Honors Math classes being poorly taught (Churchill)

[Anonymous]

I like my dd's Churchill math teacher this year. Hated last year's. I like that they did a pre-test to identify kids' weaknesses and gave them targeted practice on the weak areas at the very beginning of the year (I think the whole set of Algebra II teachers did this). DD says there are "two good ones" and she got one of them. I'm not sure if "two" is the exact number, but I thought I'd chime in to balance the board a bit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like my dd's Churchill math teacher this year. Hated last year's. I like that they did a pre-test to identify kids' weaknesses and gave them targeted practice on the weak areas at the very beginning of the year (I think the whole set of Algebra II teachers did this). DD says there are "two good ones" and she got one of them. I'm not sure if "two" is the exact number, but I thought I'd chime in to balance the board a bit.

I’m glad your child has a good math teacher. However my child has a math teacher that does not know how to do that level math and the kids have to correct him several times a day. I’ve had no luck getting my child out of that class yet and have just retained a math tutor. So, yeah, glad your child is happy.

[Anonymous]

My DD is in Algebra II and doesn’t have a textbook and is given worksheets. It’s terrible. She’s in a magnet school too. There is no answer key to help. What’s wrong with a textbook MCPS?.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD is in Algebra II and doesn’t have a textbook and is given worksheets. It’s terrible. She’s in a magnet school too. There is no answer key to help. What’s wrong with a textbook MCPS?.

Per the rehearsed Back to School answers forever on repeat "The textbook doesn't align with the curriculum". Why???? MCPS thought they could write a curriculum that they had pitch would make money by selling to others. Nope. The curriculum was a disaster, no one would buy it, and now they are shopping for a new curriculum.

Perhaps on the next round there will be a textbook.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD is in Algebra II and doesn’t have a textbook and is given worksheets. It’s terrible. She’s in a magnet school too. There is no answer key to help. What’s wrong with a textbook MCPS?.

Per the rehearsed Back to School answers forever on repeat "The textbook doesn't align with the curriculum". Why???? MCPS thought they could write a curriculum that they had pitch would make money by selling to others. Nope. The curriculum was a disaster, no one would buy it, and now they are shopping for a new curriculum.

Perhaps on the next round there will be a textbook.

Unfortunately our kids are the collateral damage.

[Anonymous]

+1 2.0 crap for 6 years. The guinea pigs are now the students being written off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:+1 2.0 crap for 6 years. The guinea pigs are now the students being written off.

You are saying that as if the pre-2.0 or post2.0 was/will be better.

Wake up. Get tutoring and enrichment for your children if you cannot teach them yourself. Use textbooks that are used in colleges.

My kid was in 2nd grade when 2.0 was introduced and his was the first batch. I did not think that pre 2.0 was any better and had been working with him since he first went to MCPS in kindergarten. The education system in US for K-12 is sadly broken and substandard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD is in Algebra II and doesn’t have a textbook and is given worksheets. It’s terrible. She’s in a magnet school too. There is no answer key to help. What’s wrong with a textbook MCPS?.

Per the rehearsed Back to School answers forever on repeat "The textbook doesn't align with the curriculum". Why???? MCPS thought they could write a curriculum that they had pitch would make money by selling to others. Nope. The curriculum was a disaster, no one would buy it, and now they are shopping for a new curriculum.

Perhaps on the next round there will be a textbook.

The curriculum then needs to align with the TEXTBOOK!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:+1 2.0 crap for 6 years. The guinea pigs are now the students being written off.

Agree, you would have thought that they would have scrambled to get a text for Alg I and Geometry to give some relief to the families who endured the mess.

[Anonymous]

The W's as a whole have really gone downhill these past few years.

[Anonymous]

Anyone have current-schoolyear perspectives? My dd had an awful geometry teacher last year who sat on the phone all class and didn't answer kids' questions as they were working on worksheets.

Her friends have same teacher this year for Algebra II and said it is very different-- real teaching, real answering questions, less phone-time.

Two hypotheses: 1. Teacher is better with Algebra II, and 2. Teacher is motivated to at least try harder because of new principal.

Anyone have similar experience?

[Anonymous]

My freshman DD is at Blair and has textbooks for math. She is taking functions and the teacher is strict with grades. However she is learning a lot at a very fast pace. They even have an assistant teacher to help out. A friend's DD in precalc class at Blair also has a textbook and some excellent math teaching. I would recommend talking to the principal if the math teacher is not good.

[Anonymous]

Totally disagree with this thread. Had two go thru Churchill and math actually is very strong. Yes, occasionally you get a teacher that isn't great, but you also get some really good ones. They are now in college and teaching math to the kids around them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Totally disagree with this thread. Had two go thru Churchill and math actually is very strong. Yes, occasionally you get a teacher that isn't great, but you also get some really good ones. They are now in college and teaching math to the kids around them.

Not challenging your experience, but I think it may be unusual. This is a common conversation subject of parents in person (not just on DCUM) and among the kids, themselves. Parents aren't complaining that their kids are getting poor grades, but that their teacher isn't teaching. Kids in the same course across multiple teachers all know very quickly who teaches well and who doesn't. They talk about it a LOT.

[Anonymous]

Ok, but how is this a Churchill specific issue? This is true in most good schools in the area. Many math teachers can't teach well enough, don't try due to overload, or just don't care. And luckily some are pretty good and do care, but unluckily they are probably in the minority.