Honors Geometry at Whitman - RANT

[Anonymous]

Are there math textbooks at any of the MCPS high schools to help students study ahead without a tutor?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The teacher is far more important than the actual school. Just because you go to a W school, does not mean you will get good teachers, only kids with rich parents.

+1 Parents with means to hire tutors when the teachers are bad. Our W math department has been notoriously bad for years. One teacher passed out packets, told the students to figure it out in small groups, then took naps during class.

I would say we had the same teacher, but ours was on her phone while the kids tried to figure their way through the packet.

Sounds like our experience at Churchill.

+1

[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.

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.

This was our experience with Churchill. My kids had math tutors all the way through. They eventually moved from honors to regular math which helped a bit, but the teachers were just not strong (and this goes all the way back to elementary school). We were fortunate to finally find a tutor who was a teacher at another MCPS high school and they were fantastic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are there math textbooks at any of the MCPS high schools to help students study ahead without a tutor?

As of pre-calc, yes. Earlier classes, no, they're still using MCPS developed curriculum.

[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.

Me too. Works for some, not others. +1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there math textbooks at any of the MCPS high schools to help students study ahead without a tutor?

As of pre-calc, yes. Earlier classes, no, they're still using MCPS developed curriculum.

My DC is taking Alg 2 at RMHS, and while they do use math packets, they also have textbooks as reference guides. We talked about this during open house, and I noticed the book on DC's desk at home.

[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.

Me too. Works for some, not others. +1000

My kids seem to be able to get to the correct answers in honors geometry, ,but inevitably miss points in the 'explain why.' Their explanations seem logical to me, but aren't in the format or the specific content that the teacher wants. (One was a long, verbal explanation when apparently what the teacher wanted to see was "side-angle-side." I get having the kids teach themselves-- not a teacher, but it seems like a decent way to learn. But then don't teachers need to be more flexible on these kids of questions?

Another frustrating example from the first quiz of the year, my dd missed a question that literally said, "Name three things that you see in this diagram." She said 3 geometrically-related things (point, line, ray or something like that) and got it wrong. Never did figure out what the teacher wanted, but with a vague question like this IMHO the teacher needs to accept literally anything you write ("page number, ink, white space" would not be an INCORRECT response to that question).

So I think there's a disconnect between teaching style and expectations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there math textbooks at any of the MCPS high schools to help students study ahead without a tutor?

As of pre-calc, yes. Earlier classes, no, they're still using MCPS developed curriculum.

My DC is taking Alg 2 at RMHS, and while they do use math packets, they also have textbooks as reference guides. We talked about this during open house, and I noticed the book on DC's desk at home.

When my kids have had math textbooks, they've used them extensively, but they didn't have them in Alg 2 at MBHS. Maybe that's changed since.

[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.

Maybe your DD has a bad teacher. I wouldn't indict the entire school or the county. My DD had a teacher that she thought was horrible last Spring. She ended up teaching the math to herself. Her 1st semester of Honors Geometry was very different from her 2nd semester. The teacher was much better and she had a much easier time. I think this is really a case of having a lousy teacher. Every school everywhere has lousy teachers and outstanding teachers. This is not special to Whitman.

[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.

Maybe your DD has a bad teacher. I wouldn't indict the entire school or the county. My DD had a teacher that she thought was horrible last Spring. She ended up teaching the math to herself. Her 1st semester of Honors Geometry was very different from her 2nd semester. The teacher was much better and she had a much easier time. I think this is really a case of having a lousy teacher. Every school everywhere has lousy teachers and outstanding teachers. This is not special to Whitman.

Also, she will have a different teacher next semester.

[Anonymous]

Something interesting that my husband and I have noticed is the function of the principal and all of those assistant principals. I think Whitman has four, yes four.

Father-in-law was an assistant principal back in the 60s and 70s. He knew how to TEACH and part of his job was sitting in on teachers and observing how they taught, as well as making suggestions.

I remember the principals doing this back in my day in the 60s and 70s.

Well, all gone. Principal seems to send out endless emails about homecoming, football games, post homecoming directions, incidents in school, pan-man and the like. I agree some of these are important, but why is there no observation of these lousy teachers?

[Anonymous]

Maybe your DD has a bad teacher. I wouldn't indict the entire school or the county. My DD had a teacher that she thought was horrible last Spring. She ended up teaching the math to herself. Her 1st semester of Honors Geometry was very different from her 2nd semester. The teacher was much better and she had a much easier time. I think this is really a case of having a lousy teacher. Every school everywhere has lousy teachers and outstanding teachers. This is not special to Whitman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

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.

I'm glad your child turned it around, but sounds like the issue is your child was weak at math, not that the teachers were "Terrible." A kid that is good at math will be able to figure out geometry, regardless of the teacher.

This was our experience with Churchill. My kids had math tutors all the way through. They eventually moved from honors to regular math which helped a bit, but the teachers were just not strong (and this goes all the way back to elementary school). We were fortunate to finally find a tutor who was a teacher at another MCPS high school and they were fantastic.

[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....

Teachers often don't teach anymore. Partly as the trend is small groups and social interaction. It starts in elementary school. Between that an no textbooks its a miracle kids learn anything.

[Anonymous]

The biggest issue is that every parent at Whitman believes their child is gifted so honors math ends up being average math.