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20 Nov 2005 - 21:10
Re:
November 9, 2005
ON EDUCATION
'Innovative' Math, but Can You Count?
By SAMUEL G. FREEDMAN
PENFIELD, N.Y. To the editor: Math education in the U.S. has long been a problem. Today there is a growing movement of afterschoolers who've taken matters into their own hands. Afterschoolers have children in the public schools, but we teach our own coherent curricula—Saxon Math, "Singapore math," Mathematics 6 (the legendary Russian textbook recently translated into English)—in the hours after school, on weekends, and in the summer. We work collaboratively with our schools and teachers, but we retain ultimate responsibility for, and authority over, our children's education. Web and print resources to help parents take charge of their children's education are exploding, and this movement is sure to grow. I suspect that traditional administrators like Susan Gray, accustomed to imposing curricula and pedagogies by fiat, will be replaced by a new breed of school official willing and able to partner with parents in a shared effort to provide our children with a world-class education. Sincerely,
Catherine Johnson, Ph.D.
Co-founder, Kitchen Table Math
www.kitchentablemath.net
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Do you have time to fit "teaching to mastery" in? -- TracyW - 20 Nov 2005
Tracy Sorry, I don't follow—I can't tell if you're making an ironic comment about how much extra time we all have to spending teaching after school, or whether you're making an editorial suggestion! -- CatherineJohnson - 20 Nov 2005
An editorial suggestion - I thought I had picked up from this wiki that it was a good thing to get the phrase "teaching to mastery" in everywhere possible in public to get people thinking about it. I would replace "provide our children with a world-class education. " with "teach our children to mastery", followed by a short definition of the phrase. I think it's more specific. No one objects to "a world-class education", including I suspect Susan Gray, it's a motherhood and apple pie phrase. Teaching "children to mastery" is more specific and gets across the idea that you want every kid to learn maths thoroughly. Generally it's a good short letter, and points out her arrogance very well. -- TracyW - 20 Nov 2005
Oh yes! You're right! -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
Oh yes! You're right! -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
I went off-message there. -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
Actually, I didn't. Normally I say 'teach to mastery' roughly 10 times an hour....but the NYTIMES probably isn't the forum. My sense of their style & tone is that 'world-class curriculum' is more their beat, although 'world-class curriculum' is slightly too dramatic. So.....I dunno. teach-to-mastery might be better Generally, though, 'teach to mastery' is the mantra -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
Here's My current buzzword list: world class education -- parents get this, especially when they're paying out the nose in taxes. teach to mastery -- as opposed to going back to the traditional curriculum (though I'm sure I'd settle for this) or sticking with a constructivist curriculum. math has come a long way in 40 years, it's time to take it to the next level. experimental -- You're kids are being treated like guinea pigs. They're using an experimental curriculum that hasn't been field tested and has little or no research base. YOu wouldn"t give your kid an experimental drug unless you were desperate, why settle for an experimental curriculum. non-rigorous The curriculum won't adequately prepare your kid for any college degree requiring math -- you know, the ones that tend to pay the best. occaisonally I'll throw in burger flipper math so the parents know what kind of job their kid will get with the math he'll be taught. remediation Think college is expensive? Imagine paying for an unplanned fifth year when your kid has to take remedial math before they let him touch the college math. Oh yeay, BTW most kid who have to take remedial course never graduate. -- KDeRosa - 21 Nov 2005
"Afterschoolers have children in the public schools, but we teach our own coherent curricula—Saxon Math, "Singapore math," Mathematics 6 (the legendary Russian textbook recently translated into English)—in the hours after school, on weekends, and in the summer. We work collaboratively with our schools and teachers, but we retain ultimate responsibility for, and authority over, our children's education." ONe question, one comment: First, if I answered this editorial with "Bravo! That's the way it should be!" what would you say? Second, unless your P[iled]h[igher].[and]D[eeper]. is in some way related to education, you are the enemy. -- JdFisher - 21 Nov 2005
unless your P[iled]h[igher].[and]D[eeper] ??? -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
I use my Ph.D. in this context because, yes, it is related to education; it's related to the fact that I spent my 20s doggedly learning content the direct instruction way. I also use my Ph.D. because, being a parent, and being a highly effective 'afterschooler,' gives me no standing whatsoever, no authority to say what I have to say and command an audience. If you don't believe this, ask a parent; or ask yourself why many parents here are using pseudonyms or first names only. A Ph.D. has higher status than an Ed.D., and Ed.D.s, who are the people who are going to have to share authority at some point, recognize that. I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'you are the enemy,' but if you mean that only a person with an advanced degree in education has a right to cite his or her degree in claiming authority, that is the problem. We have an education-government-accreditation complex granting a small group of people illegitimate authority over the country's children. So....I use my Ph.D. to say exactly what I've just said. I expect to be a partner in my child's education, not a subject of the regime. -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
world class education -- parents get this, especially when they're paying out the nose in taxes. Do you think so? I'm inclined to think so, which is why I've picked up on it (from you & from the CA Saxon studies....) -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
That's a great list! I'll pull it up front— I hadn't thought of non-rigorous, and I was needing something better than 'dumbed-down' or 'watered-down,' especially since constructivist math isn't exactly dumbed-down. It's both too easy and too hard at the same time. That makes it non-rigorous. -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
world class education I think so. Most parents in affluent school districts know their schools do better than most other schools in the US. So they believe their school is a top-performing school, at least in the US, and assume the same worldwide. They haven't heard about TIMMS or PISA and how poorly the US does in these international competitions. So most are shocked to learn that their kids aren't getting as good an education as their cohorts in other countries. -- KDeRosa - 21 Nov 2005
Most parents in affluent school districts know their schools do better than most other schools in the US. So they believe their school is a top-performing school, at least in the US, and assume the same worldwide. They haven't heard about TIMMS or PISA and how poorly the US does in these international competitions. So most are shocked to learn that their kids aren't getting as good an education as their cohorts in other countries. Actually, that's what happened to me, though I would have become exasperated even without the TIMSS data, now that I'm aware there's a reasonably large group of exasperated parents here (I MUST POST CAROLYN'S OBSERVATION!) Wayne Wickelgren & the TIMSS data gave me my 'hook.' It was a huge help when I came up with the formulation that I wanted Christopher to be on par with his peers in high-achieving countries. This is also an idea that our Main Street School interim principal understood at once. The two middle school principals flatly reject this idea ("You can't compare American schools to foreign schools") but I haven't had a chance to directly say to them: I want Christopher to be on par with his peers in high-achieving countries. I think they'd have a harder time saying, 'We can't do that, because we're Americans.' -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
Ken KUMON is turning me into a Direct Instruction fanatic. When you actually see it in practice, your patience for 'dorking around in the dark' plummets. -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
"Your kids are being treated like guinea pigs. They're using an experimental curriculum that hasn't been field tested and has little or no research base." Unfortunately, it's not even an experiment. They have already decided. They aren't taking notes and collecting statistics. They talk about "Best Practices" as if it has already been decided. They talk about "superficial knowledge" to a parent without hesitation. There is absolutely no corner of self-doubt. I find this quite amazing. I would be embarrassed. "The two middle school principals flatly reject this idea ("You can't compare American schools to foreign schools") but I haven't had a chance to directly say to them: I want Christopher to be on par with his peers in high-achieving countries." You should ask them exactly why you can't compare them. Is it because of different socio-economic groups, genes, culture, the range of abilities, a difference of opinion over what an education is, money, parents? Do they think that we can't expect as much from our kids? Do they think that they cannot separate kids by ability? Is it because they think that you cannot compare the kids (at any level) or that you cannot just compare the scores? Comparing overall scores is an easy out for them. Comparing curricula is another thing. -- SteveH - 21 Nov 2005
The primary reason why they don't think our schools are comparable to foreign schools is because foreign students are much more serious about school than US kids. You see its all the kids' fault -- their unteachable. This is, of course, nonsense. (BTW, I'm half way done the Steinberg book and I think he got it way wrong too, but I'll reserve my final verdict until I'm done.) Unfortunately, it's not even an experiment. Unfortunately, this is true, but "untested" doesn't ring the same bells for parents that "experimental" does. Our educators are probably the most unscientific profession we have. They learn from nothing (ironically). They carrom between one untested curriculum to another. And, then they blame their failure on the kids. KUMON is turning me into a Direct Instruction fanatic. I suspected as much. Nothing beats the elegance of a well designed program that clearly teaches concepts. You immediately see the grand scheme, the logical structurer, and the clarity of thought. Now you have a basis of comparison between a well-designed curriculum and the poorly designed ones. The difference is like night and day. Learning what DI can do is the reason why I refuse to cut our educators and slack at all and refuse to take their excuses seriously anymore. -- KDeRosa - 21 Nov 2005
Actually, that's what happened to me, though I would have become exasperated even without the TIMSS data, now that I'm aware there's a reasonably large group of exasperated parents here One of the main problems we have is getting the message out to these potentially exasperated parents (techies and those that truly care about their child's education) at a sufficiently early stage. most parents don't understand the full extent of the problem until their kid hits middle school and by then it can frequently be too late. -- KDeRosa - 21 Nov 2005
Unfortunately, it's not even an experiment. They have already decided. They aren't taking notes and collecting statistics. They talk about "Best Practices" as if it has already been decided. I'm pulling together an Irvington page, and the National Research Council statement on the NSF-funded curricula—these are an experiment—is going to be posted prominently. -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
You should ask them exactly why you can't compare them. In the case of Mr. Fried, the middle school principal, it's that America educates everyone while India—he specifically cited India—educates only a small elite while everyone else is starving. This answer, which he's been giving parents for a year now, annoys me, because, for one thing, India isn't included in TIMSS, is it? (It may be, but I don't remember reading anything about it.) Singapore has universal education, many different ethnic groups, at least two different languages, and universal literacy. All of their kids are still in school in 8th grade. The comparison is between the U.S. and Singapore, and it's not even close. -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
KUMON is turning me into a Direct Instruction fanatic. I suspected as much. Nothing beats the elegance of a well designed program that clearly teaches concepts. Elegance is the perfect word for what you experience. Perfect. When you use a word like 'elegant,' 'scripting' takes on a completely different meaning. -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
You immediately see the grand scheme, the logical structurer, and the clarity of thought. Yes, yes, yes clarity of thought; it's a thing of beauty -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
Learning what DI can do is the reason why I refuse to cut our educators and slack at all and refuse to take their excuses seriously anymore. Yes, that's been happening to me. KUMON may not even be the best way to teach math, or the ideal way, etc., etc. Frankly, I don't know. But it is profoundly rational; it is elegant; and it is field-tested. Once you experience those qualities in a curriculum, there's no turning back. -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
Same thing, for me, with DI. At this point I don't know very much about DI; I certainly don't know enough to hazard a guess as to whether, in an ideal world, DI would be the best possible approach. But I do know it has been intensely thought through, and it has been tested against reality, not ideology. -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
Take a look at this article on DI and some of the techniques DI uses to teach kids -- examples, non-examples, logically perfect -- and Engelmann's Low Peformer's Manual to see what Engelmann was up against when he developed DI. -- KDeRosa - 21 Nov 2005
To begin to understand why Direct Instruction is effective (and unpopular) we will first look at the features of Direct Instruction. This is going to be interesting. I'm reading his AGAINST ACADEMIC CHILD ABUSE now. -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
mine is en route from amazon. -- KDeRosa - 22 Nov 2005
you're going to love it (don't know how much new material there'll be for you, but it's wonderfully written) -- CatherineJohnson - 22 Nov 2005
I still think "world-class curriculum" is too motherhood and apple pie. Educators can just say "oh we have a world-class curriculum, we just teach creativity rather than rote memorisation like those other countries" (or insert other vague goal of their choice). -- TracyW - 22 Nov 2005
Yes -- I agree with Tracy -- world-class curriculum doesn't have a specific enough meaning, unless you already are aware that much of the world is outclassing America. -- CarolynJohnston - 22 Nov 2005
oh! Here's what I'm going for with world-class curriculum. I'm going for 'parent ears,' not administration ears. When Irvington-type parents hear 'world-class' they know immediately that we do not have a world-class curriculum. The phrase reminds them that we're getting our heads handed to us on a plate. -- CatherineJohnson - 22 Nov 2005
Educators can just say "oh we have a world-class curriculum, we just teach creativity rather than rote memorisation like those other countries" The easy response to this is to point out that based on TIMMS our top 25th percentile student performs as well as Singapore's bottom 25th percentile student. This is a huge achievement gap and no one could seriously say this is world-class . As far as the creativity strawman goes, my response is if this were really true, our students would be able to use all that creativity to solve problems like the Singapore kids can. This shuts them up quick. -- KDeRosa - 22 Nov 2005
Also...I'd be very surprised if our administrators would say we have a world-class curriculum. Their line is that you can't compare American schools to foreign schools. -- CatherineJohnson - 22 Nov 2005
"Pre-selected" That's the excuse. It dawned on me a few years ago that they are admitting that their education is not as good and, more importantly, they can't or won't fix it. There are difficulties setting high standards or separating kids by ability, so they don't do it. They are stuck. -- SteveH - 22 Nov 2005
The easy response to this is to point out that based on TIMMS our top 25th percentile student performs as well as Singapore's bottom 25th percentile student. This is a huge achievement gap and no one could seriously say this is world-class I suspect 'world class curriculum' works better some places than others. In Irvington, it's going to push buttons, and that's the point. No one here is going to say—or has said when the subject has been raised—either that we already have a world-class curriculum, or that creativity is a substitute. -- CatherineJohnson - 22 Nov 2005
Another thing....New York City & surrounds are fairly influenced by and oriented toward the rest of the world. I would feel pretentious talking about 'world-class curricula' in Springfield, IL, where my sister-in-law teaches. But here in Westchester, it's important. (You might remember that our middle school principal instantly cited Tom Friedman, who writes frequent columns about American educational underachievement, when I brought up the math curriculum.) -- CatherineJohnson - 22 Nov 2005
There are difficulties setting high standards or separating kids by ability, so they don't do it. Engelmann's book is giving me a different perspective on this....I'll try to get it posted in the not too distant future.... -- CatherineJohnson - 22 Nov 2005
Well if you're confident it will be interpreted by your desired readers in a specific way then go ahead. I used to do policy analysis so I developed a perhaps over-sensitive detector for words that everyone can interpret how they like. -- TracyW - 22 Nov 2005
I used to do policy analysis so I developed a perhaps over-sensitive detector for words that everyone can interpret how they like. What did you do??? If you have time, tell us more! and btw, now that I know you're coming from a policy perspective, you're right: 'world-class curriculum' is practically worthless (I imagine; not that I know much at all about the public policy world). 'World class curriculum,'as I use it, is almost strictly emotive & polemical. -- CatherineJohnson - 22 Nov 2005
Umm, there was nothing massively exciting. I worked for the NZ Treasury - the government's finance department - for a couple of years doing policy analysis. I was mostly doing second-opinion work, other government departments would send in policy proposals and we would look them over from a fiscal and economic viewpoint. (So we didn't have anything to say on same-sex marriages as the only fiscal and/or economic effects we could think of were trivial). While I was there, the government was starting to push proper evaluation of policies. Which, with the compulsion I had acquired around testing from engineering school, I was highly in favour with. So when I looked at a proposal, one of the things I was looking for was whether an evaluation plan could be drawn up for it. Furthermore, most policy proposals get written by consensus, so there's pressure on the writers and departments to produce things that no one can disagree with. The risk is that this can lead to policy proposals being watered down into something meaningless. Or to the people approving a policy thinking they are approving one thing, and the people implementing it thinking they are implementing another. Part of my job was to lean back and push departments to present something specific. Phrases like "world-class education" jump out because they are too vague in both ways. If I was evaluating a programme that was meant to be world-class, how would I know? What happens if the minister of education approves "world-class education" thinking that means the aim is to improve NZ kids' performance in international maths test to the top of the league, and the curriculum developers think that the aim is to keep up with the latest educational theories about encouraging creativity? (I never actually worked on education policy, but the principles are general.) -- TracyW - 23 Nov 2005
I refer to such phrases as "weasel words." -- PaulMiller - 24 Nov 2005
While I was there, the government was starting to push proper evaluation of policies. Which, with the compulsion I had acquired around testing from engineering school, I was highly in favour with. So when I looked at a proposal, one of the things I was looking for was whether an evaluation plan could be drawn up for it. We severely need that EVERYWHERE. This is one of Temple's obsessions. -- CatherineJohnson - 24 Nov 2005
Phrases like "world-class education" jump out because they are too vague in both ways. Yup, big-time. Now that the administration here is writing a formal policy banning me from teaching my Singapore Math class on school grounds, 'world-class curriculum' will probably be code for 'Singapore math.' -- CatherineJohnson - 24 Nov 2005
What?! -- TracyW - 24 Nov 2005
They're moving to ban you from teaching Singapore Math on school grounds?! -- TracyW - 24 Nov 2005
The superintendent is actually creating a new policy, because of my class, that will prevent me from teaching Singapore Math on school property. This will have to be voted on by the school board. -- CatherineJohnson - 24 Nov 2005
We have a little ways to go before we develop a collaborative relationship here in Irvington. -- CatherineJohnson - 24 Nov 2005
Hey! Is this why they call it the 'math wars'? -- CatherineJohnson - 24 Nov 2005
Why is the superintendent doing this? -- LoneRanger - 24 Nov 2005
this is pretty incredible. I guess you're interfering with their math message in a big way. -- CarolynJohnston - 24 Nov 2005
The math message is the issue. -- CatherineJohnson - 24 Nov 2005
I gather there is a lot of parent unhappiness over TRAILBLAZERS. The situation is opaque, because Andrew is my only child in the elementary school, and he's in a self-contained classroom. So I'm hearing things through the grapevine. Apparently there are parents—quite a number of them it looks like—who loathe TRAILBLAZERS. Then there are lots of parents who are ambivalent, but want to give it a chance. I don't know how many parents there are, though, who actively like TRAILBLAZERS. I know only one, who is one of my very closest friends! She loves TRAILBLAZERS. Her son is in the 2nd grade, so she hasn't seen the 5th grade book, which is sitting here on my shelf. The friend I took to KUMON on Saturday has a VERY brainy little second-grader who also seems to love TRAILBLAZERS. She's not, in her mother's opinion, getting the computational skills she needs. But she is absolutely getting conceptual knowledge, and she loves all the TRAILBLAZERS problems. She drew tons of them for me, and made me answer all of them! I'm thinking TRAILBLAZERS may be reasonably OK in the early grades. The 5th grade book though is very poor. They don't teach the long division algorithm, and they don't teach division of fractions IIRC (and I think I do IIRC). This move, on the part of the administration, is going to highlight the fact that TRAILBLAZERS is unpopular. If everyone liked TRAILBLAZERS and thought it was a terrific curriculum, I wouldn't be a problem. -- CatherineJohnson - 24 Nov 2005
The other issue here, which I wasn't aware of until two weeks ago, is that parents of mathematically gifted children are extremely unhappy, and have been vocal about it. My little SINGAPORE class this year has 5 kids, all of them almost certainly mathematically gifted. I haven't seen their files, obviously, but that's sure the way they read to me. So here I am providing a math enrichment class to 5 gifted kids.....it's not going to sit well with parents that the school formally banned my glass from school grounds. Talk about your 'math message.' -- CatherineJohnson - 24 Nov 2005
First name only? Moi??? Oui!!! I've had my one run-in with teachers over math in Colorado, and it's not worth repeating at our new school in Oregon. Simply better to teach at home, like all the chinese and indian parents do in our neighborhood. a VERY brainy little second-grader who also seems to love TRAILBLAZERS You know, kids also seem to love Cheetos and Fritos and Doritos, and they sure make a nice accompaniment to a real meal. We need a list of comebacks. Like, when they say "drill and kill" we say "drill and skill". When they say "rote memorization" we say "yes isn't it pathetic to think that an American teacher would understand fractions so poorly herself that she could only teach multiplication and division of fractions by rote, without true understanding?" Sorry that last is too bitter because I just finished reading Liping Ma's chapter on division by fractions. It's a doozy. -- BeckyC - 26 Nov 2005
You know, kids also seem to love Cheetos and Fritos and Doritos, and they sure make a nice accompaniment to a real meal. Whoa, this is a great line, one for Wit and Wisdom AND for the anti-fuzzy posters! I also like drill and skill! (And where the heck does 'drill and kill' originate anyway?) Yes, Liping Ma's revelations as to what the American teachers are unable to do are appalling. -- CarolynJohnston - 26 Nov 2005
I've had my one run-in with teachers over math in Colorado, and it's not worth repeating at our new school in Oregon. Simply better to teach at home, like all the chinese and indian parents do in our neighborhood. Becky—are you homeschooling or afterschooling? I'm finding afterschooling increasingly untenable.... -- CatherineJohnson - 26 Nov 2005
Speaking of run-in's.....since my days at NAAR I've had some interest in doing politics well, though I agree with you that they're not fun. Mr. Liu's observation about Asian culture has made an amazing impression on me. He said: Asian culture is persistent and patient. I think about that several times a day now. I absorbed the 'spaced repetition' concept years ago (when a UCLA psychologist told Ed that's the fundamental principle of all learning), and I'm persistent as he** by nature. But adding patience to persistence......that would be a new one for me. For quite awhile I've had the saying 'water wears away rock' in my mind. But for some reason, Mr. Liu's calm face when he said, in his not-very-easy-to-understand accent, 'persistent and patient' clicked. I'm not planning to have a lot of run-in's with our school (though I suppose I'll have to have one at the school board meeting that votes to ax my class....) I'm planning to be persistent and patient. -- CatherineJohnson - 26 Nov 2005
finished reading Liping Ma's chapter on division by fractions. It's a doozy NO KIDDING!!!!! -- CatherineJohnson - 26 Nov 2005
I am afterschooling my two boys. Like all the Indian and Chinese engineer's wives do. At home or at Kumon. My boys didn't know their basic addition and subtraction facts by third grade, which made it impossible to learn multiplication (repeated addition) except by rote. I stopped into your weblog this past summer and got lots of good ideas about how to teach them their basic facts, and also what visuals to use. Taking to heart your collective enthusiasm for the Singapore bar models, which fit my own mental visualizations of arithmetic problems, the boys and I picture linear representations of a problem whenever possible. I let them know when there are other valid and useful visual representations. Did I mention that I sing in the Part-Part-Whole Gospel Choir? Boys are in public school, fourth grade, doing Investigations; at home, third grade, doing Singapore. We just did metric measurements (composing and decomposing in base 10) and now we are strolling happily through english measurements (composing and decomposing in bases other than 10), prior to tackling fractions in Singapore 3B... And it makes sense why we are taking the time to study pints, quarts, and gallons right now. Pardon me: "groups of size pint" and "how many groups in a quart" and "a group of size quart is what part of a gallon?" I am walking on sunshine. Thank you both again for all you've done for our family. -- BeckyC - 27 Nov 2005
I am afterschooling my two boys. Like all the Indian and Chinese engineer's wives do. At home or at Kumon. How do they handle afterschooling? -- CatherineJohnson - 27 Nov 2005
And which curriculum does your school use? -- CatherineJohnson - 27 Nov 2005
I stopped into your weblog this past summer and got lots of good ideas about how to teach them their basic facts, and also what visuals to use. oh! feedback! Which ideas did you find helpful & not helpful? -- CatherineJohnson - 27 Nov 2005
oh sorry—they're doing Investigations. I didn't read all the way through. -- CatherineJohnson - 27 Nov 2005
Taking to heart your collective enthusiasm for the Singapore bar models, which fit my own mental visualizations of arithmetic problems, the boys and I picture linear representations of a problem whenever possible. I let them know when there are other valid and useful visual representations. We had a computer scientist over last night—another late-to-math type. He majored in government, then worked in politics until he was 29 and became fascinated by computers. (They were installing a computer in his office.) He went back to college for a math major, then earned a Ph.D. in computer science. His math skills, he said, were 'shaky' when he returned to college. When I showed him the Singapore bar models he said he constantly uses diagrams to solve problems. (I think he works for IBM....at least; he did back when we first met, and I assume he's still there.) -- CatherineJohnson - 27 Nov 2005
I'm so glad afterschooling is going well for you. I really think it's the only way. You can bang heads with your school district for years, and I certainly intend to. But that time is your children's only childhood. I should mention that I'm grateful to the Irvington parents who banged their heads against the foreign language in grade school wall for 9 long years. We finally got foreign languages last school year. Christopher studied French & Spanish in 5th grade, and is studying Spanish this year. But the children whose parents worked on this for nearly a decade are well into adolescence by now. -- CatherineJohnson - 27 Nov 2005
letter to the editor
Re:
November 9, 2005
ON EDUCATION
'Innovative' Math, but Can You Count?
By SAMUEL G. FREEDMAN
PENFIELD, N.Y. To the editor: Math education in the U.S. has long been a problem. Today there is a growing movement of afterschoolers who've taken matters into their own hands. Afterschoolers have children in the public schools, but we teach our own coherent curricula—Saxon Math, "Singapore math," Mathematics 6 (the legendary Russian textbook recently translated into English)—in the hours after school, on weekends, and in the summer. We work collaboratively with our schools and teachers, but we retain ultimate responsibility for, and authority over, our children's education. Web and print resources to help parents take charge of their children's education are exploding, and this movement is sure to grow. I suspect that traditional administrators like Susan Gray, accustomed to imposing curricula and pedagogies by fiat, will be replaced by a new breed of school official willing and able to partner with parents in a shared effort to provide our children with a world-class education. Sincerely,
Catherine Johnson, Ph.D.
Co-founder, Kitchen Table Math
www.kitchentablemath.net
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Do you have time to fit "teaching to mastery" in? -- TracyW - 20 Nov 2005
Tracy Sorry, I don't follow—I can't tell if you're making an ironic comment about how much extra time we all have to spending teaching after school, or whether you're making an editorial suggestion! -- CatherineJohnson - 20 Nov 2005
An editorial suggestion - I thought I had picked up from this wiki that it was a good thing to get the phrase "teaching to mastery" in everywhere possible in public to get people thinking about it. I would replace "provide our children with a world-class education. " with "teach our children to mastery", followed by a short definition of the phrase. I think it's more specific. No one objects to "a world-class education", including I suspect Susan Gray, it's a motherhood and apple pie phrase. Teaching "children to mastery" is more specific and gets across the idea that you want every kid to learn maths thoroughly. Generally it's a good short letter, and points out her arrogance very well. -- TracyW - 20 Nov 2005
Oh yes! You're right! -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
Oh yes! You're right! -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
I went off-message there. -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
Actually, I didn't. Normally I say 'teach to mastery' roughly 10 times an hour....but the NYTIMES probably isn't the forum. My sense of their style & tone is that 'world-class curriculum' is more their beat, although 'world-class curriculum' is slightly too dramatic. So.....I dunno. teach-to-mastery might be better Generally, though, 'teach to mastery' is the mantra -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
Here's My current buzzword list: world class education -- parents get this, especially when they're paying out the nose in taxes. teach to mastery -- as opposed to going back to the traditional curriculum (though I'm sure I'd settle for this) or sticking with a constructivist curriculum. math has come a long way in 40 years, it's time to take it to the next level. experimental -- You're kids are being treated like guinea pigs. They're using an experimental curriculum that hasn't been field tested and has little or no research base. YOu wouldn"t give your kid an experimental drug unless you were desperate, why settle for an experimental curriculum. non-rigorous The curriculum won't adequately prepare your kid for any college degree requiring math -- you know, the ones that tend to pay the best. occaisonally I'll throw in burger flipper math so the parents know what kind of job their kid will get with the math he'll be taught. remediation Think college is expensive? Imagine paying for an unplanned fifth year when your kid has to take remedial math before they let him touch the college math. Oh yeay, BTW most kid who have to take remedial course never graduate. -- KDeRosa - 21 Nov 2005
"Afterschoolers have children in the public schools, but we teach our own coherent curricula—Saxon Math, "Singapore math," Mathematics 6 (the legendary Russian textbook recently translated into English)—in the hours after school, on weekends, and in the summer. We work collaboratively with our schools and teachers, but we retain ultimate responsibility for, and authority over, our children's education." ONe question, one comment: First, if I answered this editorial with "Bravo! That's the way it should be!" what would you say? Second, unless your P[iled]h[igher].[and]D[eeper]. is in some way related to education, you are the enemy. -- JdFisher - 21 Nov 2005
unless your P[iled]h[igher].[and]D[eeper] ??? -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
I use my Ph.D. in this context because, yes, it is related to education; it's related to the fact that I spent my 20s doggedly learning content the direct instruction way. I also use my Ph.D. because, being a parent, and being a highly effective 'afterschooler,' gives me no standing whatsoever, no authority to say what I have to say and command an audience. If you don't believe this, ask a parent; or ask yourself why many parents here are using pseudonyms or first names only. A Ph.D. has higher status than an Ed.D., and Ed.D.s, who are the people who are going to have to share authority at some point, recognize that. I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'you are the enemy,' but if you mean that only a person with an advanced degree in education has a right to cite his or her degree in claiming authority, that is the problem. We have an education-government-accreditation complex granting a small group of people illegitimate authority over the country's children. So....I use my Ph.D. to say exactly what I've just said. I expect to be a partner in my child's education, not a subject of the regime. -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
world class education -- parents get this, especially when they're paying out the nose in taxes. Do you think so? I'm inclined to think so, which is why I've picked up on it (from you & from the CA Saxon studies....) -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
That's a great list! I'll pull it up front— I hadn't thought of non-rigorous, and I was needing something better than 'dumbed-down' or 'watered-down,' especially since constructivist math isn't exactly dumbed-down. It's both too easy and too hard at the same time. That makes it non-rigorous. -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
world class education I think so. Most parents in affluent school districts know their schools do better than most other schools in the US. So they believe their school is a top-performing school, at least in the US, and assume the same worldwide. They haven't heard about TIMMS or PISA and how poorly the US does in these international competitions. So most are shocked to learn that their kids aren't getting as good an education as their cohorts in other countries. -- KDeRosa - 21 Nov 2005
Most parents in affluent school districts know their schools do better than most other schools in the US. So they believe their school is a top-performing school, at least in the US, and assume the same worldwide. They haven't heard about TIMMS or PISA and how poorly the US does in these international competitions. So most are shocked to learn that their kids aren't getting as good an education as their cohorts in other countries. Actually, that's what happened to me, though I would have become exasperated even without the TIMSS data, now that I'm aware there's a reasonably large group of exasperated parents here (I MUST POST CAROLYN'S OBSERVATION!) Wayne Wickelgren & the TIMSS data gave me my 'hook.' It was a huge help when I came up with the formulation that I wanted Christopher to be on par with his peers in high-achieving countries. This is also an idea that our Main Street School interim principal understood at once. The two middle school principals flatly reject this idea ("You can't compare American schools to foreign schools") but I haven't had a chance to directly say to them: I want Christopher to be on par with his peers in high-achieving countries. I think they'd have a harder time saying, 'We can't do that, because we're Americans.' -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
Ken KUMON is turning me into a Direct Instruction fanatic. When you actually see it in practice, your patience for 'dorking around in the dark' plummets. -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
"Your kids are being treated like guinea pigs. They're using an experimental curriculum that hasn't been field tested and has little or no research base." Unfortunately, it's not even an experiment. They have already decided. They aren't taking notes and collecting statistics. They talk about "Best Practices" as if it has already been decided. They talk about "superficial knowledge" to a parent without hesitation. There is absolutely no corner of self-doubt. I find this quite amazing. I would be embarrassed. "The two middle school principals flatly reject this idea ("You can't compare American schools to foreign schools") but I haven't had a chance to directly say to them: I want Christopher to be on par with his peers in high-achieving countries." You should ask them exactly why you can't compare them. Is it because of different socio-economic groups, genes, culture, the range of abilities, a difference of opinion over what an education is, money, parents? Do they think that we can't expect as much from our kids? Do they think that they cannot separate kids by ability? Is it because they think that you cannot compare the kids (at any level) or that you cannot just compare the scores? Comparing overall scores is an easy out for them. Comparing curricula is another thing. -- SteveH - 21 Nov 2005
The primary reason why they don't think our schools are comparable to foreign schools is because foreign students are much more serious about school than US kids. You see its all the kids' fault -- their unteachable. This is, of course, nonsense. (BTW, I'm half way done the Steinberg book and I think he got it way wrong too, but I'll reserve my final verdict until I'm done.) Unfortunately, it's not even an experiment. Unfortunately, this is true, but "untested" doesn't ring the same bells for parents that "experimental" does. Our educators are probably the most unscientific profession we have. They learn from nothing (ironically). They carrom between one untested curriculum to another. And, then they blame their failure on the kids. KUMON is turning me into a Direct Instruction fanatic. I suspected as much. Nothing beats the elegance of a well designed program that clearly teaches concepts. You immediately see the grand scheme, the logical structurer, and the clarity of thought. Now you have a basis of comparison between a well-designed curriculum and the poorly designed ones. The difference is like night and day. Learning what DI can do is the reason why I refuse to cut our educators and slack at all and refuse to take their excuses seriously anymore. -- KDeRosa - 21 Nov 2005
Actually, that's what happened to me, though I would have become exasperated even without the TIMSS data, now that I'm aware there's a reasonably large group of exasperated parents here One of the main problems we have is getting the message out to these potentially exasperated parents (techies and those that truly care about their child's education) at a sufficiently early stage. most parents don't understand the full extent of the problem until their kid hits middle school and by then it can frequently be too late. -- KDeRosa - 21 Nov 2005
Unfortunately, it's not even an experiment. They have already decided. They aren't taking notes and collecting statistics. They talk about "Best Practices" as if it has already been decided. I'm pulling together an Irvington page, and the National Research Council statement on the NSF-funded curricula—these are an experiment—is going to be posted prominently. -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
You should ask them exactly why you can't compare them. In the case of Mr. Fried, the middle school principal, it's that America educates everyone while India—he specifically cited India—educates only a small elite while everyone else is starving. This answer, which he's been giving parents for a year now, annoys me, because, for one thing, India isn't included in TIMSS, is it? (It may be, but I don't remember reading anything about it.) Singapore has universal education, many different ethnic groups, at least two different languages, and universal literacy. All of their kids are still in school in 8th grade. The comparison is between the U.S. and Singapore, and it's not even close. -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
KUMON is turning me into a Direct Instruction fanatic. I suspected as much. Nothing beats the elegance of a well designed program that clearly teaches concepts. Elegance is the perfect word for what you experience. Perfect. When you use a word like 'elegant,' 'scripting' takes on a completely different meaning. -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
You immediately see the grand scheme, the logical structurer, and the clarity of thought. Yes, yes, yes clarity of thought; it's a thing of beauty -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
Learning what DI can do is the reason why I refuse to cut our educators and slack at all and refuse to take their excuses seriously anymore. Yes, that's been happening to me. KUMON may not even be the best way to teach math, or the ideal way, etc., etc. Frankly, I don't know. But it is profoundly rational; it is elegant; and it is field-tested. Once you experience those qualities in a curriculum, there's no turning back. -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
Same thing, for me, with DI. At this point I don't know very much about DI; I certainly don't know enough to hazard a guess as to whether, in an ideal world, DI would be the best possible approach. But I do know it has been intensely thought through, and it has been tested against reality, not ideology. -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
Take a look at this article on DI and some of the techniques DI uses to teach kids -- examples, non-examples, logically perfect -- and Engelmann's Low Peformer's Manual to see what Engelmann was up against when he developed DI. -- KDeRosa - 21 Nov 2005
To begin to understand why Direct Instruction is effective (and unpopular) we will first look at the features of Direct Instruction. This is going to be interesting. I'm reading his AGAINST ACADEMIC CHILD ABUSE now. -- CatherineJohnson - 21 Nov 2005
mine is en route from amazon. -- KDeRosa - 22 Nov 2005
you're going to love it (don't know how much new material there'll be for you, but it's wonderfully written) -- CatherineJohnson - 22 Nov 2005
I still think "world-class curriculum" is too motherhood and apple pie. Educators can just say "oh we have a world-class curriculum, we just teach creativity rather than rote memorisation like those other countries" (or insert other vague goal of their choice). -- TracyW - 22 Nov 2005
Yes -- I agree with Tracy -- world-class curriculum doesn't have a specific enough meaning, unless you already are aware that much of the world is outclassing America. -- CarolynJohnston - 22 Nov 2005
oh! Here's what I'm going for with world-class curriculum. I'm going for 'parent ears,' not administration ears. When Irvington-type parents hear 'world-class' they know immediately that we do not have a world-class curriculum. The phrase reminds them that we're getting our heads handed to us on a plate. -- CatherineJohnson - 22 Nov 2005
Educators can just say "oh we have a world-class curriculum, we just teach creativity rather than rote memorisation like those other countries" The easy response to this is to point out that based on TIMMS our top 25th percentile student performs as well as Singapore's bottom 25th percentile student. This is a huge achievement gap and no one could seriously say this is world-class . As far as the creativity strawman goes, my response is if this were really true, our students would be able to use all that creativity to solve problems like the Singapore kids can. This shuts them up quick. -- KDeRosa - 22 Nov 2005
Also...I'd be very surprised if our administrators would say we have a world-class curriculum. Their line is that you can't compare American schools to foreign schools. -- CatherineJohnson - 22 Nov 2005
"Pre-selected" That's the excuse. It dawned on me a few years ago that they are admitting that their education is not as good and, more importantly, they can't or won't fix it. There are difficulties setting high standards or separating kids by ability, so they don't do it. They are stuck. -- SteveH - 22 Nov 2005
The easy response to this is to point out that based on TIMMS our top 25th percentile student performs as well as Singapore's bottom 25th percentile student. This is a huge achievement gap and no one could seriously say this is world-class I suspect 'world class curriculum' works better some places than others. In Irvington, it's going to push buttons, and that's the point. No one here is going to say—or has said when the subject has been raised—either that we already have a world-class curriculum, or that creativity is a substitute. -- CatherineJohnson - 22 Nov 2005
Another thing....New York City & surrounds are fairly influenced by and oriented toward the rest of the world. I would feel pretentious talking about 'world-class curricula' in Springfield, IL, where my sister-in-law teaches. But here in Westchester, it's important. (You might remember that our middle school principal instantly cited Tom Friedman, who writes frequent columns about American educational underachievement, when I brought up the math curriculum.) -- CatherineJohnson - 22 Nov 2005
There are difficulties setting high standards or separating kids by ability, so they don't do it. Engelmann's book is giving me a different perspective on this....I'll try to get it posted in the not too distant future.... -- CatherineJohnson - 22 Nov 2005
Well if you're confident it will be interpreted by your desired readers in a specific way then go ahead. I used to do policy analysis so I developed a perhaps over-sensitive detector for words that everyone can interpret how they like. -- TracyW - 22 Nov 2005
I used to do policy analysis so I developed a perhaps over-sensitive detector for words that everyone can interpret how they like. What did you do??? If you have time, tell us more! and btw, now that I know you're coming from a policy perspective, you're right: 'world-class curriculum' is practically worthless (I imagine; not that I know much at all about the public policy world). 'World class curriculum,'as I use it, is almost strictly emotive & polemical. -- CatherineJohnson - 22 Nov 2005
Umm, there was nothing massively exciting. I worked for the NZ Treasury - the government's finance department - for a couple of years doing policy analysis. I was mostly doing second-opinion work, other government departments would send in policy proposals and we would look them over from a fiscal and economic viewpoint. (So we didn't have anything to say on same-sex marriages as the only fiscal and/or economic effects we could think of were trivial). While I was there, the government was starting to push proper evaluation of policies. Which, with the compulsion I had acquired around testing from engineering school, I was highly in favour with. So when I looked at a proposal, one of the things I was looking for was whether an evaluation plan could be drawn up for it. Furthermore, most policy proposals get written by consensus, so there's pressure on the writers and departments to produce things that no one can disagree with. The risk is that this can lead to policy proposals being watered down into something meaningless. Or to the people approving a policy thinking they are approving one thing, and the people implementing it thinking they are implementing another. Part of my job was to lean back and push departments to present something specific. Phrases like "world-class education" jump out because they are too vague in both ways. If I was evaluating a programme that was meant to be world-class, how would I know? What happens if the minister of education approves "world-class education" thinking that means the aim is to improve NZ kids' performance in international maths test to the top of the league, and the curriculum developers think that the aim is to keep up with the latest educational theories about encouraging creativity? (I never actually worked on education policy, but the principles are general.) -- TracyW - 23 Nov 2005
I refer to such phrases as "weasel words." -- PaulMiller - 24 Nov 2005
While I was there, the government was starting to push proper evaluation of policies. Which, with the compulsion I had acquired around testing from engineering school, I was highly in favour with. So when I looked at a proposal, one of the things I was looking for was whether an evaluation plan could be drawn up for it. We severely need that EVERYWHERE. This is one of Temple's obsessions. -- CatherineJohnson - 24 Nov 2005
Phrases like "world-class education" jump out because they are too vague in both ways. Yup, big-time. Now that the administration here is writing a formal policy banning me from teaching my Singapore Math class on school grounds, 'world-class curriculum' will probably be code for 'Singapore math.' -- CatherineJohnson - 24 Nov 2005
What?! -- TracyW - 24 Nov 2005
They're moving to ban you from teaching Singapore Math on school grounds?! -- TracyW - 24 Nov 2005
The superintendent is actually creating a new policy, because of my class, that will prevent me from teaching Singapore Math on school property. This will have to be voted on by the school board. -- CatherineJohnson - 24 Nov 2005
We have a little ways to go before we develop a collaborative relationship here in Irvington. -- CatherineJohnson - 24 Nov 2005
Hey! Is this why they call it the 'math wars'? -- CatherineJohnson - 24 Nov 2005
Why is the superintendent doing this? -- LoneRanger - 24 Nov 2005
this is pretty incredible. I guess you're interfering with their math message in a big way. -- CarolynJohnston - 24 Nov 2005
The math message is the issue. -- CatherineJohnson - 24 Nov 2005
I gather there is a lot of parent unhappiness over TRAILBLAZERS. The situation is opaque, because Andrew is my only child in the elementary school, and he's in a self-contained classroom. So I'm hearing things through the grapevine. Apparently there are parents—quite a number of them it looks like—who loathe TRAILBLAZERS. Then there are lots of parents who are ambivalent, but want to give it a chance. I don't know how many parents there are, though, who actively like TRAILBLAZERS. I know only one, who is one of my very closest friends! She loves TRAILBLAZERS. Her son is in the 2nd grade, so she hasn't seen the 5th grade book, which is sitting here on my shelf. The friend I took to KUMON on Saturday has a VERY brainy little second-grader who also seems to love TRAILBLAZERS. She's not, in her mother's opinion, getting the computational skills she needs. But she is absolutely getting conceptual knowledge, and she loves all the TRAILBLAZERS problems. She drew tons of them for me, and made me answer all of them! I'm thinking TRAILBLAZERS may be reasonably OK in the early grades. The 5th grade book though is very poor. They don't teach the long division algorithm, and they don't teach division of fractions IIRC (and I think I do IIRC). This move, on the part of the administration, is going to highlight the fact that TRAILBLAZERS is unpopular. If everyone liked TRAILBLAZERS and thought it was a terrific curriculum, I wouldn't be a problem. -- CatherineJohnson - 24 Nov 2005
The other issue here, which I wasn't aware of until two weeks ago, is that parents of mathematically gifted children are extremely unhappy, and have been vocal about it. My little SINGAPORE class this year has 5 kids, all of them almost certainly mathematically gifted. I haven't seen their files, obviously, but that's sure the way they read to me. So here I am providing a math enrichment class to 5 gifted kids.....it's not going to sit well with parents that the school formally banned my glass from school grounds. Talk about your 'math message.' -- CatherineJohnson - 24 Nov 2005
First name only? Moi??? Oui!!! I've had my one run-in with teachers over math in Colorado, and it's not worth repeating at our new school in Oregon. Simply better to teach at home, like all the chinese and indian parents do in our neighborhood. a VERY brainy little second-grader who also seems to love TRAILBLAZERS You know, kids also seem to love Cheetos and Fritos and Doritos, and they sure make a nice accompaniment to a real meal. We need a list of comebacks. Like, when they say "drill and kill" we say "drill and skill". When they say "rote memorization" we say "yes isn't it pathetic to think that an American teacher would understand fractions so poorly herself that she could only teach multiplication and division of fractions by rote, without true understanding?" Sorry that last is too bitter because I just finished reading Liping Ma's chapter on division by fractions. It's a doozy. -- BeckyC - 26 Nov 2005
You know, kids also seem to love Cheetos and Fritos and Doritos, and they sure make a nice accompaniment to a real meal. Whoa, this is a great line, one for Wit and Wisdom AND for the anti-fuzzy posters! I also like drill and skill! (And where the heck does 'drill and kill' originate anyway?) Yes, Liping Ma's revelations as to what the American teachers are unable to do are appalling. -- CarolynJohnston - 26 Nov 2005
I've had my one run-in with teachers over math in Colorado, and it's not worth repeating at our new school in Oregon. Simply better to teach at home, like all the chinese and indian parents do in our neighborhood. Becky—are you homeschooling or afterschooling? I'm finding afterschooling increasingly untenable.... -- CatherineJohnson - 26 Nov 2005
Speaking of run-in's.....since my days at NAAR I've had some interest in doing politics well, though I agree with you that they're not fun. Mr. Liu's observation about Asian culture has made an amazing impression on me. He said: Asian culture is persistent and patient. I think about that several times a day now. I absorbed the 'spaced repetition' concept years ago (when a UCLA psychologist told Ed that's the fundamental principle of all learning), and I'm persistent as he** by nature. But adding patience to persistence......that would be a new one for me. For quite awhile I've had the saying 'water wears away rock' in my mind. But for some reason, Mr. Liu's calm face when he said, in his not-very-easy-to-understand accent, 'persistent and patient' clicked. I'm not planning to have a lot of run-in's with our school (though I suppose I'll have to have one at the school board meeting that votes to ax my class....) I'm planning to be persistent and patient. -- CatherineJohnson - 26 Nov 2005
finished reading Liping Ma's chapter on division by fractions. It's a doozy NO KIDDING!!!!! -- CatherineJohnson - 26 Nov 2005
I am afterschooling my two boys. Like all the Indian and Chinese engineer's wives do. At home or at Kumon. My boys didn't know their basic addition and subtraction facts by third grade, which made it impossible to learn multiplication (repeated addition) except by rote. I stopped into your weblog this past summer and got lots of good ideas about how to teach them their basic facts, and also what visuals to use. Taking to heart your collective enthusiasm for the Singapore bar models, which fit my own mental visualizations of arithmetic problems, the boys and I picture linear representations of a problem whenever possible. I let them know when there are other valid and useful visual representations. Did I mention that I sing in the Part-Part-Whole Gospel Choir? Boys are in public school, fourth grade, doing Investigations; at home, third grade, doing Singapore. We just did metric measurements (composing and decomposing in base 10) and now we are strolling happily through english measurements (composing and decomposing in bases other than 10), prior to tackling fractions in Singapore 3B... And it makes sense why we are taking the time to study pints, quarts, and gallons right now. Pardon me: "groups of size pint" and "how many groups in a quart" and "a group of size quart is what part of a gallon?" I am walking on sunshine. Thank you both again for all you've done for our family. -- BeckyC - 27 Nov 2005
I am afterschooling my two boys. Like all the Indian and Chinese engineer's wives do. At home or at Kumon. How do they handle afterschooling? -- CatherineJohnson - 27 Nov 2005
And which curriculum does your school use? -- CatherineJohnson - 27 Nov 2005
I stopped into your weblog this past summer and got lots of good ideas about how to teach them their basic facts, and also what visuals to use. oh! feedback! Which ideas did you find helpful & not helpful? -- CatherineJohnson - 27 Nov 2005
oh sorry—they're doing Investigations. I didn't read all the way through. -- CatherineJohnson - 27 Nov 2005
Taking to heart your collective enthusiasm for the Singapore bar models, which fit my own mental visualizations of arithmetic problems, the boys and I picture linear representations of a problem whenever possible. I let them know when there are other valid and useful visual representations. We had a computer scientist over last night—another late-to-math type. He majored in government, then worked in politics until he was 29 and became fascinated by computers. (They were installing a computer in his office.) He went back to college for a math major, then earned a Ph.D. in computer science. His math skills, he said, were 'shaky' when he returned to college. When I showed him the Singapore bar models he said he constantly uses diagrams to solve problems. (I think he works for IBM....at least; he did back when we first met, and I assume he's still there.) -- CatherineJohnson - 27 Nov 2005
I'm so glad afterschooling is going well for you. I really think it's the only way. You can bang heads with your school district for years, and I certainly intend to. But that time is your children's only childhood. I should mention that I'm grateful to the Irvington parents who banged their heads against the foreign language in grade school wall for 9 long years. We finally got foreign languages last school year. Christopher studied French & Spanish in 5th grade, and is studying Spanish this year. But the children whose parents worked on this for nearly a decade are well into adolescence by now. -- CatherineJohnson - 27 Nov 2005
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| Title: | letter to the editor |
| TopicType: | WebLog |
| SubjectArea: | EducationResearch |
| LogDate: | 200607200811 |