Lack of Text books
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Anonymous
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About Everyday Math.
Each grade level comes with a textbook and workbook for every child. The workbooks are alright but do not cover everything the textbook offers. The textbook should be used at all times. The workbooks and the the other reproducibles which come in the grade level kit should be used as enrichments and review material. If teachers use the series properly instead of using the workbook most of the time, it will cover everything and even a bit more at the specific grade level. |
Anonymous
Not quite - the textbook is called a "reference book" -- it is difficult for children to use, and not like a typical textbook that has explanations, examples and practice problems. It is more like a math dictionary. And in terms of "if the teachers use the series properly..." that is not true. Everyday Math is built on the concept of spiraling (that students are introduced to ideas that they don't necessarily need to master right away, and they see those ideas come back around later). This is difficult for many teachers in DCPS for several reasons. One, it relies on students having used the curriculum in their previous school years...many students are coming from schools that didn't use the curriculum. Second, it relies on students being relatively on grade level and being able to wrestle with the new concepts that are introduced that haven't been explicitly taught...again, as the test scores show, we know this is not the case for many students. Third, the type of lesson encouraged by IMPACT is one in which students show mastery of a specific objective by the end of the lesson. Some of the newer versions of EDM are more mastery focused, but overall, that is not how it works; the whole premise is that students need not completely master something right away, as it will come back later. So, sure, a teacher might use EDM "properly" and they also might score low on Teach 1, "lead well-organized, objective-driven lessons" because the two methods of teaching are at odds. So regardless of which method you believe in - mastery-based or spiraling - it's ignorant to just frame this as another thing that wouldn't be a problem if teachers were just doing their jobs correctly. |
Anonymous
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I had to buy my DC the 3rd grade Everyday Math reference book when she was in a DCPS, at the recommendation of the teacher, thugh I may have been one of the few parents who did so. It was very helpful. These books were NOT available to all the students, so I also wonder where the money went.
We are no longer in DCPS. And my DC has a math textbook that is used daily. |
Anonymous
| Poor choice by DCPS... There are far better math textbooks than Everyday Math. |
Anonymous
Actually, the opposite is true, numbers at the best DCPS are increasing. Highly involved parents are holding teachers and admins feet to the fire to make these schools (Janney, Mann, Lafayette, Deal) amazing, exciting places to go to school. Sorry, if you aren't aware of how awesome these schools are, you've really had your head in the sand. |
Anonymous
| Our autonomous DCPS school doesn't use Everyday Math. |
Anonymous
| I agree that Everyday Math is a weak math course. (It is widely used around the US, not just in DCPS). It is hopefully on the way out, at least the current version. Common Core has a more specific and rigorous set of math standards than the current Everyday Math course provides. Kid's DCPS elementary math class uses Everyday Math as one of several source materials. |
Anonymous
I think it's great that you are happy with your school! But you sound as if you, and other parents, had to bring the school around. Like the teachers and admin do not on their own care about educating kids, when I know for a fact that is not true. I guess I am sorry that you are making things seem so adversarial at those schools, like a parents vs. school mentality. |
Anonymous
The situation is that unless parents and taxpayers are right there screaming for change on a daily basis (as they are with the schools you mention), DCPS swiftly gravitates toward that status quo of ineffectuality, low quality and low expectations. |
Anonymous
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23:32 has it right.
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Anonymous
| What is WTU doing to hold the administration accountable over the inadequate supply of textbooks, along with selection of lousy textbooks like Everyday Math? Not much, it seems. |
Anonymous
| From what I understand (as an involved parent who's spent some time grappling with this on the LSAT), the problem is that DCPS only recently agreed on what's to be learned at each grade level. It now has "common cores standards", which define very well what's to be learned at each grade level. However, the School Board, which still tends to such matters as text books, has failed to think ahead and order new textbooks that better align with the new common core standards to replace Everyday Math. So schools are still sitting on tons of those textbooks (probably for the benefit of some pork barrel deal that some senator found useful to foster a publisher in is home state). Resourceful and well assisted teachers craft their own materials drawing informally from various textbooks and with the help of instructional coaches. Many PTAs pay for textbooks and are thus left holding the bag for the DC School Board's lack of foresight. So we should all get on our School Board members' back to remedy this situation. |
Anonymous
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Wow, blaming the school board? How retro. And pork barrel senators? That's just bizarre.
Fenty took control of the schools and appointed Rhee. Rhee quit in a huff and then Kaya took over. Lack of textbooks is the fault of DCPS admin, Kaya Henderson and her minions of 6 figure non-teachers. BTW, DCPS has had standards of what to be taught since Janney was super. They were quite good and largely cribbed from Massachusetts, some of the best in the nation. While it's true the Common Core standards are new, it is a failure of Rhee and now Henderson to work on curriculum. DCPS parent here, who has been around long enough to know when the she's being lied to... |
Anonymous
Not bizarre. Maybe you can find a better source, but here is one of many to confirm that one doesn't need to be paranoid to know that textbook adoption processes are driven by considerable corporate and political interests: http://www.edexcellencemedia.net/publications/2004/200409_madworldoftextbookadoption/Mad%20World_Test2.pdf |
Anonymous
+1... Textbooks are a huge racket. |