Anonymous
09/22/2012 20:56
Subject: How hard to push to correct errors in the curriculum?
Heck, I was bothered because our teacher had on the overhead that certain things would be done on "Monday's" and "Tuesday's."
Anonymous
09/22/2012 20:28
Subject: How hard to push to correct errors in the curriculum?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Earthquakes only occur on transform boundaries (tell that to Sumatra and Japan); the Richter scale has a ronge from 1-10;
Holy sh*t. Even with a pretty out of date geology degree I can spot the transform boundary info as a pretty glaring error, and not at the margins either. (The Richter scale item, while wrong, doesn't bother me *quite* as much since it's at least semi accurate for expected terrestrial quakes.)
As a fellow citizen, PLEASE follow up on this. Because it's not just your kid who needs a decent science education. And we ALL need an educated populace.
Yes, please follow up on this. It needs to be changed.
Anonymous
09/22/2012 18:20
Subject: How hard to push to correct errors in the curriculum?
Anonymous wrote:10:21 again (not OP). But just to point out why this is a big deal: while the most well known US fault (the San Andreas) is a transform fault where the plaes slide horizontally past one another, it is actually subduction faults (where one plate slides down under another) that generally produce faults with the most energy/damage. For example BOTH the Indonesian & Japanese Tsunamis were the result of earthquakes along a subduction zone. In the US both Alaska & the pacific NW are at significant risk from this type of activity. This is not just an academic question, it directly impacts the type of environmental risks different places face.
This is in the grade curriculum.
Anonymous
09/22/2012 16:15
Subject: How hard to push to correct errors in the curriculum?
10:21 again (not OP). But just to point out why this is a big deal: while the most well known US fault (the San Andreas) is a transform fault where the plaes slide horizontally past one another, it is actually subduction faults (where one plate slides down under another) that generally produce faults with the most energy/damage. For example BOTH the Indonesian & Japanese Tsunamis were the result of earthquakes along a subduction zone. In the US both Alaska & the pacific NW are at significant risk from this type of activity. This is not just an academic question, it directly impacts the type of environmental risks different places face.
Anonymous
09/22/2012 13:46
Subject: Re:How hard to push to correct errors in the curriculum?
Anonymous wrote:somehow I managed to get through college and law school without knowing what a transform boundary is. Go figure.
but if you are going to teach it, teach it right.
Anonymous
09/22/2012 13:44
Subject: How hard to push to correct errors in the curriculum?
Could the school board help?
Anonymous
09/22/2012 13:08
Subject: Re:How hard to push to correct errors in the curriculum?
somehow I managed to get through college and law school without knowing what a transform boundary is. Go figure. 
Anonymous
09/22/2012 12:51
Subject: How hard to push to correct errors in the curriculum?
The Richter scale is an open ended scale. Mathematically, it has factors of the log of distance and log of signal amplitude. Practically, most seismologists do not this it is possible to have a 10.0 earthquake on earth (largest recorded is 9.5), and earthquakes less than 2.5 are usually not felt.
Anonymous
09/22/2012 12:30
Subject: How hard to push to correct errors in the curriculum?
My wife taught 5th grade through last year. She says that while they teach that a transform boundary is where a lot of activity occurs, they also teach that earthquakes occur anywhere there is a boundary whether convergent or divergent. VA isn't on a boundary, but there is earthquake activity. She mentioned something about the Ring of Fire being on a convergent boundary. According to her, the science unit is put together by the County and that teacher might be using something from old curriculum.
Anonymous
09/22/2012 10:21
Subject: How hard to push to correct errors in the curriculum?
Anonymous wrote:Earthquakes only occur on transform boundaries (tell that to Sumatra and Japan); the Richter scale has a ronge from 1-10;
Holy sh*t. Even with a pretty out of date geology degree I can spot the transform boundary info as a pretty glaring error, and not at the margins either. (The Richter scale item, while wrong, doesn't bother me *quite* as much since it's at least semi accurate for expected terrestrial quakes.)
As a fellow citizen, PLEASE follow up on this. Because it's not just your kid who needs a decent science education. And we ALL need an educated populace.
Anonymous
09/22/2012 09:18
Subject: How hard to push to correct errors in the curriculum?
Anonymous wrote:Earthquakes only occur on transform boundaries (tell that to Sumatra and Japan); the Richter scale has a ronge from 1-10;
so what is the correct ronge?
Anonymous
09/22/2012 08:29
Subject: How hard to push to correct errors in the curriculum?
Earthquakes only occur on transform boundaries (tell that to Sumatra and Japan); the Richter scale has a ronge from 1-10;
Anonymous
09/22/2012 07:57
Subject: How hard to push to correct errors in the curriculum?
Anonymous wrote:At back to school night, I was looking at my 5th graders science material. They are covering my expertise. In there, handouts were glued to the page, but the handouts had blatant falsehoods. Definitions that are incorrect. I spoke to the teacher, who said it came from the county. In addition, (according to my daughter), information spoken by the teacher is also incorrect, but I do not know if that is what my daughter heard, or what the teacher said. But the hand out is wrong.
I have talked to people, trying to get things fixed. I am also talking with my daughter, to make sure she knows what the current knowledge is. My concern is, if she answers correct, but is marked wrong because the teacher got it wrong, I will fight that fight down the road.
How about some specifics? What are the "blatant falsehoods"?
Anonymous
09/22/2012 07:55
Subject: How hard to push to correct errors in the curriculum?
You need to contact DOE for Virginia. I moved here from out of state and teach History and noticed things that aren't particularly "right". History is pretty subjective and if the kids were really learning how to be historians, they would know to evaluate all perspectives and sources, and that memorizing facts is NOT what a historian does. Unfortunately, I am stuck. I tell the kids to evaluate all their sources, including myself and the textbooks because they can have differing answers to the same things, but that the test they take at the end of the year will expect a particular answer...
Virginia just passed a law that ties teacher performance to student performance (which means they will tie it to the SOL)...40% will come from this.
Virginia just passed a law that ties teacher performance to student performance (which means they will tie it to the SOL)...40% will come from this.
Anonymous
09/22/2012 07:04
Subject: How hard to push to correct errors in the curriculum?
At back to school night, I was looking at my 5th graders science material. They are covering my expertise. In there, handouts were glued to the page, but the handouts had blatant falsehoods. Definitions that are incorrect. I spoke to the teacher, who said it came from the county. In addition, (according to my daughter), information spoken by the teacher is also incorrect, but I do not know if that is what my daughter heard, or what the teacher said. But the hand out is wrong.
I have talked to people, trying to get things fixed. I am also talking with my daughter, to make sure she knows what the current knowledge is. My concern is, if she answers correct, but is marked wrong because the teacher got it wrong, I will fight that fight down the road.
I have talked to people, trying to get things fixed. I am also talking with my daughter, to make sure she knows what the current knowledge is. My concern is, if she answers correct, but is marked wrong because the teacher got it wrong, I will fight that fight down the road.