Reply to Starr on Kojo's Show on Math Acceleration

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][Please answer the question regarding C 2.0.

1. How did the parents who decided that their child is bored in class figure out that their child had mastered the grade level C 2.0 curriculum?
2. How did the parents obtain the complete C 2.0 math curriculum to answer the question above?

It is sad that you need to stoop to derogatory terms in any response.  Sure, Starr has violated your sense of entitlement but that's no reason to be obnoxious.  Ever wonder why MCPS ignores parents??

[/quote]
Please answer - did you see math curricculum for G1-G2? Do you realy think parents cannot see if their children mastered concept of addition 1 to 20 and application of this knowelage to solve problem?[/quote]

The constant evasiveness in answering the two questions above is persuasive evidence that the demand for math acceleration may be more about bragging rights and less about learning.  Remember that storm over losing the GT label?

I get the GTA emails and I know there is one individual obsessed with math pathways.  All the postings about math pathways may the work of one person.[/quote]

One need not have seen the entire curriculum (which it should the the school's job to provide, by the way) to know that a child who has already mastered multiplication and division by 1st grade is not going to be served by the on-grade 1st grade curriculum, whatever new labels or creative methods of instruction you introduce. There are only so many ways to add 2+2. If you told me that MCPS's new way of teaching 2+2 is so new and different from what has been taught for the past 10,000 years that even someone who has already mastered two-digit multiplication would have something new to learn from it, I would be even more concerned.

Now, at higher grade levels, I could almost see it. It is perfectly possible to come up with challenging, tricky problems, problems that would stump most grownups, that do not require any math beyond 4th grade level to solve. See the problem lists for Kangaroo Math or any other math olympiad for example. But, first, these aren't really math problems so much as logic problems or creativity problems. Second, do you really think that a classroom in which the bright kids are given a string of olympiad problems while the others are learning the on-grade material is really the optimal learning environment?

It's a funny coincidence, but today my daughter came home from school with a very challenging logical puzzle. This after two months of her entire class (the 5th graders who were placed into 6th grade math, and most of whom would have been placed in 7th grade math if the school still offered such an option) being bored out of their minds. For whatever reason, they've been forced to spent this entire time reviewing material they'd learned two years ago. Well today was their lucky day. They got the puzzle. The teacher did not teach them how to solve logical puzzles. He did not do one together with them in class. He just handed them this one (more challenging than the ones I remember from the math GRE) and told them to solve it. That's it. Is this what differentiation under 2.0 will look like?

[/quote]

Got it!! You think that the ability to mechanically do things is a demonstration of understanding!!!  That is the problem.  You confuse mechanical ability, rote memorization, etc., with a deep understanding.

AS for your daughter in 5th grade--she may be doing more than what they used to do in 5th grade before.  She may be learning more.  A good thing, no?
[/quote]

Look, I was trying to have a reasonable conversation with you, but your response shows that you did not bother to read a single thing I wrote. I really don't want to make this into a pissing contest, but here goes. I have a PhD in math. My graduate work included several semesters of teaching the subject to college students at various levels of ability. I have also been tutoring math to kids of all ages since I was in 10th grade. Now it is possible that your own credentials are much more impressive. Perhaps you've been teaching elementary school math for 20 years in both the inner city and the CTY campus. Perhaps you are the recognized expert on math education in this country or the world. But as you are clearly an advocate of alternative ways of measuring mastery and achievement, how about this. I will post a snapshot of the logic problem my 5th grader got in class today (which none in her class could solve, because no one taught them how, and which I am still trying to puzzle out, an hour after she had gone to bed). If you can solve it in under 15 minutes, I will bow to your authority on the new curriculum and anything else pertaining to math acceleration or the proper way to measure "understanding". But I will still demand specifics rather than just vitriol against entitled parents who think their kids are special. Deal?[/quote]

Dude, anyone can write that they are a brain surgeon on an anonymous forum.  You demonstrate that you aren't very smart when you say [b]"I will post a snapshot of the logic problem my 5th grader got in class today (which none in her class could solve, because no one taught them how, and which I am still trying to puzzle out, an hour after she had gone to bed). If you can solve it in under 15 minutes, I will bow to your authority on the new curriculum and anything else pertaining to math acceleration ..........[/b]"  How can you know if I spent 15 minutes or an hour to solve the problem [b]THAT STUMPED YOU[/b] unless you know exactly when I read the posting?

Even more ridiculous is your claim that solving that problem would  will make me an "[b]authority on the new curriculum and anything else pertaining to math acceleration[/b]." Seriously, it is utterly ridiculous arguments like this that makes one question the credibility of your arguments about math acceleration.  I worry about the kids you tutored.

Just do me a favor--if you have a credible gripe, stop hiding behind anonymity and post your arguments with proper justification.  Even better, write to MCPS, the BOE, elected officials.

Oh, good luck solving the problem your daughter received.  Is it possible that the math is too complicated for you?  Out of curiosity, was your PhD in math or economics?[/quote]

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