Reply to Deal, BASIS or Latin for a engineering-minded boy who also loves humanities

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Let me quote John Dewey “If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow. 
This is my feeling about BASIS.
My child is doing quite well, but I feel the model and curriculum, which has not been modified since the first BASIS was established 14 years ago is shortchanging kids.
A very good Algebra II student who has no difficulty with solving Saxon problems, my child was not able to tackle  several Algebra I  test problems given at another school, where criticial thinking has to be used to crack the problem,  rather than simply applying a formula and solving it.
When I think of a STEM school these days, I envision a school like the Bulldog Tech middle school in San Jose.  [/quote]

As a 3rd-generation math major, and 5th-generation stem major, with 20 years of collegiate teaching experience (haven't done it in a couple of years, though), I both agree and disagree with this.

Saxon does indeed short-change on theory.  Normally, a good teacher recognizes this and makes up for it in class, though.  BASIS requires teachers to have relevant degrees, instead of general education degrees.  So, my concern would not be quite as strong as you have expressed.  Under different circumstances, I would agree wholeheartedly with your concerns regarding Saxon.  Many teachers are not equipped to plug the conceptual gaps.  In the colleges I taught at (UT, Texas A&M), a number of Saxon kids WHO HAD PASSED CALC AP-BC had to go back and take Precalculus because they couldn't pass the placement exams.  It depends, of course, on your career path.  Not all STEM fields require a theoretical understanding of math, and Saxon is quite good at application.

As to the "teach differently" concept, I think this is precisely where we have gone astray.  There is a reason that the most highly regarded mathematics texts follow similar approaches.  That's because it is the most logical, structured, and proven approach that leads to quality understanding.  Many kids have not learned how to use a math text, and that is where we should be looking.  Instead, we throw technology and "shortcuts" at the problem, and try to compensate for our lack of teaching qualifications.  Those shortcuts and tricks invariably have to be untaught at some point in a student's mathematical career, or else the student will hit a ceiling and cease to progress in mathematics.  (To be fair, the use of a shortcut by a student with full understanding of the theory, is perfectly ok, because they can explain WHY the shortcut works).  Instead, the best student doesn't just do the minimum problem set, or just the odds -- they do all of the problems in the book, because the problems in the best texts are carefully chosen to help the student progress (see Martin-Gay's book -- it is exceptional in this regard, and she has solutions to most of her problems posted in videos online).  You might be surprised by how many students I have privately tutored that couldn't do basic math because of all the shortcuts and technology that was thrown their way, but became strong students when I made them use a quality, old-fashioned textbook, and refused to let them use calculators for anything.  You should see the surprise on kids' faces when they realize how capable they really are!

Here, I think BASIS has the best model.  It hires the most qualified teachers available.  Other schools have some fantastic teachers, but it's normally a crapshoot as to whether you are lucky enough to get one.  At BASIS, the odds are reversed -- the majority are quite good.

With the right teacher, the choice of curriculum is secondary, provided it isn't fundamentally wrong.

I have my DS in BASIS, and I couldn't be happier with the choice.[/quote]

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