Brought us by The Federalist: To Love Math, Kids Should Start Older And Encounter Its Beauty When are we ever going to use this?” Every math teacher (and every parent who has helped his child learn math) has heard this question more times than he cares to remember. In a new book out from Encounter in July, J. Jacob Tawney says we have been giving the wrong answer. Teachers often defend the mental strain required of math students by pointing to the ubiquity of math in our lives. They say things like, “You won’t always have a calculator and you’ll need to know how to do this,” or describe the high pay of careers in STEM fields. Not only are these answers completely unsatisfying to … [Read more...]
This 1897 Text Gives 3 Clues Why Today’s Students Can’t Write
Do things change over time? Today's article was originally published in November 2015 at Intellectual Takeout by Annie Holmquest. So 6+ years later and has anything changed? Should it have? Why not? What will you do about it? Last week the Nation’s Report Card announced that no more than 40% of America’s 4th and 8th graders are proficient in reading and math. Those are scary numbers, but the numbers for writing are even more frightening: only 27% of American 8th and 12th graders attained proficiency. Why are American students such terrible writers? Several answers to this question dawned on me while reading through an 1897 text by Dr. Edwin Lewis. Entitled A First Book in Writing … [Read more...]
Grade Schools: New Leftist Frontlines
On October 9th 2019 we ran an article about the move of Seattle schools to use math to teach revisionist history...that's right math won't really be math...it will be leftist history in it's place: https://swweducation.org?p=6170 On October 22nd 2019 a story titled: Seattle Public Schools Want to Teach Social Justice in Math Class. That Hurts Minorities ran at National Review. On December 30th 2019 NPR ran another article pulling together examples of liberal/progressive groups and organizations making efforts across the nation: Grade Schools: New Leftist Frontlines The author is Marina Medvin. That is the article we bring you today. For decades we have said that there is a … [Read more...]
New Math…no really…New Math ala the liberal/progressives in Washington State
Ok...you thought math was really math. 1+1=2 or 5x7 = 35 or geometry or calculus or trig or fractions...BUT...you would be WRONG! Why? Because you are not "woke"! The following story is real. If we could get the names of those who created this abomination we would share them. Math, according to these people represents power and oppression. Math should now be looked at from an ethnic basis. Race makes math wrong. White people make math wrong. Who says the right answer is right when people are oppressed? Math "erases the historical contributions of people and communities of color." "Mathematical theory and application is rooted in the ancient histories of people and empires of … [Read more...]
Washington State School Funding data for Woodland School District: “More money does what?”
There is a LOT of buzz about funding K-12 education in Washington State the last couple of years. We’ve seen the State raise property taxes to better fund schools…with over 50% of the entire state budget going to education. We’ve seen limits placed on local levy’s with a requirement to ONLY use the funds for “enrichment” programs. We’ve seen the legislature debate increasing the $1.50 levy limit to $2.50 because most of the extra funds from tax increases went to teachers and districts are now running deficits and need to lay teachers off. We now see special “capital levies” to fund technology. We see capital bonds to fund new schools and renovations/repairs. So what has all that money done … [Read more...]
Washington State School Funding data for Camas School District: “More money does what?”
There is a LOT of buzz about funding K-12 education in Washington State the last couple of years. We’ve seen the State raise property taxes to better fund schools…with over 50% of the entire state budget going to education. We’ve seen limits placed on local levy’s with a requirement to ONLY use the funds for “enrichment” programs. We’ve seen the legislature debate increasing the $1.50 levy limit to $2.50 because most of the extra funds from tax increases went to teachers and districts are now running deficits and need to lay teachers off. We now see special “capital levies” to fund technology. We see capital bonds to fund new schools and renovations/repairs. So what has all that money done … [Read more...]
Washington State School Funding data for Hockinson School District: “More money does what?”
There's a LOT of buzz about funding K-12 education in Washington State the last couple of years. We’ve seen the State raise property taxes to better fund schools…with over 50% of the entire state budget going to education. We’ve seen limits placed on local levy’s with a requirement to ONLY use the funds for “enrichment” programs. We’ve seen the legislature debate increasing the $1.50 levy limit to $2.50 because most of the extra funds from tax increases went to teachers and districts are now running deficits and need to lay teachers off. We now see special “capital levies” to fund technology. We see capital bonds to fund new schools and renovations/repairs. So what has all that money done … [Read more...]
Washington State Math Standards are failing students – An inside view of a math teacher
We are pleased to share the experiences and learnings of a math teacher who has been recognized by his peers as an outstanding educator. Here is a snapshot of his background... I am an 18 year public school teacher, primarily in high school mathematics, although I did two years in middle school. Most of my teaching has been in Snohomish County schools - 7 years at Kamiak HS in Mukilteo, 6 years in Marysville (2 yrs 7th grade, 4 years HS), and over the last 3 years I have been at Cascade HS in Everett, Monroe HS in Monroe, and Meadowdale HS in Lynnwood. I have taught all levels of HS mathematics, including AP Calculus and AP Statistics, but the class I have taught the most has been … [Read more...]
Common Core Math vs Math Teaching in the past and future
Sometimes the example says it all.....social/emotional health thrown in … [Read more...]
State Superintendent of Instruction’s Office uses Common Core Math…and gets it wrong!
On August 16, 2016, Randy Dorn (Washington State Superintendent of Instruction) issued a press release sharing the results of the 2015/2016 SBAC (Common Core) test results. In the press release he said he was pleased with the improvement. Here is a link to the OSPI page with the press release: http://www.k12.wa.us/Communications/PressReleases2016/TestScores.aspx First, we need to establish some background. The SBAC was first given in 2014/2015. The test results for the State can be seen in the table on the left or you can click this link to got straight to the data: … [Read more...]
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