Posted on 07/25/2008 10:31:21 AM PDT by reaganaut1
My wife and I have 3 children (ages 1, 3, and 5), and we recently purchased a home in Winchester, Massachusetts, because its schools have a good reputation and its students do well on the MCAS . I looked at the "Academics" section of the school district web site and found "Math literature lists" (what happened to textbooks?) for various grades. The 4th grade list at
http://mail.winchester.k12.ma.us/~mkerble/mathlists4.doc
lists dozens of books, including
Count your Way Through Africa
Count Your Way Through Arab World
and 7 move "Count your Way" books
Amazon says the "Count your Way Through Africa" book "uses the Swahili words for the numbers from one to ten to introduce the land, history, and culture of Africa."
A school teacher who reviewed the book says
"Learn How to Count in Kiswahili! [...]
A very nice informative book that taught me a lot about the African continent and how to count in Kiswahili too! I wll share this with my class during Black History Month."
Fine, teach about Africa in social studies class, but this has nothing to with math! Even if the books were a serious effort teach kids to count, that ought to be mastered in 1st grade or kindergarten, not 4th grade. They need to work on abstract concepts such as fractions and decimals.
"Homeschool!", I hear you Freepers shout. We probably will not, since my wife is a doctor, but it's clear that if we send him to the public school, we had better take the math education into our own hands. We have been using the Singapore Math series, and our precocious 5yo is already in book 2A adding and subtracting 3-digit numbers with carry over.
Winchester is an affluent, mostly white (with some Asians) suburb of Boston, where most students do go on to college. I suppose most kids learn math anyway, maybe directly from their parents or through tutoring programs like Kumon. But what are we paying teachers to do? It reminds me of the recent article about "renegade parents" who teach their kids basic skills such as long division at home, because they are not covered in school.
http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2008/07/15/renegade_parents_teach_old_math_on_the_sly/ .
I grew up in Needham, back when some sanity still prevailed. It was getting nutty even back in the ‘80s in MA. I left in ‘91 and would never go back; certainly not with kids.
Two words: Catholic School.
My parents taught me to read and taught basic math at an early age (before kindergarten). It eventually meant that I was bored in most public school math and English classes, but in retrospect I’m happier that I was bored and can do it now than I would be if I struggled through school and could barely cope.
There is a incident reported this morning on Metro DC radio.
The guy took his pregnant wife thru a drive-thru and got food for $4.25. He gave the girl $5.25 hoping she would give him a dollar back. The girl stated that he had given her too much money. He told her yes, he wanted a $1 dollar back. She said couldn’t do that and went and got her manager. The manager told him no and gave him his original quater plus 75 cents back in change.
If you can, find a good private school that does teach the curriculum/values that you want.
In San Jose, California, we had 1 good public school, and it was closed by our district.
Math instruction has always been very good in our district. However, science and history were totally lacking.
My son is starting high school in a few weeks. He’s been in public, but we’re going private for high school. He’s into drama, and the public school drama department puts on very liberal, inappropriate schows (”One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”). Also, the English department has too many books on their recommended/required reading list that I feel are inappropriate (lots of cussing, sex, gang themes).
If you go public, you will have to keep on top of the curriculum all the way through.
If home schooling is out of the question, and the local parochial schools are not to your liking, there is always the straight private school route. Many of the prep schools that started in Junior High are now extending down into the elementary school realm. You live in Massachusetts, there is a cornucopia of private schools for every taste in that part of the country. Since your wife is a doctor, I will assume that the higher tuition is not a deal-killer.
Become a teacher and do it the right way, then.
My children are very gifted in math anyway (dad is an engineer) but in order to prevent any future problems we decided to enroll them in Kumon and haven't regretted it for one second. I tried all I could do to educate the other parents about the extreme deficiencies in this math system but nobody seemed to care. Now their children entering the 5th grade with my son don't even know their multiplication tables and my 10 year old is starting Algebra in Kumon.
I've compiled a list of great websites of groups in various states that are trying to fight the constructivist math advocates if you are interested I will post them.
In Government schools, ethnic diversity education is more important than trival stuff like mathematics. Didn’t you know that? Better get with the program! Some liberal might call Child Protective Services on you for attempting to deviate from the state mandated curriculum.
Good luck finding a good private school for your child!
My daughter just finished 3rd grade in the Framingham (MA) public school system, and I have to say that I was very impressed with the math curriculum there.
I think it was actually as thorough and as good as the one I had in 3rd grade in Scarsdale, NY in the 50s, which at the time was one of the very best public school systems in the country (probably still is.)
CC&E, former homeschooling mom
The truth: The schools suck. All of them. In the nice towns. I have first hand experience in 3 MA towns -- all rated highly for education, all with schools that were bad, bad, bad.
I pay $9000 a year for property taxes so that the *cough* excellent *cough* schools in my town can maintain their *cough* high standards *cough*.
I spend a bit less than $9000 a year so that my 2 kids can attend a quality private school. The reality is that my costs are doubled because of the incompetence of public education.
You should take this to heart, and really think if you want to shoulder the costs of living in Winchester. I suspect that the primary reason you chose that town was the schools. If so, you made a mistake, and you should re-think this choice.
No one ever gave me that kind of advice. I wish they had.
I do that sometimes, just for amusement.
I make a very good income based on math. The job market is so tight for qualified actuaries that their are only two requirments on a candidate 1) has passed some actuarial exams 2) breathes.
ping
So, you won't except when you will.
Why not find a private school? Religious schools tend to be very good, although I don’t know how you and your wife feel about that. I’m teaching summer school this summer and my two best students graduated from private high schools—one a Catholic and the other a Mennonite school. They both have intelligence, motivation and good work habits. They stand out in a class full of good students.
When it comes to math, there are three types of people, those who can count, and those who cant.
My wife has a female acquaintance with a masters degree in some unusable field.
They met when the woman took a part time job where my wife worked as a manager.
This woman could not even make change.
She used the cash register to calculate the correct change but even screwed that up because she would get confused and enter the wrong ammount tendered.
She is now a grade school teacher in the public school system.
This is a true story.
Your wife is a doctor? Private school!
I had that a similar experience in Alexandria VA. I gave the extra change to make a whole dollar and the cashier said, "We can't do that." I said, "Sure you can." He went and asked his manager.
I got my dollar.
Sarcasm? I hope...
bump
Calculators and velcro.
My kids were never allowed calculators during their homeschool career.
I never allowed footwear that didn't tie.
Between calculators, velcro and TV, I'd guess at least 50% of basic skills are not lost, but never learned, to the detriment of a child's (and ultimately adult's) ability to formulate thought processes (sp?) required to reach a conclusion quickly and easily.
I am a math teacher in a private Christian School. My duties include teaching upper level math and science courses for college credit. These are introductory college courses identical to those offered at our local community college. I find that my students cannot do the mathematics required to do these courses. They are woefully ill-prepared in both algebra and arithemtic—I must take precious class time to remediate these kids—and these are high-achievers!
Most of the blame lies not with the students, as they are hardworking and willing to learn. The blame lies with the New York state curriculum. The curriculum uses a technique called cycling, which means the teachers hop from topic to topic, never dealing with anything in depth. Too much time is wasted in review. There is also the push to be fun and relevant—our own district actually BRAGGED that it no longer troubles the poor kids by demanding third-graders learn times tables.
There is also a trend toward cooperative learning (very chick-friendly). So awful is this program that fully 65% of our districts’ students failed the first Math A (9th grade) exam when the course was offered in 2000. There is a parent group at one local public high school whose name is “teach our kids math”.
The final straw is the push in new york against elitism. Honors courses in math do not exist—yet “tracking” is ok in sports and in music—after all, who wants their band to sound bad or their sports team to lose?
What a parent can do is to get involved, I guess. And find individual teachers who are good. And investigate private schools.
If they are teaching that in math, imagine what there teaching in the other classes. Private school.
Footwear that doesn’t tie is a great invention!!!!!!!!!
My daughter is special needs. She can do lots of things (ride a bike, swim, great at math). However, she cannot tie her shoes tight. She finally was able to tie them when she was about 9 or 10, but they still always come untied. A couple of the kids that have similar problems are in high school, and they still can’t tie their shoes tight.
Anyway, we are very thankful for shoes that don’t need to be tied.
I would die without velcro. I hate tying shoelaces. My 10 year old daughter is better at tying laces than I am, I hate it that much.
As for calculators, we rarely use them around here. My daughter helps me with my books, she's pretty much in charge of inventory control and never uses a calculator, and rarely, if ever, makes a mistake.
I’ve been homeschooling and teaching for years. I would NEVER public school at this point. I’ve seen too many horror stories.
At the least, the kids are indoctrinated with multiculturalism and liberalism. And thrown into a group of peers that have selfish, modern, mindsets.
There are other alternatives to public school. Explore.
Down here in FL we have lots of kids virtual schooling, while running their own businesses and /or exploring their special giftings on the side.
My oldest son will be starting his second year (8th grade) in private school, with a classical education. We tried a year of public middle school and he was bored out of his mind. The quality of the education was not only poor but as they get older the troublemakers in the class become worse and more dangerous. Public schools are not an ideal place to learn, there are too many distractions. It is costing us a fortune for tuition now and that will double when we send the 5th grader there next year. I will most likely have to get a job in order to pay the tuition for both of them but I can’t imagine a better investment.
Dedham here.
It’s a completely different school now since i graduated in ‘85.
My comment is directed towards the rest of the child population.
Must be homecoming, today.
The first school I ever went to was the Longfellow school in Roslindale.
As a kindergartener that building scared the crap out of me on the first day with that wrought Iron fence surrounding what looked like a gothic mental institute.
I don’t even know if it’s still standing anymore.
I get chills just thinking about it. :)
Yesterday i went into walmart and the total was 55.26. I gave her 65.26.
Her: you gave me too much.
me: Yea i want 10 back.
She proceeds to give me back 9 dollars and 26 cents even after having punched it into the cash register. The end result was me having 9 ones and a dollar in change.
That is nothing of course from what happened at McDonalds a week earlier.
I order a big and tasty meal and 2 chicken wraps. She punches in a grilled chicken sandwich meal, 2 large drinks, and 2 large fries. I give her my money and start adding it up in my head noticing the total is way off i ask to see the recipt (they always throw them away and don’t give them to you at this mcDonalds.) I see what is on there and tell her. Once she finally got it “right” she tells me i have to pay again and begins argueing with me. She finally calls over her manager. The manager gave me back a dollar and 2 cents without even looking at the totals. She wouldn’t give me the recipt because they had already thrown the new one away. I finally just left not caring about the 3 or so dollars.
You should have asked us before moving there, really. Not joking around, not being funny...I used to live there.
We are in the suburbs of Chicago. When our son was in 3rd grade, they brought in the University of Chicago math program. It also used the cycle system and relied on calculators. When asked at what point in the cycle they would require mastery, they had no answer. Mastery is not part of the program. We ended up pulling our son out of public school the beginning of 4th grade and homeschooling. I figured if I had to spend all that time after school teaching him math, I might as well just do it myself and save time.
We put him into a Christian private school the 2nd half of 5th grade, where the academics were at a significantly higher level than the public school. Our son has thrived in this enviornment. He was allowed to take 7th grade math during the summer between 6th & 7th grade and started algebra in 7th grade. He is now 15 and will be a junior. He will be taking calculus at the community college (his school doesn’t offer it and sends the students to college). According to the college, most kids coming out of our public schools are extremely lacking in math skills.
I’d also like to see your list - thanks!
“You should have asked us before moving there, really. Not joking around, not being funny...I used to live there.”
Ok, better late than never. Please tell me what you think. Another town we considered is Lexington, which has its own problems: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2002875/posts .
You moved to Winchester, an upscale moonbat enclave. Do as other Freepers have suggested and look into the local parochial schools.
Last year the principal of the middle school, being the PC kind of guy he is, cancelled the field trip to see “Miracle on 34th Street”,
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/14591550/detail.html
Oh no, we can’t have the kids exposed to Santa!
Meanwhile, his son, a special ed teacher, is trying to get the kids to have sex with him...
http://www.wickedlocal.com/winchester/news/education/x1470895021/Principal-s-son-arrested-on-child-enticement-charges
I agree, Freepers are great sources of relocation info.
Sadly, all those choices are poor. Pehaps out on Route 2 beyond Concord things may get better.
An analogy might be to visualize a...Ohh.. Garbage pail on a hot day sitting in Harvard Square. It can certainly be smelled out to the Route 128 belt. These "Better" towns have residents who can afford to fantasize about their Glorious Red Dawn, because they are insulated from realworld cares by their incomes.
In short, any place you would care to live probably has that attitude, including my present town, though about 35%-40% vote R in some towns on the South Shore.
It is embarrasing to confess that it is such a Liberal Pesthole. Possibly the other few MA Republicans may offer better suggestions. For commuting practicality, your (and my) options are pretty limited. The very things that attract human beings, also attract Liberals.
(Trying to keep it light, though it is depressing to type....)
I do not see the problem with your home schooling.
If your wife is a doctor and makes more money than you, then you do the home schooling. It is not a female oriented activity.
If you send your children to American Public Schools, they will come out dumber than a stump and hate school.
The choice is yours!
You’re to be commended for seeing the light! Now consider homeschooling, because it isn’t just in math that the public schools fall short, and the private schools aren’t necessarily better.
Consider, among other things, that learning math from one’s parents brings more benefits than merely learning math...as wonderful as that is!
All time spent with a parent, whether learning math or building sand castles or baking cookies or playing with the hose or praying, is quality time. Think carefully before you delegate these God-given opportunities to strangers.
Over here!
http://www.mathematicallycorrect.com/
http://www.wheresthemath.com/blog/2007/02
http://www.weaponsofmathdestruction.com/
http://www.pwcteachmathright.com/
http://math.berkeley.edu/~wu/
http://instructivist.blogspot.com/
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/09/education/08education.html
http://www.nychold.com/
These are some of the websites that I have compiled over the past few years.
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