Posted on 07/30/2008 11:04:46 AM PDT by reaganaut1
I was reading about the math curriculum at the Lexington, MA public schools at the site above. For grades 1-5, it says they will
"Continue with Everyday Mathematics (EDM) as our core elementary curriculum.
Purchase pilot ancillary materials to address identified program gaps and needs of special populations. Both Singapore Math and Saxon Math, teacher and student materials, will be purchased by the special education department to pilot with various students based on individual needs."
I think of Singapore and Saxon math, which are both pretty popular with homeschoolers, as being for kids of normal abilities (not just for the "special"). What they are admitting, indirectly, is that a "constructivist" math curriculum such as Everyday Math, which does not teach basic algorithms, causes problems for some kids, who *can* handle a more traditional math curriculum.
If public schools taught everyone math in a traditional way and perhaps used curricula such as EDM for enrichment, some homeschoolers might rejoin the system.
Of course, Lexington MA schools have other problems -- one can search "David Parker Lexington".
What is really happening is that the system has so many students classified as as “special education” that their test scores have had a negative impact on the whole. Once these texts help raise the scores so the system is out of danger of federal or state review, they will switch back to texts that support their educational philosophies.
FYI
I love that joke, but, imho, the more accurate version is the one that describes 1970’s math this way:
1970s (new math):
A farmer exchanges a set P of potatoes with set M of money. The cardinality of the set M is equal to 10, and each element of M is worth $1. Draw ten big dots representing the elements of M. The set C of production costs is composed of two big dots less than the set M. Represent C as a subset of M and give the answer to the question: What is the cardinality of the set of profits?
I went to school in the ‘70’s, and the above is not far off at all. I have old math books from the ‘70’s to prove it, too... lol.
And if you don't, there's something wrong with you.
The school my kids go to (grades K-8) uses Saxon Math for all kids at all levels. Good stuff.
I have included your name on the list because, in the past, you have posted to me about education issues. I surely don’t wish to bother you, but I don’t want you to miss these education articles, either.
I will call this ping list:
“The All Opinions Welcome Government Education Ping List” ! “
Government Education Ping List
For those who are interested in a full and open discussion about government education.
This will bring some improvement. The Saxon Math is too repetitive, but better than what’s currently done.
After looking at most homeschoolers textbook list and their standardized test scores and noticing that most of the good grades came with those who use Saxon Math, the district switched to it for their 3-6 grade level.
ONE guess what happened.... in one year.
I agree for some children it really isn't necessary to do every problem.
If a child is motivated and bright then it is possible to do the problems and examples related to the lesson. Then do only the odd problems one day, and the even problems the next. The student still gets the review with less repetition.
In our homeschool we did all the problems and examples. It definitely paid off!
The repetition is part of what makes it successful.
The best part, however, IMO, is the easy explanations of the problems and the lack of clutter on the pages. My editions are black and white with some diagrams. Not pictures of groups of racially and gender balanced kids happily working with manipulatives with the only white male in the pictures sitting in a wheelchair (like I’ve seen in public HIGH SCHOOL algebra textbooks) Ugh!
I learned more math as I taught my kids than I ever got out of school.
We didn’t do every problem either. We did it like you, especially for the first 40 or so lessons; the ones that were all review of the previous year. Then it was only the practice set ones.
When we came across new concepts, I made them do all the problems related to that concept. Once they had it down, it was just one or two for practice. The beauty of the number of problems they give is that you can pick and choose which ones you think work best for the kids.
Incidentally, I’ve been shopping for a high school level math curriculum for our eldest son. I was ready to buy Saxon, but then I read some reviews about the repetition. Also, I read that Saxon students don’t complete all of their geometry until they complete Advanced Mathematics. It sounds perfect if you start Saxon early and stay with it. (I wish I’d done that now, but I didn’t.)
My son has covered algebra in bits and pieces here and there in this book and that through the years, but never one complete algebra course. So, I’m looking for something that moves faster that he can use before moving on quickly to Geometry and Algebra II.
I’ve considered every homeschool math curriculum out there, and now I’m looking at Kinetic Books. Has anyone heard about them? They’re digital textbooks with a printed copy, too.
http://www.kineticbooks.com/index.html
Never heard of it.
We went with Saxon all the way through for that reason. Once you get into Algebra I it starts moving pretty fast. I suppose that it seems a little weak in geometry but you could supplement that with a geometry book.
The reason we did what we did was that by sticking with one curriculum there was continuity in what they learned. No chance of missing something that is covered in different years by switching curriculum. Saxon was the only one we found (at that time) that went all the way through calc and physics.
Anyway, we never found the apparent weakness in geometry to be a problem. Most of the math needed in scientific and engineering fields tends to be algebra and trig.
Geometry does teach some logic, I hear, although based on what I remember from high school, you could have fooled me. I wonder if the amount of geometry kids need really warrants a whole year to deal with.
Saxon may not be so far off that way. The geometry seemed to be sprinkled throughout the books as opposed to teaching it all in one year as we’re accustomed. It did cover proofs and the traditional shapes.
I am sorry. :(
I can’t give you any suggestions. We used Saxon.
The reason we did what we did was that by sticking with one curriculum there was continuity in what they learned. No chance of missing something that is covered in different years by switching curriculum.
That's the right way to go. I didn't want to spend too much money on a curriculum that we didn't like. So we ended up buying books and CDs here and there. As a result, he had a mishmash of math, but he picks up on it very easily. He's only 12, so it's not too late yet. I could start him on Algebra II, but I don't want to start him in the middle of a curriculum because suppose he missed something covered in an earlier book. So... decisions, decisions... oh, well.
Algebra II is a little tough in Saxon. It covers trig and stuff, things he’d likely hit in senior high. Having done it, I wouldn’t recommend it before senior high unless the kid is really precocious in math.
If you’re going to be starting him in Algebra, it’s not too late to go the Saxon route. If you were starting Saxon later into Algebra, after Algebra 1/2 for example, it might be an issue but I’m not familiar with other curriculum so I don’t know how they compare. I wouldn’t worry though, if he didn’t have the earlier grades in Saxon (54-87). As long as he’s got a good grasp of the basics, I don’t think that starting with Algebra 1/2 you’d have to worry about missing anything.
Since he’s twelve (in 7th grade?), you could do the Algebra 1/2 I, II, Advanced Math, and Calculus and it is only 5 years worth of math. He shouldn’t have any trouble with the 1/2 and should get most of the way through the Algebra I without any difficulty.
If he gets bogged down, you can always slow down in the later grades and skip calc. There’s no shame in that. Many people don’t get it the first time through even at the college level. That still leaves 6 years to do four years of math and get through the Advanced Math.
Good price here for new Saxon Math Homeschool with the Dive CD, bundled together, no shipping, tax. Mine starting 87 this month.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.