Reply to How is working above grade level in math handled in ES under 2.0?

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[quote=Anonymous]Where are you people?  In my daughter's 4th grade class, they are grouped by current level.  I say "current" b/c there is flexibility to move kids up.

Here's what I think.  When a new initiative comes along, it's usually embraced fully, and by that, I mean that teachers go to the extreme end during the implementation phase.  I can't blame them necessarily, especially if they're relatively new, but just b/c 2.0 is about developing number sense (in math), that doesn't mean that kids can't be pushed ahead -learning number sense at higher levels.

I'm sorry if some of your children are sort of "stuck."  That's the county's fault for not training properly - or for not reminding teachers that it's all about balance.

When I taught low-performing ninth graders, I had to tackle grammar (basic grammar - What does a complete sentence look like?) WHILE challenging them to think critically.  One wasn't going to suffer for the other.  Sadly, that wasn't the philosophy some of my other colleagues shared.  So most kids were given worksheet after worksheet.

I love that they're learning number sense, which is something that I was never taught as a kid . . . and for this reason, ran from math toward English!

But it's equally important to know basic facts, too.  You can't have one w/o the other.  Einstein knew his facts, too!

[quote=Anonymous]It's good that the teacher is giving her more challenging work than the other kids. This is not encouraged in the new MCPS math curriculum.

I would definitely encourage her, but be careful of teaching her your "old" methods. MCPS's new curriculum teaches math differently than we were taught. The idea is to make sure that the kids really get the solid number sense. My 4th grader is extremely strong at mental calculation, and I think some of that (besides his amazing memory) is because of the way of teaching. Many things are odd to us, but they do make sense to the kids.

I would ask the teacher how the teacher is handling the instruction to these two children. If teacher doesn't have time, can the kids get math specialist time?

I would not do Kumon, which is rote memorization and really doesn't teach number sense.

You might also want to consider some online math courses, if she's really self-motivated. There are courses through JHU (Hopkins) and through Stanford's EPGY program. These courses are geared specifically to kids who are far ahead.[/quote][/quote]

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