Amplify Science is terrible...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is an opportune moment for parents to raise concerns, given the mayoral campaign. Bring it up at their town halls, raise with their surrogates, tell canvassers, write something for 51st directed at the candidates, tell all the surveys we are being constantly harangued by, etc.

The problem is that this issue isn’t widely known or discussed except here on DCUM. So if you bring up your concerns IRL, you’re outing yourself as someone who reads this board which is considered a horrid cesspool by “normal” people (maybe not unfairly).

If teachers really don’t like it, why isn’t the union raising concerns??

I could care less if people assume I read here, hell, I would openly admit it. Stop caring about what other people think. Just the other day a parent mentioned reading here and asked me if I read here too. I said I did and we discussed some of the similar things we have read here. That said, it would be nice if the union got involved but maybe this isn’t on their radar yet.

Yeah, same. Over time I also realized that my favorite people to talk to on the playground also peruse this site. We talk about how it's our guilty pleasure, but it's also sometimes pretty useful. I just can't bring myself to quit this site!

If we can use it to actually build a movement to counter this terrible curriculum, that would be a great outcome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:...and families need to be asking questions about it.

I'm a DCPS science teacher. Amplify is almost entirely screen-based and hands-on activities are simple and poorly-designed. Assessments are long (15 pages printed), numerous (at least two dozen a year), and poorly-written. There are critical omissions in the actual content. Kids hate it. Teacher concerns have been ignored.

Ask your kids and your principal - or, better yet, your cluster instructional superintendent. Ask to see the assessments. Ask to observe an Amplify class. We're going to be stuck with it if families don't start learning about it and speaking up. Charter families - you too. My understanding is that it's already in several charter schools.

Since when did any school admin listen to parental input?

Now if you could get a lab to weigh in about how poorly a DCPS intern was - now you’re talking action.

This is a petition that needs to be sent to the mayor. DCPS will screw it up no matter what.

You don't need a petition. The Council is so sensitive to stuff like this that I'm surprised it hasn't already come up. If a small portion - say three - of the parents who are upset go to a Council hearing and complain then Phill will absolutely go crazy on it. You must go to the hearing and testify though.

[Anonymous]

I did speak to Charles Allen’s office and they didn’t care at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:...and families need to be asking questions about it.

I'm a DCPS science teacher. Amplify is almost entirely screen-based and hands-on activities are simple and poorly-designed. Assessments are long (15 pages printed), numerous (at least two dozen a year), and poorly-written. There are critical omissions in the actual content. Kids hate it. Teacher concerns have been ignored.

Ask your kids and your principal - or, better yet, your cluster instructional superintendent. Ask to see the assessments. Ask to observe an Amplify class. We're going to be stuck with it if families don't start learning about it and speaking up. Charter families - you too. My understanding is that it's already in several charter schools.

Since when did any school admin listen to parental input?

Now if you could get a lab to weigh in about how poorly a DCPS intern was - now you’re talking action.

This is a petition that needs to be sent to the mayor. DCPS will screw it up no matter what.

You don't need a petition. The Council is so sensitive to stuff like this that I'm surprised it hasn't already come up. If a small portion - say three - of the parents who are upset go to a Council hearing and complain then Phill will absolutely go crazy on it. You must go to the hearing and testify though.

Some teachers have testified about it. I think parents usually have more impact, both with DCPS and with Council.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did speak to Charles Allen’s office and they didn’t care at all.

Lots of people I talk to see Amplify science as a niche issue and dismiss it. But maybe it needs to be connected to a larger issue around Ed Tech and just the chaotic, unregulated content that comes through as a result the lack of oversight. In the olden days of text books, the content within the textbooks was discussed ad nauseum. But now with Ed tech, we just let in any content without anyone caring? Not DCPS central office, and the teachers can't easily access it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did speak to Charles Allen’s office and they didn’t care at all.

Lots of people I talk to see Amplify science as a niche issue and dismiss it. But maybe it needs to be connected to a larger issue around Ed Tech and just the chaotic, unregulated content that comes through as a result the lack of oversight. In the olden days of text books, the content within the textbooks was discussed ad nauseum. But now with Ed tech, we just let in any content without anyone caring? Not DCPS central office, and the teachers can't easily access it?

A group of parents and DCPS teachers are working on an initiative to bring more attention to the issues with the proliferation of EdTech (including transparency, content quality, the now well-established science of what heavy screen-based learning does to brains and ... learning...).

https://www.change.org/p/invest-in-dc-kids-and-teachers-not-tech-companies

^^ Think it's largely PK-4th parents so far, but parents of older kids who have experienced issues with things like Amplify science should get involved...to um, amplify these challenges (hah). As well as MS teachers who are dealing with real challenge of teaching and managing kids who are so used to screen-based and gamified content from an early age, that they just struggle with grade-level work and ability to focus.

The 51st is hosting a mayoral candidate forum at MLK library in a couple of weeks:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ask-a-dc-candidate-a-51st-mayoral-forum-tickets-1986440385667

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did speak to Charles Allen’s office and they didn’t care at all.

Lots of people I talk to see Amplify science as a niche issue and dismiss it. But maybe it needs to be connected to a larger issue around Ed Tech and just the chaotic, unregulated content that comes through as a result the lack of oversight. In the olden days of text books, the content within the textbooks was discussed ad nauseum. But now with Ed tech, we just let in any content without anyone caring? Not DCPS central office, and the teachers can't easily access it?

A group of parents and DCPS teachers are working on an initiative to bring more attention to the issues with the proliferation of EdTech (including transparency, content quality, the now well-established science of what heavy screen-based learning does to brains and ... learning...).

https://www.change.org/p/invest-in-dc-kids-and-teachers-not-tech-companies

^^ Think it's largely PK-4th parents so far, but parents of older kids who have experienced issues with things like Amplify science should get involved...to um, amplify these challenges (hah). As well as MS teachers who are dealing with real challenge of teaching and managing kids who are so used to screen-based and gamified content from an early age, that they just struggle with grade-level work and ability to focus.

The 51st is hosting a mayoral candidate forum at MLK library in a couple of weeks:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ask-a-dc-candidate-a-51st-mayoral-forum-tickets-1986440385667

THANK YOU FOR SHARING

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did speak to Charles Allen’s office and they didn’t care at all.

Lots of people I talk to see Amplify science as a niche issue and dismiss it. But maybe it needs to be connected to a larger issue around Ed Tech and just the chaotic, unregulated content that comes through as a result the lack of oversight. In the olden days of text books, the content within the textbooks was discussed ad nauseum. But now with Ed tech, we just let in any content without anyone caring? Not DCPS central office, and the teachers can't easily access it?

I agree but I still don’t understand why my council member (once again) ignored me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is an opportune moment for parents to raise concerns, given the mayoral campaign. Bring it up at their town halls, raise with their surrogates, tell canvassers, write something for 51st directed at the candidates, tell all the surveys we are being constantly harangued by, etc.

The problem is that this issue isn’t widely known or discussed except here on DCUM. So if you bring up your concerns IRL, you’re outing yourself as someone who reads this board which is considered a horrid cesspool by “normal” people (maybe not unfairly).

If teachers really don’t like it, why isn’t the union raising concerns??

I could care less if people assume I read here, hell, I would openly admit it. Stop caring about what other people think. Just the other day a parent mentioned reading here and asked me if I read here too. I said I did and we discussed some of the similar things we have read here. That said, it would be nice if the union got involved but maybe this isn’t on their radar yet.

Yeah, same. Over time I also realized that my favorite people to talk to on the playground also peruse this site. We talk about how it's our guilty pleasure, but it's also sometimes pretty useful. I just can't bring myself to quit this site!

If we can use it to actually build a movement to counter this terrible curriculum, that would be a great outcome.

It's like in middle school when you were afraid to been seen at Walmart, but the only people who would see you there were there too. So you you take a stand on Amplify Science the only people who know you found this cause on dcum are also on dcum.

Plus who cares. The playground moms will exclude you anyway for being awkward or your kid being hyper. You really can't win, so why pretend.