1st grade sheet is titled "Cloze [sic] the gap"

[Anonymous]

Not being in education, I would immediately think misspelling vs term. I would not have googled the word, just assumed the teacher misspelled close. Who would think otherwise if you weren't familiar with the term?

[Anonymous]

I have 3 children in school and I have never heard of that word before.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have 3 children in school and I have never heard of that word before.

Therefore, it must be an uncommon practice despite all evidence to the contrary. Your experience IS THE NORM!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not being in education, I would immediately think misspelling vs term. I would not have googled the word, just assumed the teacher misspelled close. Who would think otherwise if you weren't familiar with the term?

My SIL is in a different field from me. I don't assume that she has mispelled words because I am unfamiliar with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not being in education, I would immediately think misspelling vs term. I would not have googled the word, just assumed the teacher misspelled close. Who would think otherwise if you weren't familiar with the term?

My SIL is in a different field from me. I don't assume that she has mispelled words because I am unfamiliar with them.

I think the point here is that the word was presented to 1st graders as a typical reading word when they (and their parents) have no idea what it means and do not use it in everyday life. Additionally, the word was used in a pun as a replacement for "Close" when many of the kids do not know the correct spelling for "close" and will now assume that it is to be spelled with a 'z'.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not being in education, I would immediately think misspelling vs term. I would not have googled the word, just assumed the teacher misspelled close. Who would think otherwise if you weren't familiar with the term?

My SIL is in a different field from me. I don't assume that she has mispelled words because I am unfamiliar with them.

I think the point here is that the word was presented to 1st graders as a typical reading word when they (and their parents) have no idea what it means and do not use it in everyday life. Additionally, the word was used in a pun as a replacement for "Close" when many of the kids do not know the correct spelling for "close" and will now assume that it is to be spelled with a 'z'.

OMG, are you serious? I'm sure 1st graders are paying utmost attention to the title of their worksheets. Your kid is not at risk for spelling the word "close" with a "z" instead of an "s" for their rest of their life. This is a manufactured "problem" by parents who clearly have too much time on their hands.

[Anonymous]

It amazes me that we have any teachers left willing to do the job with the scrutiny they face.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, it's a teacher in-joke? I mean no one's teaching first graders education theory and the technique can be put to use without a label. Not the best place for a pun. Petty point, but still.

No, it's a common educational exercise, cleverly titled, and you didn't

A) catch the reference; or
B) bother to Google it, which would've saved you a post here.

But bitch about teachers, 'cause that's fun.

Not OP, but I didn't get it either and I don't see why parents should have to google elementary school homework terms in order to understand them. I guessed it was just a cutesy-hip way to spell close.

I'm an academic and I never put my profession's jargon into documents meant for the general public because I don't assume that people will catch the reference. That's just insular thinking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Come on, people. “Cloze” has been used for years in education. When you do cloze activities, you fill in words that make sense that are missing in sentences.
It was a play on words that was obviously missed by you all.

http://study.com/academy/lesson/cloze-procedure-technique-and-definition.html

I've never heard of it and my youngest is currently in 2nd grade. So maybe it has been "used for years" but that certainly doesn't mean that every parent has heard the term. There's no need to be a dick about it.

But it's interesting to see how OP reacted, jumping to the conclusion that it was a misspelling. Parents jump to the same conclusions about the way they teach math now. All these parents, thinking they know better than trained teachers, challenging them at every turn, prattling on about Pearson, etc. Like parents are education experts or something. It's truly baffling.

Look, every profession comes with some terms of art that are only used amongst those professionals. If you don't like your professionalism being questioned, don't spill the jargon on a first grade assignment. You need to distinguish between when you are teaching the students and when you are learning about teaching.

This. The other PP is overly defensive, and incorrect that everyone should know the term "Cloze." I have all kinds of industry terminology I could throw at you and I wouldn't expect you to know it.

There is no place for professional jargon on a first-grader's worksheet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Former teacher here.....

As many have stated, the close technique is used often in teaching. Cloze is not misspelled.

OP - when presenting this sheet to the students, did the teacher explain the use of the word “Cloze” in the title?
He/she may have explained to students the meaning of this word and your child didn’t convey that information to you.

I think the thing that bothers me here is that too many people have chosen to criticize the teacher, and education in general, instead of doing a simple google search to discover that the teacher was not in error.

As we have determined, cloze is not misspelled. However "close technique" is not the correct term for the worksheet.

I did not criticize the teacher, MCPS, or education in general. I did criticize the use of a pun on a worksheet for 6-year-olds. A parent should not need to Google terms for 1st grade lessons.

You seem to be confused about your role here. You're not in an oversight capacity of the teacher and the school.

If it's a public school, then yes she is. You seem to be very confused about democracy. We are all in an oversight capacity of the teacher and the school. We all vote the Board of Ed in and out. We, as parents, absolutely DO need to make sure that our kids are being taught properly. Does this one silly use of jargon on a worksheet merit any real attention? Of course not. Even if it were a typo, as an isolated mistake it wouldn't matter. But saying that parents aren't in an "oversight capacity" is wrong.

No, we're not. You don't know better than the teacher. You're just a parent. Stop thinking you know more better than the teacher. You don't..

You're quite oversimplifying. Of course I know better than the teacher about some things. And there's quite a wide range of teacher quality as well. And there are many things about which the teacher knows better. You sound extremely defensive, to the point of irrationality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Yes, we are. In the same way that we are oversight of Congress and the President and every appointee thereof. They are, ultimately, accountable to their public constituency. Does that mean one parent is the "boss" of them? Of course not. But it means that we, the public as a whole, are indeed their ultimate overseers. As it should be in a democracy. Which is why this "so it looks ridiculous and everyone hates it, just trust us the "new math" way is better, because you don't have number sense" is ridiculous.
I also have to admit I find it funny when I hear people with M.Ed.'s tell parents who have STEM degrees which require a lot of higher math that we just don't understand "number sense". Okay. I fully admit, I have less of a sense of how to manage a classroom and less understanding of child development and education than most elementary school teachers. But "number sense", I think I get.

Presumably you do get number sense. What you don't know much about is teaching math.

In certain parts of Montgomery County, everybody thinks they're an expert.

No offense, but from the math test scores we're seeing county-wide, it doesn't seem like the teachers know much about teaching math either. And who does well? The kids with rich, educated parents. Gee, I wonder where they're getting their math ability from?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Come on, people. “Cloze” has been used for years in education. When you do cloze activities, you fill in words that make sense that are missing in sentences.
It was a play on words that was obviously missed by you all.

http://study.com/academy/lesson/cloze-procedure-technique-and-definition.html

I've never heard of it and my youngest is currently in 2nd grade. So maybe it has been "used for years" but that certainly doesn't mean that every parent has heard the term. There's no need to be a dick about it.

But it's interesting to see how OP reacted, jumping to the conclusion that it was a misspelling. Parents jump to the same conclusions about the way they teach math now. All these parents, thinking they know better than trained teachers, challenging them at every turn, prattling on about Pearson, etc. Like parents are education experts or something. It's truly baffling.

Look, every profession comes with some terms of art that are only used amongst those professionals. If you don't like your professionalism being questioned, don't spill the jargon on a first grade assignment. You need to distinguish between when you are teaching the students and when you are learning about teaching.

This. The other PP is overly defensive, and incorrect that everyone should know the term "Cloze." I have all kinds of industry terminology I could throw at you and I wouldn't expect you to know it.

There is no place for professional jargon on a first-grader's worksheet.

We get professionally made textbooks and photocopied assessments all the time that use jargon, including cloze. This level of fuss shows parents with nothing else better to do than criticize teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Yes, we are. In the same way that we are oversight of Congress and the President and every appointee thereof. They are, ultimately, accountable to their public constituency. Does that mean one parent is the "boss" of them? Of course not. But it means that we, the public as a whole, are indeed their ultimate overseers. As it should be in a democracy. Which is why this "so it looks ridiculous and everyone hates it, just trust us the "new math" way is better, because you don't have number sense" is ridiculous.
I also have to admit I find it funny when I hear people with M.Ed.'s tell parents who have STEM degrees which require a lot of higher math that we just don't understand "number sense". Okay. I fully admit, I have less of a sense of how to manage a classroom and less understanding of child development and education than most elementary school teachers. But "number sense", I think I get.

Presumably you do get number sense. What you don't know much about is teaching math.

In certain parts of Montgomery County, everybody thinks they're an expert.

No offense, but from the math test scores we're seeing county-wide, it doesn't seem like the teachers know much about teaching math either. And who does well? The kids with rich, educated parents. Gee, I wonder where they're getting their math ability from?

The tutors their parents pay for. And those are typically MCPS teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Come on, people. “Cloze” has been used for years in education. When you do cloze activities, you fill in words that make sense that are missing in sentences.
It was a play on words that was obviously missed by you all.

http://study.com/academy/lesson/cloze-procedure-technique-and-definition.html

I've never heard of it and my youngest is currently in 2nd grade. So maybe it has been "used for years" but that certainly doesn't mean that every parent has heard the term. There's no need to be a dick about it.

But it's interesting to see how OP reacted, jumping to the conclusion that it was a misspelling. Parents jump to the same conclusions about the way they teach math now. All these parents, thinking they know better than trained teachers, challenging them at every turn, prattling on about Pearson, etc. Like parents are education experts or something. It's truly baffling.

Look, every profession comes with some terms of art that are only used amongst those professionals. If you don't like your professionalism being questioned, don't spill the jargon on a first grade assignment. You need to distinguish between when you are teaching the students and when you are learning about teaching.

This. The other PP is overly defensive, and incorrect that everyone should know the term "Cloze." I have all kinds of industry terminology I could throw at you and I wouldn't expect you to know it.

There is no place for professional jargon on a first-grader's worksheet.

We get professionally made textbooks and photocopied assessments all the time that use jargon, including cloze. This level of fuss shows parents with nothing else better to do than criticize teachers.

What level of fuss? OP posted a question on the internet. Hardly a fuss. Others have responded to the more general statements of "teachers know better and parents should shut up" and the dismissiveness of parent criticism of 2.0 math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Yes, we are. In the same way that we are oversight of Congress and the President and every appointee thereof. They are, ultimately, accountable to their public constituency. Does that mean one parent is the "boss" of them? Of course not. But it means that we, the public as a whole, are indeed their ultimate overseers. As it should be in a democracy. Which is why this "so it looks ridiculous and everyone hates it, just trust us the "new math" way is better, because you don't have number sense" is ridiculous.
I also have to admit I find it funny when I hear people with M.Ed.'s tell parents who have STEM degrees which require a lot of higher math that we just don't understand "number sense". Okay. I fully admit, I have less of a sense of how to manage a classroom and less understanding of child development and education than most elementary school teachers. But "number sense", I think I get.

Presumably you do get number sense. What you don't know much about is teaching math.

In certain parts of Montgomery County, everybody thinks they're an expert.

No offense, but from the math test scores we're seeing county-wide, it doesn't seem like the teachers know much about teaching math either. And who does well? The kids with rich, educated parents. Gee, I wonder where they're getting their math ability from?

The tutors their parents pay for. And those are typically MCPS teachers.

Oh please. If you think the score differential is driven by a large number of tutors, you have very poor number sense.