Literally every single MCPS kid I know has a tutor. Do YOU?

[Anonymous]

I don't think the OP was saying that the curriculum was hard and everyone is getting a tutor because they are struggling. I think she was saying everyone is tutoring because they have no idea what the kids are doing, the kids aren't doing anything, and/or the sheets that come home don't make much sense.

The part about MCPS that baffles most parents is that there is no rationale organization to the way they present materials. What is going on is that they pick a very few concepts and cycle back again and again repeating them. They don't go deeper they just skate the surface from a different direction. You'll see a week of word problems that are easy but they need to be done a specific way. The next week you'll see easy fractions and then they disappear. The next week will be some simple division and then it ends. The following week will be back to basic fractions but presented as if the child never learned fractions in a new way.

There is validity that there are multiple ways to teach a child a concept and some kids click onto one method more than others. However, just because there are five ways to do something it doesn't mean that there is value with every kid doing it five different ways at the same time. They also present each way as if the kid doesn't know anything about the concept which is very stupid.

The only challenging part for a parent is setting aside what the best way to do the problem and replacing it with what way does MCPS want the kid to show it this week. Its all pretty easy but done this way it does zero to create any advanced number sense for kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think the OP was saying that the curriculum was hard and everyone is getting a tutor because they are struggling. I think she was saying everyone is tutoring because they have no idea what the kids are doing, the kids aren't doing anything, and/or the sheets that come home don't make much sense.

The part about MCPS that baffles most parents is that there is no rationale organization to the way they present materials. What is going on is that they pick a very few concepts and cycle back again and again repeating them. They don't go deeper they just skate the surface from a different direction. You'll see a week of word problems that are easy but they need to be done a specific way. The next week you'll see easy fractions and then they disappear. The next week will be some simple division and then it ends. The following week will be back to basic fractions but presented as if the child never learned fractions in a new way.

There is validity that there are multiple ways to teach a child a concept and some kids click onto one method more than others. However, just because there are five ways to do something it doesn't mean that there is value with every kid doing it five different ways at the same time. They also present each way as if the kid doesn't know anything about the concept which is very stupid.

The only challenging part for a parent is setting aside what the best way to do the problem and replacing it with what way does MCPS want the kid to show it this week. Its all pretty easy but done this way it does zero to create any advanced number sense for kids.

It's interesting you should say that, because I haven't been baffled. Every now and then I go to the MCPS curriculum guide for my child's grade, and then I compare it to the work my child brings home and the classroom activities my child tells me about, and yup, there they are, doing the stuff in the curriculum guide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think the OP was saying that the curriculum was hard and everyone is getting a tutor because they are struggling. I think she was saying everyone is tutoring because they have no idea what the kids are doing, the kids aren't doing anything, and/or the sheets that come home don't make much sense.

The part about MCPS that baffles most parents is that there is no rationale organization to the way they present materials. What is going on is that they pick a very few concepts and cycle back again and again repeating them. They don't go deeper they just skate the surface from a different direction. You'll see a week of word problems that are easy but they need to be done a specific way. The next week you'll see easy fractions and then they disappear. The next week will be some simple division and then it ends. The following week will be back to basic fractions but presented as if the child never learned fractions in a new way.

There is validity that there are multiple ways to teach a child a concept and some kids click onto one method more than others. However, just because there are five ways to do something it doesn't mean that there is value with every kid doing it five different ways at the same time. They also present each way as if the kid doesn't know anything about the concept which is very stupid.

The only challenging part for a parent is setting aside what the best way to do the problem and replacing it with what way does MCPS want the kid to show it this week. Its all pretty easy but done this way it does zero to create any advanced number sense for kids.

I have to agree with what you are saying here. I feel the same confusion about how materials are organized. I thought my confusion stemmed from the fact that I was not raised in this country and I was used to a curriculum and a text book that completely followed the curriculum in my home country. This meant that a student could miss school for 2 weeks and know exactly what they had missed.

I agree the example about fractions that you gave. I am ok with teaching 5 ways of doing fractions - but I need for fractions to come after division has been taught to kids. And I want the whole unit taught in a cohesive manner - the 5 ways to do fractions + word problems with fractions + project with fraction --- and then I want it to segway into percentages and ratios...

Somehow this intuitive and systematic way of doing Math (as well as History if I may say so) - is missing.

When a text book is used to teach and parents are told that the students need to read pages 1 - 5 and work examples 1-3 and do exercises 1-10 --- it becomes easier for parents, students and teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only people I know who have tutors have learning disabilities/are struggling.

Or aiming to get into Ivies! You are naive if you think that tutor/coach is for struggling kids. Many parents I know, completely disregard what is being taught in MCPS and are coaching their kids following curriculum from other systems, countries, textbooks etc.

I never even look at what nonsense homework the school gives my child. He is done in minutes with the homework and usually it is done in class or the bus-ride home. He still has to put in a good amount of work with me in Math and Science and language arts at home. You could say that I am home schooling + sending him to MCPS.

Unfortunately the common core should have taken a leaf out of E D Hirsch's books - and they did not. http://books.coreknowledge.org/home.php?cat=298

I do not blame the teachers one bit because they are burdened with some really insane directives from MCPS.

[Anonymous]

I have to agree with what you are saying here. I feel the same confusion about how materials are organized. I thought my confusion stemmed from the fact that I was not raised in this country and I was used to a curriculum and a text book that completely followed the curriculum in my home country. This meant that a student could miss school for 2 weeks and know exactly what they had missed.

I agree the example about fractions that you gave. I am ok with teaching 5 ways of doing fractions - but I need for fractions to come after division has been taught to kids. And I want the whole unit taught in a cohesive manner - the 5 ways to do fractions + word problems with fractions + project with fraction --- and then I want it to segway into percentages and ratios...

Somehow this intuitive and systematic way of doing Math (as well as History if I may say so) - is missing.

When a text book is used to teach and parents are told that the students need to read pages 1 - 5 and work examples 1-3 and do exercises 1-10 --- it becomes easier for parents, students and teachers.

I agree 100%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only people I know who have tutors have learning disabilities/are struggling.

Or aiming to get into Ivies! You are naive if you think that tutor/coach is for struggling kids. Many parents I know, completely disregard what is being taught in MCPS and are coaching their kids following curriculum from other systems, countries, textbooks etc.

I never even look at what nonsense homework the school gives my child. He is done in minutes with the homework and usually it is done in class or the bus-ride home. He still has to put in a good amount of work with me in Math and Science and language arts at home. You could say that I am home schooling + sending him to MCPS.

Unfortunately the common core should have taken a leaf out of E D Hirsch's books - and they did not. http://books.coreknowledge.org/home.php?cat=298

I do not blame the teachers one bit because they are burdened with some really insane directives from MCPS.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/05/06/308382912/poll-prestigious-colleges-wont-make-you-happier-in-life-or-work

[Anonymous]

MCPS, Bethesda, No tutor. When do you even have time for tutors? We have our kids in sports/dance every day because there's not enough exercise in MCPS! Health trumps extra math problems in our house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS, Bethesda, No tutor. When do you even have time for tutors? We have our kids in sports/dance every day because there's not enough exercise in MCPS! Health trumps extra math problems in our house.

I agree with this.

[Anonymous]

Or aiming to get into Ivies!

Forget the Ivies, the competition for selective schools is through the roof and will only get worse. The prices are sky rocketing. Do you have 200K-400K to drop on your child's college education or will you be competing for scholarships?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Or aiming to get into Ivies!

Forget the Ivies, the competition for selective schools is through the roof and will only get worse. The prices are sky rocketing. Do you have 200K-400K to drop on your child's college education or will you be competing for scholarships?

Again see this article - http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/05/06/308382912/poll-prestigious-colleges-wont-make-you-happier-in-life-or-work

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I have to agree with what you are saying here. I feel the same confusion about how materials are organized. I thought my confusion stemmed from the fact that I was not raised in this country and I was used to a curriculum and a text book that completely followed the curriculum in my home country. This meant that a student could miss school for 2 weeks and know exactly what they had missed.

I agree the example about fractions that you gave. I am ok with teaching 5 ways of doing fractions - but I need for fractions to come after division has been taught to kids. And I want the whole unit taught in a cohesive manner - the 5 ways to do fractions + word problems with fractions + project with fraction --- and then I want it to segway into percentages and ratios...

Somehow this intuitive and systematic way of doing Math (as well as History if I may say so) - is missing.

When a text book is used to teach and parents are told that the students need to read pages 1 - 5 and work examples 1-3 and do exercises 1-10 --- it becomes easier for parents, students and teachers.

I think it's a mistake to assume that if something is intuitive for you, it must be intuitive for everybody.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Or aiming to get into Ivies!

Forget the Ivies, the competition for selective schools is through the roof and will only get worse. The prices are sky rocketing. Do you have 200K-400K to drop on your child's college education or will you be competing for scholarships?

Is that why kids need tutors, so that they will get into "selective schools"? Oh good, then I can cross that off my list. I'm planning for my kids to go to state schools.

[Anonymous]

I have to agree with what you are saying here. I feel the same confusion about how materials are organized. I thought my confusion stemmed from the fact that I was not raised in this country and I was used to a curriculum and a text book that completely followed the curriculum in my home country. This meant that a student could miss school for 2 weeks and know exactly what they had missed.

I agree the example about fractions that you gave. I am ok with teaching 5 ways of doing fractions - but I need for fractions to come after division has been taught to kids. And I want the whole unit taught in a cohesive manner - the 5 ways to do fractions + word problems with fractions + project with fraction --- and then I want it to segway into percentages and ratios...

Somehow this intuitive and systematic way of doing Math (as well as History if I may say so) - is missing.

When a text book is used to teach and parents are told that the students need to read pages 1 - 5 and work examples 1-3 and do exercises 1-10 --- it becomes easier for parents, students and teachers.

Yes! This is the biggest benefit to tutoring/outside classes IMO. The child actually receives a cohesive math education and can draw deeper understanding from seeing the connections presented in a logical rather than haphazard way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Or aiming to get into Ivies!

Forget the Ivies, the competition for selective schools is through the roof and will only get worse. The prices are sky rocketing. Do you have 200K-400K to drop on your child's college education or will you be competing for scholarships?

Wouldn't get a tutor in elementary school with a goal of getting into ivies - as kids get into higher level materials, maybe. And this is coming from an ivy grad and ivy family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I have to agree with what you are saying here. I feel the same confusion about how materials are organized. I thought my confusion stemmed from the fact that I was not raised in this country and I was used to a curriculum and a text book that completely followed the curriculum in my home country. This meant that a student could miss school for 2 weeks and know exactly what they had missed.

I agree the example about fractions that you gave. I am ok with teaching 5 ways of doing fractions - but I need for fractions to come after division has been taught to kids. And I want the whole unit taught in a cohesive manner - the 5 ways to do fractions + word problems with fractions + project with fraction --- and then I want it to segway into percentages and ratios...

Somehow this intuitive and systematic way of doing Math (as well as History if I may say so) - is missing.

When a text book is used to teach and parents are told that the students need to read pages 1 - 5 and work examples 1-3 and do exercises 1-10 --- it becomes easier for parents, students and teachers.

Yes! This is the biggest benefit to tutoring/outside classes IMO. The child actually receives a cohesive math education and can draw deeper understanding from seeing the connections presented in a logical rather than haphazard way.

Bad sequencing is one of the primary reasons why American kids are not doing well on international comparisions. American teachers are also the worst at making connections between concept. If a coherence curriculum/textbook was followed, then this would have been a big problem.

I was told by a quite informed parent that the 2.0 is modeled after Singapore Math. I hope he is right. I am planning on using that along when my child goes to K just to make sure his math education is adequate.