Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our teachers are not good enough to differentiate to the variety of abilities in one, overcrowded class. Sorry.

If classes are capped smaller and we hire better teachers, sure, this works.

It's not a question of better teachers in my view. It's that the county/state/whoever expects teachers to invent the differentiation themselves rather than saying: "here's the main curriculum & how to have the kids practice it, here are the extra supports for kids that aren't getting it right away, and here are the extension for the quick kids that need something deeper". It should not be on the teachers to invent things all by themselves but that's what happens and that's a big part of why differentiation in math isn't going to work - because teachers don't have time to invent all these extra things that the county should be providing to them but doesn't.

+1000000

Anonymous wrote:This Freakonomics episode from a few years ago seems to be suggesting the same changes VA is pursuing. https://freakonomics.com/podcast/math-curriculum/

In theory, I like the idea of more data analysis, statistics being introduced but totally disagree with "detracking." All students are helped by having instruction at their pace.

If you add more things, then you are taking something out of the curriculum as well. Right now, I feel that algebra students are not getting enough focus on solving equations and solving word problems by making equations.

Meanwhile, they added a topic on line of best fit where the calculations are done in Excel, and kids have to extrapolate and interpolate and generally understand what the line does.

Anonymous wrote:

20 years ago I took advanced math in high school. It allowed me to double major in college in a STEM field and a liberal arts field. The liberal arts field enriches my life daily, the STEM field provides my job. Plus having a solid math (and computing) background from high school helped me get through weed out classes in college.

Unless you are claiming statistics or linear algebra, you didn't take advanced math in high school. Calculus was common in even many rural high schools in the 90s, for the advanced kids.
Had you taken calculus in high school, it would have freed up some space in your dual major schedule for another class or to have a lighter load.

"I do wish the school board for FCPS wasn't such a political stepping stone. I do agree that is an issue because the size of the district certainly lends itself to people who are more ambition focused vs mission focused. I will give people that gripe. But "vote RED YALL" is not exactly a solution here. People's values are going to kick in and they won't vote for the opposition endorsed candidates if they show they are aligned with the kinds of people who storm the capitol, for example."

1. I won't vote for the kind of R that things the assault on the capital was a good thing & Trump's amazing. There are some Rs who are not in that camp (too few but some).

2. This is not an FCPS issue at this stage - it's a VA issue. Any vote leveraging needs done at the state level. FCPS SB engagement on this right now is a total waste of time. By the time it's in their court this will be baked and flexibility limited.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do kids need to take Calculus in high school anyway?

My high school didn't even offer calculus. I simply took a year of it freshman year of college, majored in mathematics, got a master's in a STEM area, and have been working on a STEM field ever since.

What benefit would taking calculus in high school have given me?

Well, grandma, things were different in the 70s

DP. Yeah, things are very different now. All the crazy competitive parents are running the asylum. PP was merely stating that without calculus in HS, she's managed to be successful in the stem field. Instead of listening to someone in STEM, let's listen to people who aren't

Because one person's experience with an outlier school that didn't offer calculus likely a decade or two ago isn't what school looks like now. When I was in HS (a long time ago), only the actual gifted took calculus and the rest of us took it in college, I'm just not naïve enough to think that nothing changed in the time between then and now. Now, selective (not just highly selective) schools are looking for HS calculus in their academic rigor assessment, particularly for STEM fields. So, yes, instead of listening to people whose experience is current and relevant, let's listen to what happened to one person who was in the unusual position of it not being an option in HS (which is very weird, because even my wife's crappy rural HS offered calculus as dual enrollment through VCCS in the late 90s) and how they managed to overcome these unusual circumstances. Let's definitely treat the outlier as the way it is for everyone.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do kids need to take Calculus in high school anyway?

My high school didn't even offer calculus. I simply took a year of it freshman year of college, majored in mathematics, got a master's in a STEM area, and have been working on a STEM field ever since.

What benefit would taking calculus in high school have given me?

Well, grandma, things were different in the 70s

DP. Yeah, things are very different now. All the crazy competitive parents are running the asylum. PP was merely stating that without calculus in HS, she's managed to be successful in the stem field. Instead of listening to someone in STEM, let's listen to people who aren't

Anonymous wrote: I definitely do NOT want VA to hold back on a better math education for o or kids because we are worried about it conforming with other states.

If VA is going to make radical changes that will cause its math program to be incompatible with the programs everywhere else, then I expect them to pilot the program and prove that it will be beneficial before rolling it out to everyone. 5 years is not enough time for them to develop the full curriculum for this new program, and then do any meaningful pilot.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This Freakonomics episode from a few years ago seems to be suggesting the same changes VA is pursuing. https://freakonomics.com/podcast/math-curriculum/

In theory, I like the idea of more data analysis, statistics being introduced but totally disagree with "detracking." All students are helped by having instruction at their pace.

If you have small classes, starting in lower ES you can “track” in class. I’m theory you’ll have less of a gap, if you start early.

Arlington just switches classes. They still have tracking without an AAP center. That's how smaller school districts do it. They don't expect the teacher to teach multiple levels.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Calculus is not about knowing how to do higher level math. It's about higher level logical and critical thinking. Wow, this is awful.

Because why? I was just reading today about some chemical engineer who was talking about how she was hired by this exclusive company for her problem solving capabilities more than her math expertise. Math is a part of problem solving, but it's also a tool to learn strategy, planning, verbalizing, detailing, executing, analyzing. Just like writing isn't just about writing good sentences. There is a lot in writing that deals with thinking and communicating well. People who write well and do math well are strong thinkers, problem solvers, and communicators. That's why these subjects have lasted so long.

yes, exactly. It's about complex critical thinking and problem solving skills.. not about the actual math.

Anonymous wrote:This Freakonomics episode from a few years ago seems to be suggesting the same changes VA is pursuing. https://freakonomics.com/podcast/math-curriculum/

In theory, I like the idea of more data analysis, statistics being introduced but totally disagree with "detracking." All students are helped by having instruction at their pace.

If you have small classes, starting in lower ES you can “track” in class. I’m theory you’ll have less of a gap, if you start early.

This Freakonomics episode from a few years ago seems to be suggesting the same changes VA is pursuing. https://freakonomics.com/podcast/math-curriculum/

In theory, I like the idea of more data analysis, statistics being introduced but totally disagree with "detracking." All students are helped by having instruction at their pace.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Algebra really doesn’t need to be a standalone class. I’m not sure that people really understand the proposal.

It does if you're moving into or out of VA. If you're a 9th grader who has had some amount of Algebra and Geometry content delivered piecemeal, and then you move somewhere with separate Algebra, Geometry, Algebra II, classes, what would you take? You'd either be repeating a lot of material or you'd be skipping a lot.

Given that we have a lot of military families, this is an issue.

You take the class that’s offered at your grade level and tutor or supplement. My spouse moved around a lot with his family oversees. When he got back to the states in high school he had to repeat some things he’d already done. It happens. We don’t have uniform education across the country or the world. I definitely do NOT want VA to hold back on a better math education for o or kids because we are worried about it conforming with other states.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Algebra really doesn’t need to be a standalone class. I’m not sure that people really understand the proposal.

It does if you're moving into or out of VA. If you're a 9th grader who has had some amount of Algebra and Geometry content delivered piecemeal, and then you move somewhere with separate Algebra, Geometry, Algebra II, classes, what would you take? You'd either be repeating a lot of material or you'd be skipping a lot.

Given that we have a lot of military families, this is an issue.

Anonymous wrote:
Algebra really doesn’t need to be a standalone class. I’m not sure that people really understand the proposal.

It does if you're moving into or out of VA. If you're a 9th grader who has had some amount of Algebra and Geometry content delivered piecemeal, and then you move somewhere with separate Algebra, Geometry, Algebra II, classes, what would you take? You'd either be repeating a lot of material or you'd be skipping a lot.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I’m seeing algebra in middle school per the chart not 9th? Am I looking at the wrong information?

Yes, algebra is in k-7 in the chart here.

https://www.doe.virginia.gov/instruction/mathematics/vmpi/index.shtml#goal

But FCPS currently indicates that kids as early as 5th are "learning Algebra." They have units on variables and algebraic thinking. I assume the K-7 Algebra is the same as the "Algebra" being taught in 5th and 6th grade math classes. I doubt they're getting a full, comprehensive Algebra class. It looks more like they're carving up the high school Algebra and Geometry, and then sprinkling them across 8th-10th grade without a solid, dedicated course.

It also doesn't look like there's any opportunity for kids to take Trig until at least 11th grade.

This entire pathway will be disastrous for any kids who move into or out of VA while in 7th-10th, since none of the courses would align with the way math is being taught everywhere else.

Algebra really doesn’t need to be a standalone class. I’m not sure that people really understand the proposal.