Mathematics has classically begun very slowly, firmly rooted in concrete principles and word problems using real life objects. My daughter's second grade mathematics text, Ray's arithmetic, covers: addition and subtraction. Period. That's it. Yet by the time she's in twelfth grade, she'll be learning calculus from the same series.
Which leads me to ask: What the heck? How is it that 100 years ago, we knew how to take it easy on little minds and have them all wind up in calculus and today we're shoving way too much difficult stuff into their heads and they wind up not able to do much math at all upon graduating? What has gone wrong? What is the problem?
The problem is, in my opinion, that nobody reveres history as they should. How much effort would it really take for the TEA to say, "You know, Ray's Arithmetic worked for generations of Americans. We're just going to go back to that. It's free, it's proven, it just works." How difficult would it be to simply assign a Ray's text to each grade level and align the TEKS standards to IT? What could we possibly lose? Every kid doing calculus by 12th grade? As opposed to functionally illiterate mathematics students?
The same thing could be said with reading instruction and the McGuffey readers. The same could be said for writing instruction and the IEW curriculum (Institute for Excellence in Writing). These are SUPERB programs used by home schoolers and private schools nation-wide. They produce accelerated readers, writers, and thinkers. Furthermore: they are cheap, they're simple, and they're effective. There's nothing to lose there. Seems too easy, doesn't it? But in order to use those programs, you'd first have to: know about them, which would involve research and a little humility, and two: you'd have to actually want kids to learn something. Which, honestly, doesn't seem to be high on the priority list of any state administrators or local ones, for that matter.
In conclusion, I urge those reading this to investigate the claims I'm making here. Bring them up to your school boards, teachers, administrators, state reps, and the TEA. Let's be the ones who make positive changes for our kiddos.
7 comments:
It really is that simple!! Keep getting the work out!!
Indeed educational.
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'They' know this, but you cannot use these teachings if you want to dumb down our kids! And that's what they are doing! Thank you for being one great American!
Because education has stopped being about educating the child as is now focused on what I call the industry of education - trainings, new curriculums and all the costs associated with switched every other year, "experts", etc. I agree 100% with you, that a return to FUNDAMENTAL education is what we need. Public ed needs to stop trying to take teaching out of the individual teacher's hands and just let them teach the TEKS in the best ways they can for the students they have!
I really encourage Americans to research these things as much as possible. The more we are armed with history and facts, the better warriors we become. Please check out my free recommended resources to the right. Thank you all so much for commenting. Also, I have a podcast (link above left) or simply go to: http://backtoschool.podomatic.com/ to hear all the shows. I do take some time in the podcast to read aloud some of the resources I recommend, if you enjoy audio books. Again, thank you.
What do you think of Math U See, Horizons and Singapore Math?
What do you think of Math U See, Horizons and Singapore Math?
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