Anyone observe math or reading in elementary this year?

[Anonymous]

I did. And I was completely underwhelmed. Watching the teacher race through four math groups was depressing...especially as I observed (most) kids struggling with the concept as they worked independently while the teacher was with another group. And no differentiation...each group worked on the exact same worksheet. Reading wasn't much better. Racing through 15 minute segments per reading group with the teacher spoon feeding the answers and dictating what everyone should write down on their worksheets. Depressing.

[Anonymous]

I observed 4th grade compacted math. Similar to you I didn't see differentiation, but teacher got through three groups and was able to help the kids on a more individual basis. My DD benefitted from it because she never talks up and teacher noticed she didn't understand and helped her with it. When the teacher talks to the whole group, she pretends to understand. Didn't get to stay for reading today.

[Anonymous]

Looked like a three ring circus to me (4th grade math).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did. And I was completely underwhelmed. Watching the teacher race through four math groups was depressing...especially as I observed (most) kids struggling with the concept as they worked independently while the teacher was with another group. And no differentiation...each group worked on the exact same worksheet. Reading wasn't much better. Racing through 15 minute segments per reading group with the teacher spoon feeding the answers and dictating what everyone should write down on their worksheets. Depressing.

+1

This has been our experience for the past three years in MCPS.

The kids who are behind seem to get left behind because they're not quite sure what's going on. The middle kids seem to muddle by. And, the advanced kids are mostly bored.

We've had two wonderful teachers, so I don't blame the teachers AT ALL. I think it's just difficult to meet every kids' needs when you can only spend 15 minutes of instructional time with them on reading/math.

[Anonymous]

Love what I saw today. Pull outs for enrichment in science, challenging word problems in math, lots of self-directed learning. 3rd grade.

[Anonymous]

2nd grade and I was horrified. SO different from what older child experienced pre-Curriculum 2.0. Husband & I left debating private school. It is depressing.

[Anonymous]

Maybe it depends on the teacher.

I've observed my 3rd grader last year in math, and while they did work in groups, the teacher walked around and interacted with all the groups, and sometimes would pause to address the whole class about something.

It is a bit disappointing sometimes because my DC is very good at math, and DC told me that often times, the teacher would pair DC with a child who was weaker in math on purpose, and DC would end up explaining a lot to this other kid. Now, this can also benefit DC as well - having to explain something to someone makes DC really think about that subject. But at times, DC was bored. DC in now in compacted math, and they still work in groups.

I agree that if you want your kids to have a lot of differentiation, that is not going to happen in a large public school.

I once read an article on BBC News about how UK educators wanted to observe how the Chinese math teachers taught their kids. What they noticed was that in the UK, and here, the kids work in groups, while in China, it's the teacher dealing with the whole class, the way they used to teach math here, the way I grew up. In the Chinese class, the teacher would ask a math question, and the children had to raise a card up with the right answer. The teacher could see immediately which kid was having difficulty and could work with that kid earlier on; vs. in small groups, it takes the teacher longer to figure out who is having difficulty. I could see this as a valid argument.

I don't know when and why educators here decided to have small groups.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looked like a three ring circus to me (4th grade math).

How so?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I once read an article on BBC News about how UK educators wanted to observe how the Chinese math teachers taught their kids. What they noticed was that in the UK, and here, the kids work in groups, while in China, it's the teacher dealing with the whole class, the way they used to teach math here, the way I grew up. In the Chinese class, the teacher would ask a math question, and the children had to raise a card up with the right answer. The teacher could see immediately which kid was having difficulty and could work with that kid earlier on; vs. in small groups, it takes the teacher longer to figure out who is having difficulty. I could see this as a valid argument.

I don't know when and why educators here decided to have small groups.

This makes total sense if you're trying to teach the same material to all the kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I once read an article on BBC News about how UK educators wanted to observe how the Chinese math teachers taught their kids. What they noticed was that in the UK, and here, the kids work in groups, while in China, it's the teacher dealing with the whole class, the way they used to teach math here, the way I grew up. In the Chinese class, the teacher would ask a math question, and the children had to raise a card up with the right answer. The teacher could see immediately which kid was having difficulty and could work with that kid earlier on; vs. in small groups, it takes the teacher longer to figure out who is having difficulty. I could see this as a valid argument.

I don't know when and why educators here decided to have small groups.

This makes total sense if you're trying to teach the same material to all the kids.

But this is what is happening. There is very little differentiation. They all work on the same worksheets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:2nd grade and I was horrified. SO different from what older child experienced pre-Curriculum 2.0. Husband & I left debating private school. It is depressing.

THIS was exactly me today. Honestly, we are going to try for HGC and if my child does not get in we will be switching to private. I was so very disappointed with what I saw today. I myself am a product of Montgomery County Schools (and I feel like I got a pretty good education--FWIW, I'm over 40. I do not feel that way about my child's education now).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2nd grade and I was horrified. SO different from what older child experienced pre-Curriculum 2.0. Husband & I left debating private school. It is depressing.

THIS was exactly me today. Honestly, we are going to try for HGC and if my child does not get in we will be switching to private. I was so very disappointed with what I saw today. I myself am a product of Montgomery County Schools (and I feel like I got a pretty good education--FWIW, I'm over 40. I do not feel that way about my child's education now).

Not saying it's great now, but I think your memory of your education in early ES is probably seen through the eyes of your younger self and not necessarily your adult self.

[Anonymous]

4th grade math, non-compacted.
Very simple math problem.
All the kids wanted to blurt out the answer (if the velociraptor is 6 feet long, and the stegosaurus is 5 times longer, how long is the stego?).
The teacher had to stick to the curriculum and try to teach them how to think out the multiple unconscious steps to get the answer, using algebraic equations.

I understand the desire to formalize and verbalize everything, but for my son, it's really just confusing what would otherwise have been a very organic, easy answer. He couldn't solve the rest of the sheet of problems by himself, because he was stuck on answering them the "correct" way, instead of just multiplying in his head.

2.0 math is driving me crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2nd grade and I was horrified. SO different from what older child experienced pre-Curriculum 2.0. Husband & I left debating private school. It is depressing.

THIS was exactly me today. Honestly, we are going to try for HGC and if my child does not get in we will be switching to private. I was so very disappointed with what I saw today. I myself am a product of Montgomery County Schools (and I feel like I got a pretty good education--FWIW, I'm over 40. I do not feel that way about my child's education now).

Not saying it's great now, but I think your memory of your education in early ES is probably seen through the eyes of your younger self and not necessarily your adult self.

21:34 here. You are probably right. Although I did not start public school until the 4th grade. I do remember my parents not having issues with my education. They did pull both my siblings from public and put them in private .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looked like a three ring circus to me (4th grade math).

This is what my mentor teacher and I used to call our reading block the year I student taught. As in, "Let the 3 ring circus begin!" Such a waste of time and energy. We could've switched classes for reading and each teacher would have one group.