Honors Geometry at Whitman - RANT

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is America, folks! We are living here at the time of its precipitation decline. We have a moron ruling the country and the people are too stupid to care. Our education system depicts that.

Please take the matter in your own hands and teach your kids at home. Between educated parents and youtube, there is no reason to depend on the school system for advanced learning. Use the school for socialization and basic education.

HAHAHA

Great post!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I observed my DC’s Honors Geometry class at Open House. This was a MS. It was not how I was taught math. There was no large group instruction. The teacher assigned a few things to do and then walked around the room answering questions. I thought it was really effective, and I loved how she answered the questions. She had a variety of strategies, depending on the question. If it was something she thought would be confusing to others, or multiple kids had the same question, she stopped and explained to the whole class. If a kid had an issue that another kid had just worked through, she’d have them work together so the one who’d just figured it out could help the one who was still struggling. I was impressed.

That works for some kids but not all. I would’ve hated that. I need someone to do a lot of examples before I try them on my own. I would’ve been highly frustrated in a class like this.

I was only there one day, so that’s not to say that there’s never whole group instruction. There also might have been sample problems worked out in the video lessons the kids watched. This was more in response to the PPs who said thei kids’ teachers ignored the kids during independent work time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I observed my DC’s Honors Geometry class at Open House. This was a MS. It was not how I was taught math. There was no large group instruction. The teacher assigned a few things to do and then walked around the room answering questions. I thought it was really effective, and I loved how she answered the questions. She had a variety of strategies, depending on the question. If it was something she thought would be confusing to others, or multiple kids had the same question, she stopped and explained to the whole class. If a kid had an issue that another kid had just worked through, she’d have them work together so the one who’d just figured it out could help the one who was still struggling. I was impressed.

That works for some kids but not all. I would’ve hated that. I need someone to do a lot of examples before I try them on my own. I would’ve been highly frustrated in a class like this.

I was only there one day, so that’s not to say that there’s never whole group instruction. There also might have been sample problems worked out in the video lessons the kids watched. This was more in response to the PPs who said thei kids’ teachers ignored the kids during independent work time.

Flipped classroom is perfect for someone who needs to see examples - you can watch them on video and repeat as much as necessary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I observed my DC’s Honors Geometry class at Open House. This was a MS. It was not how I was taught math. There was no large group instruction. The teacher assigned a few things to do and then walked around the room answering questions. I thought it was really effective, and I loved how she answered the questions. She had a variety of strategies, depending on the question. If it was something she thought would be confusing to others, or multiple kids had the same question, she stopped and explained to the whole class. If a kid had an issue that another kid had just worked through, she’d have them work together so the one who’d just figured it out could help the one who was still struggling. I was impressed.

That works for some kids but not all. I would’ve hated that. I need someone to do a lot of examples before I try them on my own. I would’ve been highly frustrated in a class like this.

I was only there one day, so that’s not to say that there’s never whole group instruction. There also might have been sample problems worked out in the video lessons the kids watched. This was more in response to the PPs who said thei kids’ teachers ignored the kids during independent work time.

Flipped classroom is perfect for someone who needs to see examples - you can watch them on video and repeat as much as necessary.

I needed to stop the teacher as she/he explained it. You can't do that with a video.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in the county in a W school district. All we have been hearing is how great the schools are here. Neighbors, teachers, friends have been telling us this. Now that we are here, my husband and I look at each other and say "this is good?" No teaching? Packets dumped on them? Told just to watch You Tube videos and online demonstrations?

What kind of Kool-Aid are folks drinking here?

They have to justify spending upwards of $1mil on a house that would barely break $400k elsewhere in MoCo. Anyone who bought in the last 15 years has been told that there’s one curriculum for the whole district and that hiring practices do not ensure the “best” teachers are clustered in any one area of the County. Therefore, people bought largely for a vanity address and some to avoid black and brown people residing on their street (unless a live-in nanny) or sitting at the desk next to Larla. But you can’t tell that to grandparents when you are asking for down payment help. You have to argue that X cluster is the only path to HYPS. That’s the Kool Aid (DCUM flavor), not anything MCPS has said. The system has never argued children in Ws or their feeders will get a better education than a child in Einstein or Springbrook’s catchments.

So which is it? I hear all the time that the W schools are better, and that it's unfair to the rest of the county. They point to the test scores as an indication that the schools are better.

They are not better. There continuing inequity in the distribution of resources for infrastructure and supplies. And some really hinky stuff is going on with grading at Churchill. However, it’s the same curriculum and the same pool of staff. No special hiring pool for Ws. Sorry!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I observed my DC’s Honors Geometry class at Open House. This was a MS. It was not how I was taught math. There was no large group instruction. The teacher assigned a few things to do and then walked around the room answering questions. I thought it was really effective, and I loved how she answered the questions. She had a variety of strategies, depending on the question. If it was something she thought would be confusing to others, or multiple kids had the same question, she stopped and explained to the whole class. If a kid had an issue that another kid had just worked through, she’d have them work together so the one who’d just figured it out could help the one who was still struggling. I was impressed.

That works for some kids but not all. I would’ve hated that. I need someone to do a lot of examples before I try them on my own. I would’ve been highly frustrated in a class like this.

I was only there one day, so that’s not to say that there’s never whole group instruction. There also might have been sample problems worked out in the video lessons the kids watched. This was more in response to the PPs who said thei kids’ teachers ignored the kids during independent work time.

Flipped classroom is perfect for someone who needs to see examples - you can watch them on video and repeat as much as necessary.

I needed to stop the teacher as she/he explained it. You can't do that with a video.

You can’t stop A VIDEO?

Actually let me redo that.

YOU can’t stop a video? Because my kid is in a flipped class and she does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I observed my DC’s Honors Geometry class at Open House. This was a MS. It was not how I was taught math. There was no large group instruction. The teacher assigned a few things to do and then walked around the room answering questions. I thought it was really effective, and I loved how she answered the questions. She had a variety of strategies, depending on the question. If it was something she thought would be confusing to others, or multiple kids had the same question, she stopped and explained to the whole class. If a kid had an issue that another kid had just worked through, she’d have them work together so the one who’d just figured it out could help the one who was still struggling. I was impressed.

That works for some kids but not all. I would’ve hated that. I need someone to do a lot of examples before I try them on my own. I would’ve been highly frustrated in a class like this.

I was only there one day, so that’s not to say that there’s never whole group instruction. There also might have been sample problems worked out in the video lessons the kids watched. This was more in response to the PPs who said thei kids’ teachers ignored the kids during independent work time.

Flipped classroom is perfect for someone who needs to see examples - you can watch them on video and repeat as much as necessary.

I needed to stop the teacher as she/he explained it. You can't do that with a video.

You can’t stop A VIDEO?

Actually let me redo that.

YOU can’t stop a video? Because my kid is in a flipped class and she does.

Not to mention - with a flipped classroom the teacher would have more time for 1:1 explanation than in a lecture class where they had to get through a certain amount of material in the hour.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were told that is 2.0. Kids are supposed to get more understanding from figuring it out rather than being shown what to do..

HI. OP here. THanks for all of the comments and commiserating with me.

LOL. HA. An excuse not to teach! Show them the video! Our friend as daughters who are in calculus at Whitman. Apparently, the kids are told to watch a video covering the concepts before the lesson. Next day, problems are given and the teacher walks around helping. Of course, this is hearsay and I haven't seen it, but I believe it. WHere the h*ll is the teaching.

I have been sitting with my daughter trying to do constructions all weekend. When I asked her if the teacher had shown her, for example, how to construct a 60 degree angle (in the review packet), she either says she showed it only once or didn't show it at all. However, she gave them online math resource, which we have been using.

My parents were teacher and my husbands parents were NYC school teachers. They got out the chalk in those days, went to the board and DEMONSTRATED, LECTURED, and TAUGHT.

Husband is an MD (he can't figure out what she is doing) and I have a business degree and advanced degrees.

WHERE IS THE TEACHING?????? We are all expected to hire tutors??? No teaching?

ENd of rant....

As a former para, I have observed that MCPS teachers like to see students endeavoring to figure something out. Direct instruction is out, contructed knowledge is in. That's just the way that it is. If a kid misses a day, he misses a lot, basically a review of the constructed knowlege.

[Anonymous]

Don't attribute this to 2.0 or changes in the curriculum or the decline of MCPS. All this talk of pointlessly bisecting lines with a compass is bringing back bad flashbacks. I remember being puzzled by this exact same stuff in my 8th grade Honors Geometry class at an MCPS W cluster MS. And that was in 1999. There would be a brief explanation and then maybe one example and then a whole bunch of "figure out all these applications and extensions for homework."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I observed my DC’s Honors Geometry class at Open House. This was a MS. It was not how I was taught math. There was no large group instruction. The teacher assigned a few things to do and then walked around the room answering questions. I thought it was really effective, and I loved how she answered the questions. She had a variety of strategies, depending on the question. If it was something she thought would be confusing to others, or multiple kids had the same question, she stopped and explained to the whole class. If a kid had an issue that another kid had just worked through, she’d have them work together so the one who’d just figured it out could help the one who was still struggling. I was impressed.

That works for some kids but not all. I would’ve hated that. I need someone to do a lot of examples before I try them on my own. I would’ve been highly frustrated in a class like this.

I was only there one day, so that’s not to say that there’s never whole group instruction. There also might have been sample problems worked out in the video lessons the kids watched. This was more in response to the PPs who said thei kids’ teachers ignored the kids during independent work time.

Flipped classroom is perfect for someone who needs to see examples - you can watch them on video and repeat as much as necessary.

I needed to stop the teacher as she/he explained it. You can't do that with a video.

You can’t stop A VIDEO?

Actually let me redo that.

YOU can’t stop a video? Because my kid is in a flipped class and she does.

You are not able to stop and ask questions to a video. You can replay it as many times as you want but you can't ask it clarifying questions or ask for more information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am beyond disgusted with this class. DD, normally, a good student is totally lost. Math isn't her thing, but with work, she can do it. Material is just shoved at them before they have even had time to digest it. She was recommended for Honors Geometry, but I think for the rest of her high school career, I am going to seek regular math. She has had only 3 days to cover an ENORMOUS amount of material on "Construction" No time to absorb one concept before rushing to the next.

I took Geometry. I realize it isn't the same now as it was umpteen years ago, but these kids don't even have time to absorb one concept before they rush off to the next. Yesterday, she called me at work in tears.

This is teaching? This is a 'good' school?

Give me a break.

It isn't a good school. It is a school with means. Tutors, test prep, etc.... The teacher's are not really teaching. The kids do it on their own and get help outside of the terrible teacher when they are lost. I paid $80 an hour for a math tutor, and I know many that paid over $100.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am beyond disgusted with this class. DD, normally, a good student is totally lost. Math isn't her thing, but with work, she can do it. Material is just shoved at them before they have even had time to digest it. She was recommended for Honors Geometry, but I think for the rest of her high school career, I am going to seek regular math. She has had only 3 days to cover an ENORMOUS amount of material on "Construction" No time to absorb one concept before rushing to the next.

I took Geometry. I realize it isn't the same now as it was umpteen years ago, but these kids don't even have time to absorb one concept before they rush off to the next. Yesterday, she called me at work in tears.

This is teaching? This is a 'good' school?

Give me a break.

Actually it is a good school. And possibly not so great teacher? Or your darling child should work harder themselves? Why is it always the schools fault? This is life, get used to it more importantly get your child used to it. How will they fix the problem themselves? Are they asking for extra help and not getting the help? Then move up the chain to the department head. Or get a tutor on your own. Either way what will your child do in college when they have a class with a poor teacher or they don't understand the material?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I observed my DC’s Honors Geometry class at Open House. This was a MS. It was not how I was taught math. There was no large group instruction. The teacher assigned a few things to do and then walked around the room answering questions. I thought it was really effective, and I loved how she answered the questions. She had a variety of strategies, depending on the question. If it was something she thought would be confusing to others, or multiple kids had the same question, she stopped and explained to the whole class. If a kid had an issue that another kid had just worked through, she’d have them work together so the one who’d just figured it out could help the one who was still struggling. I was impressed.

That works for some kids but not all. I would’ve hated that. I need someone to do a lot of examples before I try them on my own. I would’ve been highly frustrated in a class like this.

I was only there one day, so that’s not to say that there’s never whole group instruction. There also might have been sample problems worked out in the video lessons the kids watched. This was more in response to the PPs who said thei kids’ teachers ignored the kids during independent work time.

Flipped classroom is perfect for someone who needs to see examples - you can watch them on video and repeat as much as necessary.

I needed to stop the teacher as she/he explained it. You can't do that with a video.

You can’t stop A VIDEO?

Actually let me redo that.

YOU can’t stop a video? Because my kid is in a flipped class and she does.

You are not able to stop and ask questions to a video. You can replay it as many times as you want but you can't ask it clarifying questions or ask for more information.

The asking questions parts occurs during the class portion of a flipped class. The kids frontload info or a skill at home and then have time in class to practice and ask clarifying questions. It works for most smart kids who watch the videos at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
You have to argue that X cluster is the only path to HYPS. That’s the Kool Aid (DCUM flavor), not anything MCPS has said. The system has never argued children in Ws or their feeders will get a better education than a child in Einstein or Springbrook’s catchments.

So which is it? I hear all the time that the W schools are better, and that it's unfair to the rest of the county. They point to the test scores as an indication that the schools are better.

They are not better. There continuing inequity in the distribution of resources for infrastructure and supplies. And some really hinky stuff is going on with grading at Churchill. However, it’s the same curriculum and the same pool of staff. No special hiring pool for Ws. Sorry!

Actually the Ws receive LESS funding than other schools. They have larger classroom sizes and receive fewer resources than other schools. If you are referring to resources parents have to supplement, that may or may not be true. But as far as the schools, from local, state and federal dollars, the wealthier school communities receive less than others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I observed my DC’s Honors Geometry class at Open House. This was a MS. It was not how I was taught math. There was no large group instruction. The teacher assigned a few things to do and then walked around the room answering questions. I thought it was really effective, and I loved how she answered the questions. She had a variety of strategies, depending on the question. If it was something she thought would be confusing to others, or multiple kids had the same question, she stopped and explained to the whole class. If a kid had an issue that another kid had just worked through, she’d have them work together so the one who’d just figured it out could help the one who was still struggling. I was impressed.

That works for some kids but not all. I would’ve hated that. I need someone to do a lot of examples before I try them on my own. I would’ve been highly frustrated in a class like this.

I was only there one day, so that’s not to say that there’s never whole group instruction. There also might have been sample problems worked out in the video lessons the kids watched. This was more in response to the PPs who said thei kids’ teachers ignored the kids during independent work time.

Flipped classroom is perfect for someone who needs to see examples - you can watch them on video and repeat as much as necessary.

I needed to stop the teacher as she/he explained it. You can't do that with a video.

You can’t stop A VIDEO?

Actually let me redo that.

YOU can’t stop a video? Because my kid is in a flipped class and she does.

You are not able to stop and ask questions to a video. You can replay it as many times as you want but you can't ask it clarifying questions or ask for more information.

The asking questions parts occurs during the class portion of a flipped class. The kids frontload info or a skill at home and then have time in class to practice and ask clarifying questions. It works for most smart kids who watch the videos at home.

This reminds me of reading a section of a textbook and taking notes or working examples before attending class. (But, that was followed by a teacher presenting the same, adding insight, and answering questions.) Anyway, it worked for the people who put in prep time, and it's not as if watching a video is more automatic. If anything, it's easier to press play on a video, and not pay attention. With a textbook it's often picking up a pencil, that commands focus--just watching someone else with a pencil may be no better than dozing though class unprepared, and it does take discipline to control the pace of a video, and work out a missed detail.

As with any learning style, flipped classrooms aren't for everyone. Both my DCs dislike them. The worst case scenario is the teacher, so bent on promoting self-teaching, that they deflect all questions and become condescending: how many people have you asked before you came to me?, or they run all their attention through pet students. One MS teacher told me at conference, that DC should just always sit with so-and-so, because she already knows all the answers. In theory, maybe (still a little bald-face to phrase it that way), in practice DC had a long history with that particular student, and to be officially under her thumb was a confidence killer. Not to make too much of teen grousing, but some teachers seam to have trouble juggling promoting the flipped classroom concept and still providing support. And providing support to a flipped classroom, ads an extra duty of monitoring social interactions. Sometimes the pushy yet always wrong student wins the table. Sometimes a student is subtly shunned. There's sill plenty that can go wrong, just remember it's HS. In most cases the teen who thinks the teacher isn't doing anything is just wrong, but perception is half the battle with teens.