Why are there no textbooks in FCPS elementary?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is so sad to read 3rd grade teachers posting they no longer assign homework. Research has shown assigning math homework is helpful. I used to teach third grade and every day we had a math quiz on whatever times table the student was working on right before lunch. I graded them during lunch and my students got 100 problems on that number for homework. So if the student took on 6's and passed they got 100 problems of multiplying 7. If they didn't pass they got 100 problems of multiplying 6's.

Good Lord that sounds nuts. Why not just keep them in school for another hour? What if they went home and practiced 100 problems incorrectly?

In FCPS grades k-6, homework doesn’t count towards the academic grade.

It was nice of you to work through your lunch.

It doesn't take long to answer 100 one digit by one digit multiplication problems. Let's say a student was on their 6's - they aleady know 6 times 1-5, they just need to learn 6x6, 6x7, 6x 8, and 6x 9. They had a multiplication chart glued to their homework folder. My students realized they could copy the answers but it is quicker to start remembering them. It would take the students 15 minutes to start with and they got quicker once they memorized them. Out of around 24 students I taught each year usually 22 students were able to pass a test to complete 100 problems in 5 minutes. When they did I made a huge deal about it- I took them to get an ice cream sundae after school, I printed a certificate, took a picture and printed it out. The other two students who didn't pass, one was because they didn't do homework and the other usually had some special needs. Once they passed multiplication, I moved on to division, then square numbers to 16 (16 x 16) then practice quickly reducing fractions.

I worked with a majority of immigrant, English-language learners. Their parents were thrilled with the homework because they understood what needed to get done and they saw the value in it. I also made sure I taught the standard algorithm for addition, subtraction, and multiplication. They would come and complain that their older kids didnt really know all their math facts. I had an identical twin and the parent complained the twin that wasn't in my class wasn't learning his times table and begged me to send home math practice for him too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is so sad to read 3rd grade teachers posting they no longer assign homework. Research has shown assigning math homework is helpful. I used to teach third grade and every day we had a math quiz on whatever times table the student was working on right before lunch. I graded them during lunch and my students got 100 problems on that number for homework. So if the student took on 6's and passed they got 100 problems of multiplying 7. If they didn't pass they got 100 problems of multiplying 6's.

Good Lord that sounds nuts. Why not just keep them in school for another hour? What if they went home and practiced 100 problems incorrectly?

In FCPS grades k-6, homework doesn’t count towards the academic grade.

It was nice of you to work through your lunch.

It doesn't take long to answer 100 one digit by one digit multiplication problems. Let's say a student was on their 6's - they aleady know 6 times 1-5, they just need to learn 6x6, 6x7, 6x 8, and 6x 9. They had a multiplication chart glued to their homework folder. My students realized they could copy the answers but it is quicker to start remembering them. It would take the students 15 minutes to start with and they got quicker once they memorized them. Out of around 24 students I taught each year usually 22 students were able to pass a test to complete 100 problems in 5 minutes. When they did I made a huge deal about it- I took them to get an ice cream sundae after school, I printed a certificate, took a picture and printed it out. The other two students who didn't pass, one was because they didn't do homework and the other usually had some special needs. Once they passed multiplication, I moved on to division, then square numbers to 16 (16 x 16) then practice quickly reducing fractions.

I worked with a majority of immigrant, English-language learners. Their parents were thrilled with the homework because they understood what needed to get done and they saw the value in it. I also made sure I taught the standard algorithm for addition, subtraction, and multiplication. They would come and complain that their older kids didnt really know all their math facts. I had an identical twin and the parent complained the twin that wasn't in my class wasn't learning his times table and begged me to send home math practice for him too.

Wrote memorization. Could they apply it? Did they actually understand what they were doing or just spitting out memorized fractions?

So the special needs student didn't get any ice cream?

[Anonymous]

Did you know, on average, FCPS spends app $13, 000 per student? Where is all this money going?????? Dont believe me? Look it up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did you know, on average, FCPS spends app $13, 000 per student? Where is all this money going?????? Dont believe me? Look it up.

Yes. It’s not surprising. It’s actually $15,200 according to the WABE Guide (see link). That total is actually in line with or even lower than most area districts. You can also find info about expenditures at the following link.
https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/budget
When I start to break down the costs I can understand how the per pupil cost hits that amount.

[Anonymous]

I know we're getting off-topic (sorry), but is the budget available in tabular download format somewhere? (csv, xlsx, etc.) I'm only seeing PDF, and trying to copy/paste data out of PDF is proving problematic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fcps cant find a textbook that covers their wonky curriculum so they cherry pick here and there off the internet, have teacher enrichment days, and make kids glue stick ditto sheets into their gigantic spiral notebooks, and the like.
Math is so jumbled. I wish there was a textbook to give parents an insight of how this stuff is being taught. Apparently, the way we learned long division is not the preferred method - they teach it differently, for example. I couldnt help DS with the long division worksheet bc his teacher had a different approach, which I had never heard of, and it was confusing. And forget Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally (It's GEMDAS now).
Kids learn spelling and vocab through reading and writing. No rote memorization. No writing out the words 10x to learn them, etc. No handy vocab workbook to practice words.
VA history is nothing but worksheets, a few boring guest speakers, and a field trip to the Smithsonian

Preach. I totally agree. It’s pathetic!

DS was struggling in math last year, so his teacher sent home a math textbook to assist his home studies. Now, I have an advanced degree in physics and astronomy, so I know a thing or two about math. Reading the textbook was awful, disjointed, and confusing. Can't imagine how a kid just learning the concepts would benefit from using this textbook. Ended up only using it for extra practice problems.
When DS struggled with spelling and I asked about when they were going to start working on spelling in class, the teacher and principal got rather defensive about it and said that the kids will get plenty of experience spelling when they write and while they read. The olds ways are not effective. I dropped the conversation and started working with DS at home.
I was less than impressed with how they teach history. DS loves history and has more knowledge about it than many adults, including the teacher that was supposed to be teaching him. The teacher joked several times that perhaps DS should teach the class instead of her.

[Anonymous]

I hardly ever learned or anything by going to a museum, listening to a guest speaker or doing projects. I consider it time off from learning.
Got to have it written down and in my own hand writing, not just seeing or hearing once. Can't pick out the important info that fast.
In high school we had a teacher who thought teaching English through play and games is a good way to learn.
Some need books, some don't. I do, but are the offered to kids who do like them?

[Anonymous]

When I moved from FCPS I was THRILLED to have textbooks. It saved so much time. I even used the history textbook for a few writing lessons, because it was particularly well-written. Good textbooks gave me the freedom to focus on my students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I moved from FCPS I was THRILLED to have textbooks. It saved so much time. I even used the history textbook for a few writing lessons, because it was particularly well-written. Good textbooks gave me the freedom to focus on my students.

+1,000,000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fcps cant find a textbook that covers their wonky curriculum so they cherry pick here and there off the internet, have teacher enrichment days, and make kids glue stick ditto sheets into their gigantic spiral notebooks, and the like.
Math is so jumbled. I wish there was a textbook to give parents an insight of how this stuff is being taught. Apparently, the way we learned long division is not the preferred method - they teach it differently, for example. I couldnt help DS with the long division worksheet bc his teacher had a different approach, which I had never heard of, and it was confusing. And forget Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally (It's GEMDAS now).
Kids learn spelling and vocab through reading and writing. No rote memorization. No writing out the words 10x to learn them, etc. No handy vocab workbook to practice words.
VA history is nothing but worksheets, a few boring guest speakers, and a field trip to the Smithsonian

Preach. I totally agree. It’s pathetic!

I agree with your sentiment but some of what you are saying (well, everything you are saying about Math) is not FCPS or even Virginia, but the Common Core. Officially Virginia is one of the few states that has not adopted the Common Core (we don't need it because we have our own Standards of Learning) but everybody teaches Math this way. I am not a fan, but that's another discussion/thread.

As to the lack of textbooks--textbooks are increasingly a thing of the past everywhere and at every level. I am a college professor and think that this mostly unfortunate. Without the textbook, the teachers have to spend so much more time gathering and creating material that ideally would have been prepared by true experts and vetted (ideally...) by more experts. How a teacher uses the material is an entirely different matter. You can still have textbooks and teach in an interactive way, for goodness sakes!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:schools with no books... is that funny or sad??

First, it was SHOCKING. We are in elementary level now...

Now, I know it is just HORRIBLE. Why? Because there is no way to find out what is gonna be taught next week, and provide appropriate support at home.

I naively asked the teacher for a breakout of new content [math topics] to be taught by weeks (forget days!). I told the school FCPS "program" online is too general to figure out what is going on on a daily-basis. I got a fuzzy answer (as usual) basically suggesting that material gets decided upon based on how kids do; it is subject to adjustments after discussions regarding how kids absorbed the material; so it is basically not available in advance.

So, what we get is random pages of school work on a weekly basis which shows what they did. If your kid is forgetful, you may not get the folder timely, and good luck finding out what has been taught. However, when your kid's grades go down, you will find out what should have been learnt which was not learnt. Post-factum that is. When the grading has been done already...

Coming from a system where each subject was text-booked, and therefore structured towards very clear learning goals, it is extremely frustrating to swim in uncertainty of what is it that they are learning... Of course I can talk to my kid and find out what happened during the day, but 1st / 2nd graders may leave a lot of things out.

{"I would storm out of here right now if I had a place to go or money to spend" -- someone from Friends said something like this...}

What I wonder is whether there is an active advocacy group for improving FCPS approach to textbooks (?). If the goals are set for each grade, why not indeed have a core textbook, and supplement it with more whatever forward-looking / modern / latest thinking materials as needed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some parents like text books so that they can “pre-teach” their kids the lessons. The. Hold then appears to be much smarter to the teacher.

I liked them because I could read ahead because of her slow pace of classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:schools with no books... is that funny or sad??

First, it was SHOCKING. We are in elementary level now...

Now, I know it is just HORRIBLE. Why? Because there is no way to find out what is gonna be taught next week, and provide appropriate support at home.

I naively asked the teacher for a breakout of new content [math topics] to be taught by weeks (forget days!). I told the school FCPS "program" online is too general to figure out what is going on on a daily-basis. I got a fuzzy answer (as usual) basically suggesting that material gets decided upon based on how kids do; it is subject to adjustments after discussions regarding how kids absorbed the material; so it is basically not available in advance.

So, what we get is random pages of school work on a weekly basis which shows what they did. If your kid is forgetful, you may not get the folder timely, and good luck finding out what has been taught. However, when your kid's grades go down, you will find out what should have been learnt which was not learnt. Post-factum that is. When the grading has been done already...

Coming from a system where each subject was text-booked, and therefore structured towards very clear learning goals, it is extremely frustrating to swim in uncertainty of what is it that they are learning... Of course I can talk to my kid and find out what happened during the day, but 1st / 2nd graders may leave a lot of things out.

{"I would storm out of here right now if I had a place to go or money to spend" -- someone from Friends said something like this...}

What I wonder is whether there is an active advocacy group for improving FCPS approach to textbooks (?). If the goals are set for each grade, why not indeed have a core textbook, and supplement it with more whatever forward-looking / modern / latest thinking materials as needed?

This post is funny. First grade math isn't that confusing. Parents can figure it out if they feel they need to reteach or preteach it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:schools with no books... is that funny or sad??

First, it was SHOCKING. We are in elementary level now...

Now, I know it is just HORRIBLE. Why? Because there is no way to find out what is gonna be taught next week, and provide appropriate support at home.

I naively asked the teacher for a breakout of new content [math topics] to be taught by weeks (forget days!). I told the school FCPS "program" online is too general to figure out what is going on on a daily-basis. I got a fuzzy answer (as usual) basically suggesting that material gets decided upon based on how kids do; it is subject to adjustments after discussions regarding how kids absorbed the material; so it is basically not available in advance.

So, what we get is random pages of school work on a weekly basis which shows what they did. If your kid is forgetful, you may not get the folder timely, and good luck finding out what has been taught. However, when your kid's grades go down, you will find out what should have been learnt which was not learnt. Post-factum that is. When the grading has been done already...

Coming from a system where each subject was text-booked, and therefore structured towards very clear learning goals, it is extremely frustrating to swim in uncertainty of what is it that they are learning... Of course I can talk to my kid and find out what happened during the day, but 1st / 2nd graders may leave a lot of things out.

{"I would storm out of here right now if I had a place to go or money to spend" -- someone from Friends said something like this...}

What I wonder is whether there is an active advocacy group for improving FCPS approach to textbooks (?). If the goals are set for each grade, why not indeed have a core textbook, and supplement it with more whatever forward-looking / modern / latest thinking materials as needed?

Google Virginia math pacing guide. Some schools in other VA counties post them on their websites. It shows what is covered week by week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fcps cant find a textbook that covers their wonky curriculum so they cherry pick here and there off the internet, have teacher enrichment days, and make kids glue stick ditto sheets into their gigantic spiral notebooks, and the like.
Math is so jumbled. I wish there was a textbook to give parents an insight of how this stuff is being taught. Apparently, the way we learned long division is not the preferred method - they teach it differently, for example. I couldnt help DS with the long division worksheet bc his teacher had a different approach, which I had never heard of, and it was confusing. And forget Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally (It's GEMDAS now).
Kids learn spelling and vocab through reading and writing. No rote memorization. No writing out the words 10x to learn them, etc. No handy vocab workbook to practice words.
VA history is nothing but worksheets, a few boring guest speakers, and a field trip to the Smithsonian

Preach. I totally agree. It’s pathetic!

DS was struggling in math last year, so his teacher sent home a math textbook to assist his home studies. Now, I have an advanced degree in physics and astronomy, so I know a thing or two about math. Reading the textbook was awful, disjointed, and confusing. Can't imagine how a kid just learning the concepts would benefit from using this textbook. Ended up only using it for extra practice problems.
When DS struggled with spelling and I asked about when they were going to start working on spelling in class, the teacher and principal got rather defensive about it and said that the kids will get plenty of experience spelling when they write and while they read. The olds ways are not effective. I dropped the conversation and started working with DS at home.
I was less than impressed with how they teach history. DS loves history and has more knowledge about it than many adults, including the teacher that was supposed to be teaching him. The teacher joked several times that perhaps DS should teach the class instead of her.

I was homeschooled for a handful of years due to the school districts we lived in at the time. I had parents with advanced degrees in science and math who were definitely there to help, but I was mostly able to teach myself some of middle and high school math using just the Saxon textbooks. They weren't jumbled at all.

We do a phonics + list based spelling program at home with our kids. Word sorting in writer's workshop seems to work for some kids, because there's plenty of beautiful work on display in DC's classroom, but not for DC.

Agree that history curicuulum is ineffective, but threading the needle between history-as-mostly-false-patriotism-indoctrination and history-is-all-bad-except-victims seems incredibly challenging. I say that as someone who is always looking for good history resources for my kids at home. The history textbooks I had as a kid veered horribly from one extreme to the other.