Comments

HA! I love it!

"Flower beds, managing conflicts"?

-- CarolynJohnston - 09 Jun 2005

You women and your flower beds. I'd rather do the "Free throw game, planning" stuff.

I suppose this goes a long way to explain why Johnny and Joanie can't make change of a dollar anymore, doesn't it.

-- RayMinchew - 09 Jun 2005

Hi Ray!

Yes, indeedy, and I haven't even got started posting your stuff!

DUCK, EVERYONE!

-- CatherineJohnson - 09 Jun 2005

See, the reason you want to do free throw game, planning, Ray, is that you're a guy, and guys have an unfair advantage in target-directed motor skills.

Weren't you the one who sent me that article in the first place?

-- CatherineJohnson - 09 Jun 2005

"Fat in fast food", however, everybody can relate to.

And "Flea treatment, half-life".

(This comparison chart is absolutely classic).

-- CarolynJohnston - 09 Jun 2005

I saw this list at NYC-Hold and think it's great because in a very small space, parents can get a feel for the overall problem in mathematics education. More specifically, parents can then go to the Singapore Math site and compare real grade-level problems with the homework their kids get. NCTM can talk all they want about constructivism, conceptual understanding, and problem solving, but the proof is in the problems. All that a parent has to do is to compare equal grade level Singapore math and NCTM-type math problems to see who has the better conceptual understanding and problem solving skills.

-- KtmGuest - 10 Jun 2005

Absolutely, and that's what I intend to keep doing, in the 'CompareAndContrast' posts.

Just keep putting these things side-by-side, and letting people see just where we stand.

I'll repeat here -- we plan to do lots of repeating -- that when Christopher took the Singapore Math placement test at the end of 4th grade he tested into the beginning of 2nd semester 3rd grade. That's an 18-month gap at the age of 10.

Recently a friend of mine had her 4th grader take the test, and he managed to test into the beginning of Singapore's 4th grade. Her son tests in the top 99% on mathematical reasoning on the Sanford Binet, and he's a year behind kids in Singapore.

-- CatherineJohnson - 10 Jun 2005