Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:According to my child's teacher, they (teachers) are given very detailed lesson plans and know what to teach from day to day and have specific worksheets to give the students for every day of instruction. They do have flexibility on how they teach the material but there is a step by step approach from the county. This is per my student (I did not speak to the teacher about this) but I have no reason to doubt the veracity of what he says.
We have not felt the need for a textbook but I believe the teacher made some online resources available to the students through edline and that is what they are supposed to use if they need further clarification outside class.

I see one child getting this type of instruction and one child not. The principal said the materials provided by the Central Office are optional tools that the teacher can elect NOT to use. The child that gets the materials though did better on the exam than the child who does not.

With that being said, I often copied the material for my child who did not receive such handouts, however, on day to day homework they have not been of help. The teacher not using the Central Office materials has not been teaching the same topics. They are like two different courses. So the handouts on their own have not been a replacement for a highly skilled and organized teacher.

I am not sure if you are in a position to judge but in your opinion are the Central Office materials high quality? There have been a lot of posts bemoaning the lack of a textbook and I wonder whether these materials are meant to substitute for the textbook. On the other hand if the materials simply replicate likely test and exam questions, all they are doing is teaching the child how to do well on a test or exam and they might not be learning enough to do well in Algebra II or Calculus.

The handouts and worksheets are not as in depth as a textbook. A textbook often goes step by step into the principals and rationale on how to solve problems. A student can often supplement a teachers explanation or even self teach material (if absent from class) with what a textbook provides.

The MCPS 2.0 handouts for Geometry were a few examples of problems and often glossed over definitions or written explanations. They did, however, come numbered with the Student Learning Objective which helped to keep the student notes organized. The course is designed to be taught in sequential order so it was helpful to keep the handouts in sequential order for the progression in material.

Overall, the 2.0 handouts do teach to the test. Kids are not learning more in depth, they are just learning to spit out the answers in a different format. However, without exposing kids to the same materials and practice, the county exams are unfairly punitive to kids that are in schools who are doing their own curriculum and methodology.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your daughter is very unique. Most of the MCPS teachers and people writing the curriculum couldn't pass a computer science class let alone get a degree in it. We need to stop hiring education majors for math.

Which colleges/universities allow students to major solely in education?

Almost all?

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/undergraduate-teaching

I'd guess that any college that isn't STEM focused (think MIT) would have one.

That link is for a ranking of colleges/universities by how well they teach undergraduates.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:According to my child's teacher, they (teachers) are given very detailed lesson plans and know what to teach from day to day and have specific worksheets to give the students for every day of instruction. They do have flexibility on how they teach the material but there is a step by step approach from the county. This is per my student (I did not speak to the teacher about this) but I have no reason to doubt the veracity of what he says.
We have not felt the need for a textbook but I believe the teacher made some online resources available to the students through edline and that is what they are supposed to use if they need further clarification outside class.

I see one child getting this type of instruction and one child not. The principal said the materials provided by the Central Office are optional tools that the teacher can elect NOT to use. The child that gets the materials though did better on the exam than the child who does not.

With that being said, I often copied the material for my child who did not receive such handouts, however, on day to day homework they have not been of help. The teacher not using the Central Office materials has not been teaching the same topics. They are like two different courses. So the handouts on their own have not been a replacement for a highly skilled and organized teacher.

I am not sure if you are in a position to judge but in your opinion are the Central Office materials high quality? There have been a lot of posts bemoaning the lack of a textbook and I wonder whether these materials are meant to substitute for the textbook. On the other hand if the materials simply replicate likely test and exam questions, all they are doing is teaching the child how to do well on a test or exam and they might not be learning enough to do well in Algebra II or Calculus.

Anonymous wrote:I agree that we should hire Math or related subjects majors with special teAcher training to teach math[b] . But to do so we will have to have differentiated recruitment and pay scale. The teachers union should support this because it would add an incentive for more math education.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your daughter is very unique. Most of the MCPS teachers and people writing the curriculum couldn't pass a computer science class let alone get a degree in it. We need to stop hiring education majors for math.

Which colleges/universities allow students to major solely in education?

Almost all?

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/undergraduate-teaching

I'd guess that any college that isn't STEM focused (think MIT) would have one.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your daughter is very unique. Most of the MCPS teachers and people writing the curriculum couldn't pass a computer science class let alone get a degree in it. We need to stop hiring education majors for math.

Which colleges/universities allow students to major solely in education?

Anonymous wrote:Your daughter is very unique. Most of the MCPS teachers and people writing the curriculum couldn't pass a computer science class let alone get a degree in it. We need to stop hiring education majors for math.

I am not sure if you are in a position to judge but in your opinion are the Central Office materials high quality?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:According to my child's teacher, they (teachers) are given very detailed lesson plans and know what to teach from day to day and have specific worksheets to give the students for every day of instruction. They do have flexibility on how they teach the material but there is a step by step approach from the county. This is per my student (I did not speak to the teacher about this) but I have no reason to doubt the veracity of what he says.
We have not felt the need for a textbook but I believe the teacher made some online resources available to the students through edline and that is what they are supposed to use if they need further clarification outside class.

I see one child getting this type of instruction and one child not. The principal said the materials provided by the Central Office are optional tools that the teacher can elect NOT to use. The child that gets the materials though did better on the exam than the child who does not.

With that being said, I often copied the material for my child who did not receive such handouts, however, on day to day homework they have not been of help. The teacher not using the Central Office materials has not been teaching the same topics. They are like two different courses. So the handouts on their own have not been a replacement for a highly skilled and organized teacher.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is one part of the solution - give all students an Algebra textbook. A kid misses a day of school or doesn't understand the class lecture. The student can go back and review the textbook. Today, with no book a student misses class and they have no way to study the content and Algebra builds so a good foundation is important.

No way to study the content without a textbook? There are many math resources on line these days. Many, many, many, many, many math resources.

Yes there are, but damned if I can find out what they're supposed to be learning in their classes. Just a few worksheets come home, and I have very little clue what is coming next.

Have you asked the teacher? Or, more importantly, has your child asked the teacher?

New PP chiming in - I have sent emails to the teacher and requested meetings. The teacher failed to show for 2 meetings. I met with the Principal and Department Chair instead. My child goes in daily to meet with the Department Chair because the teacher is not teaching the curriculum. The Principal and the Department Chair see the problem but they are stuck with a unionized teacher who is failing at his job.