Reply to VA math changes - ways to speak out

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]There's a video on this cite that walks through the initiative:  https://www.doe.virginia.gov/instruction/mathematics/vmpi/index.shtml#time

It looks like a positive thing. Kids can still take calculus by the end of high school. I don't know what some of you are talking about. VA is modernizing their math curriculum which has been the same damn courses for the past 30+ years. Kids who love STEM but have a particular focus can tailor 1/2 credit modules to fit their interests, which means they will be more engaged in what they're learning. THAT'S HUGE! So now a kid who is interested in computer science can take modules in logic and reasoning and discrete mathmatics. A kid interested in data science can take statistics and data analysis. Or, they can still take calculus if they really want or need to do so. AND, they're still offering AP classes. I don't get why some parents are so up in arms. It sounds great![/quote]

I like the greater variety of offerings in 11th-12th and the idea of introducing statistical concepts earlier.  My main issue with it is this idea that magically, a teacher is now going to be able to appropriately address the needs of students from remedial to gifted all in one classroom, whether it's kindergarten or 10th grade.  That is fantasy land.  Reality is the teacher will have to focus on the students who are below standard.  The students who pick it up quickly end up bored, turned off of math, and probably drafted to be teachers' aides. It seems their solution to not enough URM students being identified as gifted in math is to just not allow anyone to be gifted in math and get an appropriately demanding experience in the subject. That's not equity. I don't mind that my kids would be introduced to algebra in 8th grade (that's when I took it) but I do mind that they would lose their love of math because they are doing the same thing over and over while the teacher tries to get other kids up to speed.  If it's so great to give the quicker kids deeper exploration, then there should be different class sections for the kids who are ready for that depth and a teacher who is actually focused on their needs.

It is also a concern that they are IMO being vague about what they mean about getting to calculus.  Will AP Calculus BC be offered?  Or is it just AB? Kids applying to elite engineering programs should have BC to be competitive. They say, oh, it won't be a disadvantage in applications since students are judged against what's offered at your school. So, fine (maybe?) for admissions but then you show up for college and are in classes with students who have mostly taken BC. Now you are not able to perform at the same level. 
 [/quote]

Kids get pushed into accelerated math because their parents have either paid for tutors or have the ability to expose them to advanced math concepts at home, and they've picked up the concepts. Those kids aren't necessarily gifted in math, they are just ahead. It would be a nice change for northern Virginians to get out of this competitive thing we do in all aspects of our lives, including pushing and pressuring our children to be ahead of their peers. 95% of kids won't need BC calculus. Those who do will get it in college again anyway. Hate to break it to you, but there's not much difference between AB and BC. If your kid was ready for BC in 12th, they'll be ready as a freshman. [/quote]

Some kids are crazy bored and push themselves into accelerated math, without tutors or parents pushing them at home. They're crazy bored because, as PP noted, they end up as just the teacher's aide, responsible for teaching all their peers instead of learning anything new themselves.

I'm also concerned about the vaguery of calculus - I'm worried that the students who do want to take it will have to, in practice, take a year of summer school to get the full progression of topics to get them ready for calculus in 12th. [/quote]

Those students are a very, very, small minority. And, let's be honest here. If you're thinking your kid needs to take pre-calc in the summer before 12th, you're one of those tiger parents who are precisely why the system needs to change.

URMs are just as talented in math as their asian and white peers, but most don't have the means to jump ahead and demonstrate that. Now the system will be fair. Your snowflake will survive.[/quote]

How do you know the students who do well in Algebra in 8th grade (remember, these are 'accelerated' students) without tutors are a 'very small minority'? I don't think you can take DCUM as a fair cross-section of the county. I'd posit they're the majority of students in these classes.

It's absolutely ridiculous for kids to *have* to take any summer school classes. [b]That's the point[/b] - if there's *no path to calculus in 12th without summer school* (which is the concern above) that's a problem.

I wholeheartedly agree that URM are just as talented in math as asian/white peers. I would 100% support efforts designed to provide additional support/enrichment to those students to help level the playing field that more affluent students get by having parents that put them in preschool, read to them every night, and can help answer questions on their homework.

Right now, you're saying the system will be more fair because the kids with higher SES will not be permitted to perform to the best of their ability. Should we ban parents from reading to their preschoolers so that everyone is more 'equal' in Kindergarten? No, that's insane. We should put in efforts to help every child get that same kind of enrichment. [/quote]

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