 2.0, I agree - where is the community outrage, and what is the outlet for expressing it?

[Anonymous]

My oldest is a first-grader and thus we've always had 2.0, and it seems totally fine to me. She's doing great. I think change is difficult for people, and I certainly sympathize with kids who had to start in one program and then switch -- it seems like it should have been rolled out year by year to avoid that difficult year or two where kids have to transition. But the sense of the first grade parents I talk to is, what's all this fuss about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My oldest is a first-grader and thus we've always had 2.0, and it seems totally fine to me. She's doing great. I think change is difficult for people, and I certainly sympathize with kids who had to start in one program and then switch -- it seems like it should have been rolled out year by year to avoid that difficult year or two where kids have to transition. But the sense of the first grade parents I talk to is, what's all this fuss about?

I have said this before, but I will repeat. You can't judge C2.0 based on how your kid is doing. For many kids, it is fine. I will even say that I have no problem with the material per se. My problem is that all kids have to learn at the same pace. As I said before, I have a kid that is progressing nicely with 2.0 and another kid who is way too advanced for this stuff. If you have an outlier kid who is either SN or HG, you just don't know what it is like to put them through school. If not handled properly, these kids will get completely turned off and lose all their natural curiosity. They will also disrupt other kids. Schools need to be able to handle different learning styles and diferent learning levels. Any parent with multiple kids can tell you that all kids are different, even if they have the same parents. It just seems like common sense to let kids learn at their own pace. My sense is that there is an ideology in the reform movement and in education that says we have to hold back some kids so they don't get too far ahead of disadvantaged kids. I am ok with spending extra money and resources on disadvantaged kids, but I am not ok with holding kids back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I have said this before, but I will repeat. You can't judge C2.0 based on how your kid is doing. For many kids, it is fine.

Exactly. You can't judge C2.0 based on how your kid and the majority of the kids are doing. You have to base it on how the highly advanced kids who are in 3rd grade are doing! The whole curriculum is the most awful thing that has ever happened to MoCo schools - no wait, the most awful thing that has happened to any school - in the history of mankind and must be overturned as soon as possible to go back to some curriculum that still isn't perfect. Then we can stop these ridiculous threads and go back to conversations where different groups of parents have the chance to complain about the MoCo curriculum and how it is the most awful curriculum ever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I have said this before, but I will repeat. You can't judge C2.0 based on how your kid is doing. For many kids, it is fine.

Exactly. You can't judge C2.0 based on how your kid and the majority of the kids are doing. You have to base it on how the highly advanced kids who are in 3rd grade are doing! The whole curriculum is the most awful thing that has ever happened to MoCo schools - no wait, the most awful thing that has happened to any school - in the history of mankind and must be overturned as soon as possible to go back to some curriculum that still isn't perfect. Then we can stop these ridiculous threads and go back to conversations where different groups of parents have the chance to complain about the MoCo curriculum and how it is the most awful curriculum ever.

LOL!!