Reply to 2.0 1st grade curriculum: Carbon Dioxide? Yes! Telling time? No!

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
1.  For math, a book is infinitely better than a jumble of worksheets because [b]a book uses consistent definitions/terminology and promotes a clear building of each new concept from the previous ones[/b].  That is the crux of mathematical thinking.  It is confusing as hell to jump back and forth among topics and inconsistent definitions/terminology/conventions.

2. Often DD shows me blatant errors in the math worksheets she was given, and every single time it says "Curriculum 2.0" at the top.
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Evidently you've never encountered any of the very many bad math textbooks that are out there.[/quote]

I'm an engineer, I've had more math than most math teachers, I've done 3D calculus long hand before computers.  I've never had a bad math textbook in my life.  It's pretty damn simple, there is an explanation, some sample problems and exercises.  Answers to the evens or odds, usually in the back of the book.  Front and back of the books, have charts and tables of properties, which you learn to reference to be able to apply to solve problems.
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Teacher explains the lesson, if the explanation does not stick you ask him/her the next day, come in before or after school to get help.  [/b]Does that sound familiar?  Haven't seen an MCPS teacher yet that offers help outside of class time, but that may change as my children get older.  I can't tell you how many times I have heard[b] "my child doesn't remember how the teacher told them to do x, but when I tell my kid they tell me I'm not doing it the way the teacher did."  All because there is no reference.
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What I have seen is chaotic classrooms with unsure kids working in groups by themselves.  I've seen them draw sticks and dots for years to the point they are so bored they can do it blindfolded.  Maybe this remedial work helps those who can't grasp math or do not have the home life that supports learning, but the rest of the children also matter.  It's gotten so the pendulum has slid all the way to remedial without consideration of the needs of the average or above average learner.

Meanwhile we are facing an increase in property tax, to support a 2 Billion (that is Billion with a B) plus school budget for a school system that can't buy a book or implement a curriculum.  How much of that property tax increase will benefit my kids? None, it's going to salary increases and to prepare for the onslaught of non english speaking kids that will overwhelm our school system.

Okay so drawing 3 rows of 5 dots can be beneficial for understanding the concept of 3 x 5 = 15.  But year after year, my kids do busy work without learning the core facts.

I refuse to buy books any more, and will only go to the library.  My kids are so bored with school, they just read the whole day.  The only feedback I get from teachers is that my kids are reading too much and not paying attention, while the cruise through with A's and the younger ones with P's.  This system is killing their love of learning.[/quote]

Yes, they are shuttled through 'stations' but where is the teaching? Some kids get things right away, but others need to be taught it -- or read it -- several times before they get it. Which is where the text book comes in. The kid who doesn't get it during class can study the book at home. The can go over it until they get it. Kids CANNOT study with this system. There is nothing to study, and no way for parents to help them.[/quote]

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