A high school senior named Matthew Paul Dollar sent me a long letter detailing his experiences in public and private schools. (His family moved a lot, and he went back and forth between various schools.) I agree with this part:

Two buzzword concepts in modern mis-education are "subjective" and objective" thought. The trend in not teaching students the dates of historical events is a huge mistake. "Educators" claim that they want to encourage creative, "subjective" thought instead of "objective" fact regurgitation. But I have found that without dates, I cannot fit historical events into context or recognize their relationships with each other. Without a strong foundation of factual objectivity, I am not capable of formulating rational, creative and subjective thoughts. If I do not know the facts for myself, but am just taught to interpret subjectively, then I will always be subjected to regurgitating somebody else's subjective interpretation, and will interpret nothing in a "subjective" way. (If I have misused the word "subjective", it is because the word has been so overused that it barely has any distinct meaning.)

He left public schools in Rye, New York to attend a boarding school, The Masters School, in Dobbs Ferry, NY.

Being at Masters has been a wonderfully refreshing experience. The teachers are experts in the material, and there is a mutual respect between teacher and student. In Rye, the teachers fought me tooth and nail to keep me out of advanced courses, but I have since been able to see that there is nothing special about AP courses; there is no danger of bruising your brain from taking one of these classes. The danger comes from not taking advanced classes.

. . . The reason people say "everything I need to know I learned in kindergarten" is because the public school system barely teaches anything beyond a kindergarten level. They avoid the introduction of new topics, and drag out kindergarten through all of elementary school. . . Right now, our schools function more as minimum security prisons, than institutions of education.

He'll be an aeronautical engineering major at UC-Irvine in the fall.

Still, upwards of $30,000 a year for your child to spiral through math.

Hard to believe.

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Comments

$30k is obscene. $10k is obscene quite frankly.

Just read this LA daily News article from CA congressman, Tom McClintock, to see just how much $7k per student can get you in the real world.

To understand education budget, start with math

By Tom McClintock

Sunday, May 15, 2005 - The multimillion-dollar campaign paid by starving teachers unions has finally placed our sadly neglected schools at the center of the budget debate. Across California, children are bringing home notes warning of dire consequences if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's scorched-earth budget is approved -- a budget that slashes Proposition 98 public-school spending from $42.2 billion this year all the way down to $44.7 billion next year. That should be proof enough that our math programs are suffering.

As a public-school parent, I have given this crisis a great deal of thought and have a modest suggestion to help weather these dark days. Maybe -- as a temporary measure only -- we should spend our school dollars on our schools. I realize that this is a radical departure from current practice, but desperate times require desperate measures.

The governor proposed spending $10,084 per student from all sources. Devoting all of this money to the classroom would require turning tens of thousands of school bureaucrats, consultants, advisers and specialists onto the streets with no means of support or marketable job skills, something that no enlightened social democracy should allow.

So I will begin by excluding from this discussion the entire budget of the State Department of Education, as well as the pension system, debt service, special education, child care, nutrition programs and adult education. I also propose setting aside $3 billion to pay an additional 30,000 school bureaucrats $100,000 per year with the proviso that they stay away from the classroom and pay their own hotel bills at conferences.

This leaves a mere $6,937 per student, which, for the duration of the funding crisis, I propose devoting to the classroom.

To illustrate how we might scrape by at this subsistence level, let's use a hypothetical school of 180 students with only $1.2 million to get through the year.

We have all seen the pictures of filthy bathrooms, leaky roofs, peeling paint and crumbling plaster to which our children have been condemned. I propose that we rescue them from this squalor by leasing out luxury commercial office space. Our school will need 4,800 square feet for five classrooms (the sixth class is gym). At $33 per foot, an annual lease will cost $158,400.

This will provide executive washrooms, around-the-clock janitorial service, wall-to-wall carpeting, utilities and music in the elevators. We'll also need new desks to preserve the professional ambience.

Next, we'll need to hire five teachers, but not just any teachers. I propose hiring only associate professors from the California State University at their level of pay. Since university professors generally assign more reading, we'll need 12 of the latest edition, hardcover books for each student at an average $75 per book, plus an extra $5 to have the student's name engraved in gold leaf on the cover.

Since our conventional gym classes haven't stemmed the childhood obesity epidemic, I propose replacing them with an annual membership at a private health club for $39.95 per month. Finally, we'll hire an $80,000 administrator with a $40,000 secretary because, well, I don't know exactly why, but we always have.

Our bare-bones budget comes to this:
5 classrooms -- $158,400
150 desks @ $130 -- $19,500
180 annual health club memberships @ $480 -- $86,400
2,160 textbooks @ $80 -- $172,800
5 CSU associate professors @ $67,093 -- $335,465
1 administrator -- $80,000
1 secretary -- $40,000
24 percent faculty and staff benefits -- $109,312
Offices, expenses and insurance -- $30,000
TOTAL -- $1,031,877

The school I have just described is the school we're paying for. Maybe it's time to ask why it's not the school we're getting.

Other, wiser, governors have made the prudent decision not to ask such embarrassing questions of the education-industrial complex because it makes them very angry. Apparently the unions believe that with enough of a beating, Gov. Schwarzenegger will see things the same way. Perhaps. But there's an old saying that you can't fill a broken bucket by pouring more water into it. Maybe it's time to fix the bucket.

Tom McClintock represents the 19th District in the California state Senate. Write to him by e-mail at tom.mcclintock@sen.ca.gov.

-- KDeRosa - 17 Oct 2005

"But this student's experience, along with the fact that he is now studying aeronautical engineering, makes me think there may be a shift in educational philosophy from the middle school at The Masters School to its high school."

This is an interesting point, but how many kids make the transition to the honors/AP track in high school? Even many public schools have good honors/AP courses. This is a small percentage of the student body. Some parents tell me that the idea is to send your child to a private K-8 school (no guarantee) and then go back to the public high school.

A friend of mine did this with his son and he just graduated from the public high school as valedictorian. Some believe that public high schools can even be better than private high schools for the honors/AP track. Public high schools have a larger population to select from for the top track. Public high schools also have more opportunities for sports, music, theatre, and clubs.

However, I have thought for a long time that there is an academic/curriculum gap between grades K-8 and high school where only a few make it to the top track. It would be interesting to know how many of those kids in the top track got help at home (or via tutors) during grades K-8.

-- SteveH - 17 Oct 2005

However, I have thought for a long time that there is an academic/curriculum gap between grades K-8 and high school where only a few make it to the top track. It would be interesting to know how many of those kids in the top track got help at home (or via tutors) during grades K-8.

Youhave two types of kids making it into the honors/AP track.

The very smart non-lazy kid who can handle anything thrown at him academically. All the better if he had parental help or a tutor watching to make sure he learned the necessary basics to make the transition less difficult.

The smart hard working kid who is willing to put in the necessary study hours learning the material. All the better if he had parental/tutor help along the wayto ease the transition.

Basically there is de facto segregation by IQ and work ethic.

-- KDeRosa - 17 Oct 2005

A couple of years ago, I toured the Avery Coonley School in Downers Grove, IL. It costs only about half as much as the price you quoted for the Masters School, but that's still way expensive for me. Anyway, I wanted to know what option was out there for gifted kids, because my daughter is pretty sharp. I was very impressed by the school. Kids learn French starting in kindergarten. In 7th or 8th grade they all travel either to France or Quebec. They have a school-wide Shakespeare week. The art facilities looked quite impressive to me (though I'm no expert).

But they used Everyday Math!

They said that they were a year ahead in presenting the program (i.e. third graders did the fourth grade curriculum). Still, this was a blot on there resume to me.

The math alone is not why we didn't send our daughter there. Price, commuting distance, price, parental volunteering commitment, and price were the main reasons.

-- DanK - 17 Oct 2005

When I graduated from college in 2000, the annual tuition was about $25,000. (Fotunately, we didn't pay sticker; after financial aid, the price tag was less than 10,000, about half of which was covered by Stafford loans).

How the heck does a middle school cost more than a university?

-- IndependentGeorge - 17 Oct 2005

"Basically there is de facto segregation by IQ and work ethic."

This is good, but my opinion is that many more students have the potential. K-8 schools just drop them off miles from the front door. This is de facto segregation by low expectations.

-- SteveH - 17 Oct 2005

This is good, but my opinion is that many more students have the potential. K-8 schools just drop them off miles from the front door.

Right. Today only the very smart and/or hard working succeed, but many more could perform at the necessary level if they were taught better.

-- KDeRosa - 17 Oct 2005

"But they used Everyday Math!"

Yup. Sounds like my son's private school. Either that or MathLand at our public school. Quite depressing choices.

"The math alone is not why we didn't send our daughter there. Price, commuting distance, price, parental volunteering commitment, and price were the main reasons."

My wife and I go over and over this all of the time. Oh, and don't forget the annual fund-raising campaigns on top of the $10k+++ cost. Some of the money will go towards the teachers' retirement fund - from my fund to theirs.

-- SteveH - 17 Oct 2005

I wonder... How much of the cost comes from actually improving the educational environment, and how much from trying to project the image of an exclusive school?

-- IndependentGeorge - 17 Oct 2005

This is an interesting point, but how many kids make the transition to the honors/AP track in high school?

My sense is that just about nobody does, and I also have no real idea what the math curriculum is like at Masters School (apart from what it says in the curriculum guide) or whether the middle school & the high school differ...

Also, this kid is a unique case in that he was having trouble getting placed in AP in his own high school....so obviously he perceived himself as a candidate, and may already have taken advanced courses in his middle school.

-- CatherineJohnson - 17 Oct 2005

In our case, it's not just that private schools cost an arm and a leg; our property taxes are sky high. We pay $18,000 a year, every year, year in and year out.

And our taxes have gone up every year for 3 years in a row.

Now the school has announced a bond issue.

So parents here who are putting their kids in private school are also paying some of the highest property taxes in the country.

-- CatherineJohnson - 17 Oct 2005

Totally overpriced. I went to a tiny Lutheran school for K-8 and got a pretty decent education with no outside tutoring. I think our math textbooks were Scott, Foresman. (Granted, I didn't get Algebra until 9th grade, but I wasn't a math-head. My dad is a heating and a/c repairman, and he paid about $180 a month back in the '80s for me to go there.

I had three or private schools to choose from in my own neighborhood (one of them my alma mater), but I still decided to homeschool.

A decent private school education can be had without spending more than $7K a year (fundraisers included) -- in my neck of the woods, anyway.

-- BrendaM - 17 Oct 2005

Barbara Oakley says Kumon is the way to go. She thinks it's a phenomenal program, and I'm sure she also believes Kumon will help you accelerate your child.

Kumon is around $1000 a year, right?

-- CatherineJohnson - 17 Oct 2005

She is strongly pro-Kumon; both her daughters were in the program for years.

Both are far ahead of their peers now, in high school.

-- CatherineJohnson - 17 Oct 2005

Steve

However, I have thought for a long time that there is an academic/curriculum gap between grades K-8 and high school where only a few make it to the top track.

I'll get the rest of the JOURNAL SENTINEL article posted.

That's exactly what they said.

This is why I was so crazed all last year. Christopher had been tracked 'average,' and the guidance counselor at the high school told me that's the way things were going to stay.

We worked our tails off.

-- CatherineJohnson - 17 Oct 2005

KdeRosa

Basically there is de facto segregation by IQ and work ethic.

I'm wondering if there's sex segregation, too.

When our middle school set out to reduce the number of kids in accelerated math I think they ended up changing the sex ratio. There are 3 sections of accelerated math, each with around 20 kids.

Christopher's class has....oh heck.

I'll have to get the numbers from him again.

For the moment, so far what I know is that 2 of the 3 classes have more boys than girls; and Christopher's class has many more boys than girls.

Haven't found out about the 3rd class yet.

-- CatherineJohnson - 17 Oct 2005

Dan K

The math alone is not why we didn't send our daughter there. Price, commuting distance, price, parental volunteering commitment, and price were the main reasons.

That's pretty much how we make decisions around here.

Price, that other stuff, price, more other stuff, price, price, price...

-- CatherineJohnson - 17 Oct 2005

Independent George

How the heck does a middle school cost more than a university?

You got me.

It's so high I'm now thinking I must be misremembering.

But I don't think I am.

-- CatherineJohnson - 17 Oct 2005

Kumon would be the way to go if you were strapped for time and money. Although some time is involved, at least it wouldn't be yours in preparation or teaching.

I think Kumon now has a reading program, as well.

At this rate, Kumon should just add all subjects and make a killing.

-- SusanS - 17 Oct 2005

nope, I'm not misremembering:

What are the annual expenses for attending The Masters School?
Tuition for the 2005-2006 school year is $23,950 in the Middle School, $24,650 for Upper School day students, and $33,950 for Upper School boarding students. Tuition insurance is available at a cost of 2.5% of the applicable tuition.


That's exactly what this mom said.

When you put it all together (the extras, textbooks, etc.) it comes out to $26,000.

-- CatherineJohnson - 17 Oct 2005

This is good, but my opinion is that many more students have the potential. K-8 schools just drop them off miles from the front door. This is de facto segregation by low expectations.

That's my beef.

Our whole performance curve is shifted way over from where it should be.

What I can't figure out is whether our top kids are top kids compared to the rest of the world.

Schmidt (TIMSS) says no.

-- CatherineJohnson - 17 Oct 2005

I'm thinking of taking algebra from Kumon, just to see what it's like (and also for the drill).

KDeRosa has put the Fear Of God into me vis a vis algebra and calculus.

-- CatherineJohnson - 17 Oct 2005

Well, the Hackley write-up is better:

The Middle School faculty expects our early adolescents to work within the framework of a traditional academic program. English, mathematics and history courses are taught at advanced levels; while emphasis on the sciences assume and the study of foreign languages expands. “Specials” classes are offered in music, art, drama, health, and technology. For information on Middle School course offerings, click the Course Selection link at left.

They don't have any of their course descriptions posted yet.

-- CatherineJohnson - 17 Oct 2005

Here's Hackley high school geometry:

302. Geometry
Prerequisite or co-requisite: 301 or the equivalent. In this Euclidean geometry course, the main emphasis is on plane geometry. The traditional topics are covered: parallel lines and planes, congruency, parallelograms, similarity, right triangle relationships, circles, polygons, and constructions. Direct and indirect proofs are taught as methods of reasoning. Non-Euclidean topics such as solid geometry, coordinate geometry, and transformational geometry are introduced.

-- CatherineJohnson - 17 Oct 2005

Proofs!

-- CatherineJohnson - 17 Oct 2005

Sure enough, 4th graders using TRAILBLAZERS have a whole unit on antopolis, an ant city:


Unit 2: Geometric Investigations: A Baseline Assessment Unit

This unit has two major goals: to develop basic geometry concepts and to provide opportunities to gather information about students’ mathematical abilities and attitudes at the beginning of the school year. In the first activity, students review length, width, perimeter, and area. In the second activity, Perimeter vs. Length, students use the TIMS Laboratory Method to investigate the relationship between the length and width of rectangles and their perimeters. Using the Student Rubric: Telling as a guide, students then communicate their discoveries. To solve a problem, Helipads for Antopolis, they must apply area and perimeter concepts and then communicate their problem-solving strategies. Each student starts a collection folder and places work in a portfolio to establish a baseline for documenting growth throughout the year. Students also explore angles in this unit. They identify acute, right, and obtuse angles by exploring the amount of turning in an angle. The DPP for this unit reviews the subtraction facts.

-- CatherineJohnson - 17 Oct 2005

The kids were also seriously unhappy about having to 'explain what we do.'

-- CatherineJohnson - 17 Oct 2005

I think it's a Very Bad Idea for a textbook company ever to make claims about how much fun and/or relevancy they've managed to stuff into a series.

-- CatherineJohnson - 17 Oct 2005

Helipads for Antopolis

I just wanted to make sure everyone saw that.

Geez Louise.

-- CarolynJohnston - 17 Oct 2005

"They identify acute, right, and obtuse angles by exploring the amount of turning in an angle."

Oh, let me guess. They go outside, and make enormous angles on the lawn with crepe paper hangers. Then they walk along them. Then they get to write reports on how much they had to turn to stay on top of their angles: "I turned a lot and so I think my angle was obtuse."

This stuff is trivial for kids. They don't need to learn angles this way; they can learn them in the same abstract way in which adults understand them. Ben has been complaining up a storm because he is no longer in the Connected Math class he was in. Part of the reason is clearly that he is all by himself doing Saxon math with an aide, but the other reason is that Connected Math was really easy by comparison with Saxon. He's admitted as much.

-- CarolynJohnston - 17 Oct 2005

"This unit has two major goals: to develop basic geometry concepts and to provide opportunities to gather information about students’ mathematical abilities and attitudes at the beginning of the school year. "

Now I am really starting to get mad.

-- CarolynJohnston - 17 Oct 2005

Helipads for Antopolis

I just wanted to make sure everyone saw that.

Helipads for Antopolis connect me to my world.

-- CatherineJohnson - 18 Oct 2005

I turned a lot and so I think my angle was obtuse.

Is that what it means?

I was thinking maybe they were showing an angle inside a circle, or a clock?????

-- CatherineJohnson - 18 Oct 2005

Ben has been complaining up a storm because he is no longer in the Connected Math class he was in. Part of the reason is clearly that he is all by himself doing Saxon math with an aide, but the other reason is that Connected Math was really easy by comparison with Saxon

I can't believe not only do you have to fight the school, now you have to fight Ben because you have to fight the school.

-- CatherineJohnson - 18 Oct 2005

Actually, I can believe it.

Last year I was kind of pushing myself along, telling myself I liked 'afterschooling,' which as a matter of fact I do......

What I mean is: I was telling myself this was a perfectly fine way to do things.

But it's really not.

I would be far happier 'afterschooling' Christopher if it were something everyone heartily agreed I should be doing: the school, Christopher, Ed, Martine (whose been with us since the twins were born). All 'stakeholders,' as they say.

Instead, I'm the hard case.

I'm the person FORCING CHRISTOPHER TO DO MATH.

From time to time Ed forgets himself and decides to jump in on Christopher's side, and Martine is constantly expressing sympathy for Christopher--'poor thing, he has to do so much,' etc.

It's the constant battle that wears you down after awhile.

That and the suspense.

-- CatherineJohnson - 18 Oct 2005

I've got to delve into the 5th grade book.

It's really pretty astounding.

There's no math "qua math" at all; it's pure statistics.

The original title was 'Integrated Math and Science,' meaning that all math would be learned as part of a scientific experiment.

Statistics, only.

-- CatherineJohnson - 18 Oct 2005

"I was thinking maybe they were showing an angle inside a circle, or a clock?????"

Could be. I was trying to be as ridiculous as possible, but it came out all too believable.

Ben does not appreciate the struggle I went through to get him a good math education, can you believe it??? ;)

-- CarolynJohnston - 18 Oct 2005

I don't understand these costs - either for real estate taxes or publics schools or private schools.

The costs at the public urban HS where my son graduated from the IB program are $10,000 per year. My real estate taxes are 1.5% of the market value of my house. The parish K-8 costs $2500 per year.

You folks should move to Ohio.

-- CharlesWilliams - 18 Oct 2005

We've got to get out of here, that's for sure.

-- CatherineJohnson - 18 Oct 2005

To be fair, there are some great excercises you can do outside with triangles. Using triangulation to measure the distance to a distant object was one of my favorite activities; it's almost like magic the first time you try it, and find out it works. Or, you can measure out a baseball diamond with just a ruler and a piece of rope, using a 3-4-5 triangle to determine a right angle.

Of course, both of those activities involve the kids already knowing the geometry to do the calculations, rather than trying to discover them with the activity.

-- IndependentGeorge - 18 Oct 2005

"The original title was 'Integrated Math and Science,' meaning that all math would be learned as part of a scientific experiment.

"Statistics, only."

Statistics ∈ Math

Math ≠ Statistics

You'd think that with all the set theory taught in new, newer, newest math they'd understand that.

-- DougSundseth - 18 Oct 2005

Using triangulation to measure the distance to a distant object was one of my favorite activities; it's almost like magic the first time you try it, and find out it works.

I wish to heck someone had shown me how to do this when I was a kid!

-- CatherineJohnson - 18 Oct 2005

Constructivist math is statistics.

That's just about all it is.

And when I say statistics I mean counting.

-- CatherineJohnson - 18 Oct 2005

very basic statistics I'm sure

I'm sure they never get to the important part of calculating standard deviation since that requires real math. Oh wait, they get to use their calculators.

-- KDeRosa - 18 Oct 2005

"Constructivist math is statistics. That's just about all it is. And when I say statistics I mean counting."

My son is having a 4th grade EM test today on data collection, bar graphs, and statistics. You know, range, mode, median, mean ... oops, not mean. They don't know how to divide yet. I looked at his study sheet this morning and one page talked about using the calculator for something - I didn't want to know. I just saw those little symbols showing them which buttons to push - very rote, if you ask me.

-- SteveH - 18 Oct 2005

Well that's the bizarre thing.

All this talk about Rote Memorization.

Now we've got Rote Memorization of Buttons.

-- CatherineJohnson - 18 Oct 2005

speaking of standard deviations.....

the dawning new day of data-driven decision-making is upon us

schools are now investing in statistics 'packages' so they can collect data

i just don't know how this is going to play out. I heard back from our assistant superintendent in charge of curriculum who said Trailblazers is a success because the TONYSS scores went up.

And that was it. The scores 'went up.'

I fear we're entering a new era of raw data.

-- CatherineJohnson - 18 Oct 2005

wait

they're in 4th grade & they don't know how to divide?

-- CatherineJohnson - 18 Oct 2005

"they're in 4th grade & they don't know how to divide?"

They know the concept and might have done a little bit, but this is EM. My son and I started long division last year, but it will probably be a while before they get to "forgiving division" in EM.

-- SteveH - 18 Oct 2005

I taught Ben long division myself. It wasn't taught at all in Everyday Math.

I also taught him the standard algorithm for multiplication myself. He was previously using the lattice method.

-- CarolynJohnston - 18 Oct 2005

!IndependentGeorge:

I have never done myself, nor taught, an activity on triangulation.

Can I ask a favor?

Can you put together instructions on how to do such an activity?

Around here the thing to do would be to measure the height of the mountains using triangulation, but I'm wondering how you'd measure the angle they subtend.

-- CarolynJohnston - 18 Oct 2005

Carolyn - I'll write you an email tonight. This is sooo cool, I'm actually giddy about the opportunity to write up the activity. Not least of all because it involves playing MacGyver^? with a protractor and twine. And duct tape. Got to have duct tape.

-- IndependentGeorge - 18 Oct 2005

It sounds like it would be a blast to do!

And I'd finally get to figure out how tall those mountains are!

-- CarolynJohnston - 18 Oct 2005

They told us how tall they are, but I want to see for myself.

-- CarolynJohnston - 18 Oct 2005

BTW, Catherine, I just noticed this line:

...which happens to be a big tragedy in my life, because her daughter is the girl I want Christopher to marry.

I think you're missing a potentially greater opportunity here: when she struggles with math in HS (after years of constructivist curricula), a better-prepared Christopher has the perfect opportunity to start tutoring her in the materials he'd long since mastered.

Wait a minute - why am I helping you on this? Run, Christopher, run!

-- IndependentGeorge - 18 Oct 2005

I taught Ben long division myself. It wasn't taught at all in Everyday Math.

I also taught him the standard algorithm for multiplication myself. He was previously using the lattice method.

Do they ever teach the standard algorithm for multiplication in Everyday Math?

-- CatherineJohnson - 18 Oct 2005

Independent George

I think you're missing a potentially greater opportunity here: when she struggles with math in HS (after years of constructivist curricula), a better-prepared Christopher has the perfect opportunity to start tutoring her in the materials he'd long since mastered.

YESSSSSSSSSS........!!!!!!!

-- CatherineJohnson - 18 Oct 2005