TJ Math 4
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Anonymous
| What happened to the TJ Math 4 thread that was up here yesterday? Was it removed . . . if so, why? |
Anonymous
| We were wondering the same thing..this is the first we've noticed on this forum that entire thread was removed. |
Anonymous
| Gee, perhaps it was because some doofuses decided to name a non-public person and arguably libeled him. |
Anonymous
I'm the OP: obviously if I'd seen that post I wouldn't have asked the question. Love how folks are so nice on this board. |
Anonymous
I believe that in trying to distinguish between the three (!!!) new TJ teachers teaching math 4 this year, two of whom are men, someone referred to the new "male Asian" math teacher to explain which class their kid was in, and the "now you are discriminating against Asians" folks started losing their minds, so people just started using his name. Because describing the Asian male teacher as an Asian male teacher is somehow discriminatory. Which does not answer my two questions: 1. Why are all three of the new math teachers at TJ teaching the same class, when they are supposed to work together as a team, teach the same lesson the same day, give the same test, etc.? Shouldn't they each get a different track this year, so that there are three experienced teachers and one newbie teaching RS & Math3, AB Cac, etc for purposes of mentoring and learning bout how TJ math works? 3 newbies and one experienced teacher iall teaching Math 4, which is supposed to be the hardest math class, is just asking for this clusterf*ck to happen. And, 2. What are they going to do now? They have said as a department no curve. My kid said no retakes now-- at the end of the quarter they could decide whether to retake this test or the next one. Which is not how TJ math usually works. So ??? They need to be communicating with the parents and students. This level of uncertainty and chaos is not good luck for anyone, and no one is loving looking at the Ds and Fs in Gradebook. Also, for a good time, head over to TJ Vents on FB. The kids certainly have no problem expressing their frustration about Math 4 and naming names. |
Anonymous
| Your DCs will survive at TJ with a couple Ds and even Fs in the gradebook for a while - I promise. If you get this worked up in 9th grade, it will be a long slog for your and your DC will be miserable because you will make it so. It is a hard school. The kids are smart, the teachers are smart and 99.8% are very caring and help the students. Just calm down ... |
Anonymous
Most kids take Math 4 in 10th grade. Some take it in 11th. But thanks for the lecture. 
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Anonymous
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FWIW, one of the posts under the Math 4 entry on TJ Vents (under the first one that complains about the teacher) is by a student who states that the teacher some people are complaining about is the best one he/she has had at TJ. The student claims not to have done well either so it doesn't seem like they're trying to justify a good outcome.
That kids definitely gets an A+ for attitude. https://www.facebook.com/tjvents/posts/1613408065364466 |
Anonymous
| anyone mailing the principal? Are any freshman parents going to talk about it during back to school night? There has been confusion about whether there is a retake or not for the first test. Did anyone hear about retakes? |
Anonymous
| There is a retake at the end of the quarter of whatever test you choose. |
Anonymous
| PP - and the parents getting most fired up about Math 4 appear to be the ones who super accelerated their kids in summer school so they could take Math 4 in 9th grade ... 10th and 11th grade parents know the drill at TJ, including with retakes ... |
Anonymous
Not really. Unhappy 10th grade parent here. I know the TJ math drill. You do not normally have to wait until the end of the quarter for retakes. You may or may not be limited to one retake per quarter, but you can retake promptly (within a week or two). A kid who can't retake until the end of the quarter does not know whether he gotten a better handle on the material. And does. It really know where he or she stands gradewise, and whether they are in trouble or not. Which is a problem, because Math 4 concepts build on each other. Also, math tests are generally curved to some version of a B. The average on this test was a 61-- a D-,and no curve is being given. Also, graded tests tests are always returned promptly. Under the self advocacy guidelines that is required so that kids can see what they missed and learn from their mistakes. These tests were graded more than a week ago. Most kids have not seen their test, and none of the tests have actually been returned. So it looks like they are trying to keep parents from seeing them. I think the number of freshmen accelerated into Math 4 is making a bad problem worse. It is a really hard math class, and should not be your first TJ math test. I'm sure that brought the average grade down. But, it is not just freshmen parents who are unhappy. Believe me, my kid's sophomore friend's parents are also very, very unhappy. About the grades (in my kid's carpool they ranged from a 54 to a 62). About the lack of curve. Because flunking half the class is ridiculous. About the retake policy on the test. About the fact the teachers will not answer questions about point for test corrections, which is SOP in the math department. And mostly about the complete breakdown in communication. And having a new principal is not helping this situation. For all of his faults, Dr. glazer did good job with PR. He would have recognized there were a couple hundred pissed off kids with pissed off parents, had the math department articulate a plan and emailed it out to math 4 kids and parents. There would be a curve/test corrections/retakes. And mostly, what was being done to make sure there was not a repeat on the next test. He definately had shortcomings. But, he was good on communication and damage control. The silence from the new principal is not a good sign. The longer parents speculate among themselves and get worked up, and the longer kids TJ vent, the greater the chance Jay Matthew's writes a "Half of the Kids at the Nation's Top STEM School Can't Pass a Pre-Calculus Test" hit job article. A D- average on a major test is a problem. Someone needs to solve it and communicate. I nominate the person in charge. But will take answers (not rumors, actual facts) from any TJ Rep. |
Anonymous
+1. I think it’s mostly the freshman parents who are freaking out. Please calm down and back up. Let your kid handle this. You are undoubtedly making more stress for your kid by your overreaction. It will be OK. |
Anonymous
This is a real problem. There is a reason most teachers require retakes within a week or two. The purpose of retakes is to see if kids have properly mastered the material before moving on to new concepts. Says FCPS in adopting retakes. Kids have no way of knowing if they have a better understanding of the material if retakes are being held until the end of the quarter. Also, this violates the written retake policy. What a clusterf*ck. |
Anonymous
| Yes. It's a CF. if a test has an average of 61 across many sections, it isn't a teacher or student problem. It's a test problem. |