Jay Matthews: VMPI Probably Will Keep Tracking Just Because of Parent Pressure

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The people looking to recall the school board need to add this and critical race theory to their list of arguments.

Asians are disproportionately opting for distance learning, so opening schools won't move the needle for them.

I was as against VMPI as anyone until the latest change but this has zero to do with the recall. This was not from the SB. It was from VDOE.

VDOE has walked back their proposed changes, at least for now. It is important to have a school board and county staff that will keep advanced math in place.
Loudoun has already made changes, and FCPS staff have said they are not sure about the status of AAP.
Given the walkback, the answer should have been AAP is here to stay in Fairfax, along with the rest of their advanced math and honors classes.
This should certainly be an issue to recall the school board. One that pushes equity is likely to abandon advanced math.

Loudoun hasn’t really made changes. They are just saying the plan is “tentative” and they will update when VDOE does. Don’t be fooled.

FALSE.
As explained already, they have made changes, and they are already implemented.
Perhaps they will reverse these changes in the future, but they supported the DOE plan in the school board meeting, and expressed opposition to undoing the changes, which the school board did not pick up on.

Before you said the changes was all dumba$$es in Loudoun who didn't understand what DOE was doing. Now you claim they haven't made changes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The people looking to recall the school board need to add this and critical race theory to their list of arguments.

Asians are disproportionately opting for distance learning, so opening schools won't move the needle for them.

I was as against VMPI as anyone until the latest change but this has zero to do with the recall. This was not from the SB. It was from VDOE.

VDOE has walked back their proposed changes, at least for now. It is important to have a school board and county staff that will keep advanced math in place.
Loudoun has already made changes, and FCPS staff have said they are not sure about the status of AAP.
Given the walkback, the answer should have been AAP is here to stay in Fairfax, along with the rest of their advanced math and honors classes.
This should certainly be an issue to recall the school board. One that pushes equity is likely to abandon advanced math.

Loudoun hasn’t really made changes. They are just saying the plan is “tentative” and they will update when VDOE does. Don’t be fooled.

No it said 2023-2024 and beyond are tentative. They have already pulled some of the advanced math in 2021-2022 and 2022-2023.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The people looking to recall the school board need to add this and critical race theory to their list of arguments.

Asians are disproportionately opting for distance learning, so opening schools won't move the needle for them.

I was as against VMPI as anyone until the latest change but this has zero to do with the recall. This was not from the SB. It was from VDOE.

VDOE has walked back their proposed changes, at least for now. It is important to have a school board and county staff that will keep advanced math in place.
Loudoun has already made changes, and FCPS staff have said they are not sure about the status of AAP.
Given the walkback, the answer should have been AAP is here to stay in Fairfax, along with the rest of their advanced math and honors classes.
This should certainly be an issue to recall the school board. One that pushes equity is likely to abandon advanced math.

Loudoun hasn’t really made changes. They are just saying the plan is “tentative” and they will update when VDOE does. Don’t be fooled.

No it said 2023-2024 and beyond are tentative. They have already pulled some of the advanced math in 2021-2022 and 2022-2023.

Just as other school systems have done.

APS just did that a few years ago. Compacted Math was too compacted so they slowed it a bit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
APS just did that a few years ago. Compacted Math was too compacted so they slowed it a bit.

VMPI's plan is to compact even more, stuffing pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, and they claim algebra 2 into math 8-10, along with stats, data analysis, and modeling, and this is for the weakest kids, not the strongest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

When do you "need" literature? When do you "need" a foreign language? I happen to think that a fully educated person should have some exposure to calculus. Sure, you can take a research stats course that obscures the fundamental linkages to calculus. Or you can take physics or chemistry without calculus. But appreciating calculus would give you such a deeper understanding of the fields that make up modern technology. And I believe that those that can, should.

DP. You need literature if you have any intention of being a well-rounded, cultured person. You need foreign language if you have any desire to study and work in international relations or intelligence. Has your kid taken five years of a foreign language? No? That’s a pity. They are completely missing the chance to communicate fluently with non-English speakers. Do they have any desire to live in a foreign country? Good luck without knowing the language.

In short, not taking calculus does not adversely affect non-STEM majors in any way. However, being ignorant of great literature or foreign languages just makes anyone... ignorant.

I can easily claim that you need calculus if you have any intention of being a well-rounded, cultured person. You need engineering classes if you have any desire to work in the technology sector. Have you taken 2 years of engineering classes? No? You're completely missing the chance to communicate fluently in technical topics. Does your kid want to be a website designer? Good luck without knowing how to code! In short, not taking lit does not adversely affect STEM majors in any way. But being ignorant of mathematics, science, logic, computation, and engineering just makes anyone... ignorant.

(Can you see how silly this argument sounds?)

There's always *something* that you'll miss out on if you don't take the courses, and there's plenty of content that you'll never use no matter what courses you take. I would personally agree with the PP, that calculus and other higher math contributes to a well-rounded education, and is more useful in building productive members of society than literature class is. (It's more useful to be able to think logically and computationally than to be able to quote shakespeare.) But we're all going to have our biases as to what is useful, and what is not. All the kids are probably going to have to take things that 'they'll never use again.' It's a bit silly to try and pretend that somehow humanities classes are 'useful' but STEM classes are not unless you're going into STEM. STEM classes, in general, are no less useful to humanities-leaning students than the humanities are to STEM leaning students.

[Anonymous]

English is spoken throughout the world; learning a foreign language is a waste for most english-speaking people. They'd do better for themselves and the world to study STEM subjects, unless they want to supervise workers who only speak spanish. Probably true for History as well, since that is, and always has been, propaganda. Literature is probably at least 50% propaganda (and always has been).

Public school should absolutely be about enabling students to enter the workforce, support themselves, and live peacefully with their neighbors. That's the justification of paying for *others* to go to school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The people looking to recall the school board need to add this and critical race theory to their list of arguments.

Asians are disproportionately opting for distance learning, so opening schools won't move the needle for them.

I was as against VMPI as anyone until the latest change but this has zero to do with the recall. This was not from the SB. It was from VDOE.

VDOE has walked back their proposed changes, at least for now. It is important to have a school board and county staff that will keep advanced math in place.
Loudoun has already made changes, and FCPS staff have said they are not sure about the status of AAP.
Given the walkback, the answer should have been AAP is here to stay in Fairfax, along with the rest of their advanced math and honors classes.
This should certainly be an issue to recall the school board. One that pushes equity is likely to abandon advanced math.

Loudoun hasn’t really made changes. They are just saying the plan is “tentative” and they will update when VDOE does. Don’t be fooled.

FALSE.
As explained already, they have made changes, and they are already implemented.
Perhaps they will reverse these changes in the future, but they supported the DOE plan in the school board meeting, and expressed opposition to undoing the changes, which the school board did not pick up on.

Before you said the changes was all dumba$$es in Loudoun who didn't understand what DOE was doing. Now you claim they haven't made changes.

I'm the PP and I think we are agreeing. My post wasn't clear. When I wrote that Loudoun hasn't made changes, I meant as a result of the backlash, Loudoun has not made any changes TO THE CHANGES they were already making. They have not backpedaled or added back any of the math that they already took away. They are clearly trying to keep most kids from taking Algebra in 7th, which is pretty much the norm now.

I think we are in agreement with each other but I re-read my post and see why its confusing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
APS just did that a few years ago. Compacted Math was too compacted so they slowed it a bit.

VMPI's plan is to compact even more, stuffing pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, and they claim algebra 2 into math 8-10, along with stats, data analysis, and modeling, and this is for the weakest kids, not the strongest.

I don't think they've shared the proposed content for the new classes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
APS just did that a few years ago. Compacted Math was too compacted so they slowed it a bit.

VMPI's plan is to compact even more, stuffing pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, and they claim algebra 2 into math 8-10, along with stats, data analysis, and modeling, and this is for the weakest kids, not the strongest.

I don't think they've shared the proposed content for the new classes?

There was a webinar about the plan for 8-10.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
APS just did that a few years ago. Compacted Math was too compacted so they slowed it a bit.

VMPI's plan is to compact even more, stuffing pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, and they claim algebra 2 into math 8-10, along with stats, data analysis, and modeling, and this is for the weakest kids, not the strongest.

I don't think they've shared the proposed content for the new classes?

They have stated that Algebra 1 won't happen until 9th and yet somehow magically kids will still be able to take Calculus while in high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
APS just did that a few years ago. Compacted Math was too compacted so they slowed it a bit.

VMPI's plan is to compact even more, stuffing pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, and they claim algebra 2 into math 8-10, along with stats, data analysis, and modeling, and this is for the weakest kids, not the strongest.

I don't think they've shared the proposed content for the new classes?

They have stated that Algebra 1 won't happen until 9th and yet somehow magically kids will still be able to take Calculus while in high school.

Maybe a test-in class for those kids who were able to prepare with Khan Academy or who had parents paying for private classes and tutors?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I think we are in agreement with each other but I re-read my post and see why its confusing.

OK. I thought you were the poster who has been constantly saying people are speculating about changes and after the walkback that no changes are happening.
Blamed everything on Loudoun claiming the staff didn't understand what the state was doing, when in fact they understand very well.

[Anonymous]

The 'don't be fooled' made me think it was that poster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
APS just did that a few years ago. Compacted Math was too compacted so they slowed it a bit.

VMPI's plan is to compact even more, stuffing pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, and they claim algebra 2 into math 8-10, along with stats, data analysis, and modeling, and this is for the weakest kids, not the strongest.

I don't think they've shared the proposed content for the new classes?

It is in the web videos. Look on Youtube for the VA DOE channel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:English is spoken throughout the world; learning a foreign language is a waste for most english-speaking people. They'd do better for themselves and the world to study STEM subjects, unless they want to supervise workers who only speak spanish. Probably true for History as well, since that is, and always has been, propaganda. Literature is probably at least 50% propaganda (and always has been).

For foreign languages, I know someone is going to chime in with "a well-rounded person" and "the global economy" blah blah blah. But yeah I learned three foreign languages in high school and college but don't use them.

History, if properly taught, is essential for understanding current events. As actually taught, it is useless, because it actively misrepresents the past. All this CRT garbage is going to turn that up to 11.

Nonetheless, it is very necessary to learn how to construct coherent logical arguments and present them well. History and literature courses are a good vehicle for doing that.