tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post2261331318719737853..comments2024-01-08T03:21:35.616-05:00Comments on DeKalb County School Watch: Systems can choose which math to teachCerebrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-87943207673316494212011-01-25T08:45:13.594-05:002011-01-25T08:45:13.594-05:00Anyone else getting anything similar? What about ...Anyone else getting anything similar? What about EOCTs? CRCTs? Accelerated Math 1 news? I'd love to see Acc. Math 1s move into just geometry..... please.....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-55245103044782084732011-01-24T23:36:17.159-05:002011-01-24T23:36:17.159-05:00Here's an interesting fact for you about Math ...Here's an interesting fact for you about Math III..... the teacher's resource box is full of Houghlin Mifflin Algebra 2 books - nothing mentioning Georgia Math III - every single thing is Algebra 2.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-9700668134903021312011-01-24T01:30:37.528-05:002011-01-24T01:30:37.528-05:00And when I say "crap" I mean the reading...And when I say "crap" I mean the reading corners, couches, feelings chairs, junk ALL over the walls about doing your best. The ethics propaganda is absolutely immeasurable. Classrooms are full with boxes of paperwork, old teaching books, old curriculum, every type of manipulative and carpet squares imaginable. <br /><br />In the halls of the middle schools, I spotted constant reminders of what to bring to class, pencils, notebooks, etc. These kids will never learn to think for themselves.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-34344754987131188822011-01-24T01:22:09.945-05:002011-01-24T01:22:09.945-05:00I have been saying it for the last 3 years, Stateg...I have been saying it for the last 3 years, Stategy based math is not working. Teaching strategy, teaching critical thinking skills does not substitute itself for the wrote method or basal method as DCSS like to call it. Sometimes kids just need to learn it, point blank. <br />Math mountains, pick a strategy that works best for you...what kind of hogwash is this? First graders taught about sticks and stones, not the feelings but using "10 sticks" as a counting method. Give me a %$@#&@# break. Just teach them the operations, teach them over and over. Teaching a child to estimate while dividing? Just teach them to divide and eventually it just becomes second nature. Or was all that learning I did not good enough? Seems to me, when we had more kids, less crap in the classroom and taught basics, schools were better off. Lets get back to it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-84849582855020987122011-01-23T21:27:24.012-05:002011-01-23T21:27:24.012-05:00@ 9:08
Did you have a counselor in elementary s...@ 9:08 <br /><br />Did you have a counselor in elementary school? I didn't it became a fad while I was in high school. Counselors especially in elementary school and middle school could easily be spread around multiple schools and be just fine. As far as high school goes, why haven't they been touched, work loads increased? <br /><br />Every one in DCSS and all public schools with funding shortages should be feeling the pinch. As with the children in DCSS so goes the jobs, of haves and have nots.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-17078914049840005072011-01-23T21:19:13.419-05:002011-01-23T21:19:13.419-05:00@ 9:08
"Re: Counselors. The counselors at my ...@ 9:08<br />"Re: Counselors. The counselors at my child's school seem hardworking and overworked."<br /><br />The teachers are even more overworked. Lewis cut 275 teacher positions last year and Ms. Tyson cut 100 teacher positions this year so all the remaining teachers had to take on more students. On the other hand counselor positions were left untouched. <br /><br />We can't keep cutting teachers and leaving all other positions intact. After all, someone does have to teach your child. Teachers should be the LAST personnel to be cut. They are the ONLY personnel the school system cannot live without and the only personnel who actually instruct the students.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-7993249509561692742011-01-23T21:08:34.903-05:002011-01-23T21:08:34.903-05:00Re: Counselors. The counselors at my child's ...Re: Counselors. The counselors at my child's school seem hardworking and overworked.<br /><br />My impression is that they have so much paperwork that they have too little time to do the real counseling work.<br /><br />That said, they have always made time to help my child with questions about which course to take and about college.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-88655723673869618582011-01-23T14:14:55.400-05:002011-01-23T14:14:55.400-05:00@ anonymous 11:33
"Counselors could be put t...@ anonymous 11:33<br /><br />"Counselors could be put to work between schools."<br /><br />I agree.<br /><br />DCSS has 267 counselors. Their compensation is $22,000,000 a year in salary and benefit cost (25%). <br /><br />The average pay for a counselor is 82,397 a yer per counselor (about $15,000 more than the per teacher compensation).<br /><br />The Parent Center employees (you know the one that employees former BOE member Ms. Roberts daughter as a coordinator) took on many of the counselor duties. The Prevention/Intervention Specialist are also performing redundant tasks that the counselors and Parent Center personnel are supposed to be preforming. <br /><br />source: State of Ga. website:<br />http://www.open.georgia.gov/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-6671936520863265272011-01-23T13:33:44.563-05:002011-01-23T13:33:44.563-05:00Counselors could be put to work between schools. ...Counselors could be put to work between schools. It's a piece of cake job with no papers to grade, work to take home, tests to worry about. Having one or two counselors especially in the elementary schools per school is a waste of money IMHO.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-63962349858446580702011-01-23T13:18:50.146-05:002011-01-23T13:18:50.146-05:00For athe year of 2011, it is now time for Instruct...For athe year of 2011, it is now time for Instructional Coaches to come into classrooms and pull out students in math or reading skills on a weekly basis.<br />These instructional coaches are really a joke on the south end of the county.<br />And please donot mention counselors. They remind me of ambulance chasers. They only show their face when an accident happens. No measures are in place to evaluate counselors. From what we know, their is a checklist that each counselor submits at the end of the year to the county listing activities that were actually done. If you ask the teachers, they could not justify one activity on the list because they never saw the school's counselor. Each school's conselor does thing his or her way with no consistency or guidelines. Who is over the counselors in DCSS?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-81487632715859505102011-01-23T13:04:35.449-05:002011-01-23T13:04:35.449-05:00I can sympathise with the parents of the strugglin...I can sympathise with the parents of the struggling kids, but please understand that most high school teachers are very competent in math--their certification demands it. They have to be able to do all math, including Calculus to be certified to teach high school math.<br /><br />I am a high school math teacher here in DeKalb, but I have been told numerous times that we have to change our way of teaching and become more "student focused" (i.e. let the students learn for themselves) instead of "teacher focused" (i.e. direct instruction). Those of us who have been teaching for a while know that most students could use more direct instruction before moving on to the Learning Tasks and word problems, but our instructional coaches tell us we must be more student focused. <br /><br />I believe there are very good topics being taught in the new curriculum--the current Math 3 contains material from the old Advanced Algebra 2 course. However, I agree with Ella Smith in that not all students will go to college and can learn the material. So we do the best we can.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-52402230245892855902011-01-23T10:16:38.880-05:002011-01-23T10:16:38.880-05:00Parents should be up in arms. With the school year...Parents should be up in arms. With the school year half way over-<br /> <br />ONLY AROUND 25% OF THE STUDENTS IN GRADES 1-8 PASSED THE END OF SEMESTER BENCHMARK IN MATH!!!<br /><br />The curriculum and pacing is to blame-not the majority of teachers that have been complaining all year to the curriculum center. The math consultants no longer respond to teachers' concerns at the math curriculum site-and there have been MANY concerns expressed by teachers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-22605561289042245662011-01-23T00:05:23.207-05:002011-01-23T00:05:23.207-05:00It's not just the math curriculum with problem...It's not just the math curriculum with problems. My 6th grader's Social Studies teacher has made 2 booklets to match the Social Studies curriculum because the current SS text book does not. In addition, every 6th grader in the school had to purchase the 6th grade SS Coach Book, because it covers the curriculum. Why doesn't the textbook cover the curriculum?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-55252967864457335132011-01-22T21:52:26.435-05:002011-01-22T21:52:26.435-05:00Heaven forbid Dr. Berry who runs the Office of Sch...Heaven forbid Dr. Berry who runs the Office of School Improvement should put Title 1 math teachers into the classrooms directly instructing small groups of struggling math students. Much easier to pay $9,000,000 for 90 instructional coaches ($100,000 per coach) than hire Title 1 math teachers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-36468179420693117582011-01-22T21:06:09.695-05:002011-01-22T21:06:09.695-05:00They'll probably ask the parents long before t...They'll probably ask the parents long before they consider asking the teachers who are in the classroom dealing with this mess.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-35736369067165143082011-01-22T20:29:48.091-05:002011-01-22T20:29:48.091-05:00So, I assume we will now be treated to a new line ...So, I assume we will now be treated to a new line of charrettes, hosted by Morcease Beasely, asking the public's opinion on math curriculum.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-33942468293826452182011-01-22T18:01:57.790-05:002011-01-22T18:01:57.790-05:00The percent proficient in Math in grades 1-5 was 2...The percent proficient in Math in grades 1-5 was 25.48 on the end of semester Benchmark.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-14731947071493279732011-01-22T17:23:42.504-05:002011-01-22T17:23:42.504-05:00The biggest problem with math education is that ma...The biggest problem with math education is that many of the teachers, particularly at the high school level, do not have mastery of mathematics themselves. They learned math in discrete chunks - algebra, geometry, trig - so the new curriculum is as difficult for them as it is for the students. The new curriculum really requires one to understand mathematical concepts and theories and not just "plug and chug", rote problem solving.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-38870586883079158592011-01-22T17:17:28.128-05:002011-01-22T17:17:28.128-05:00Check this out: in every school yesterday school c...Check this out: in every school yesterday school choice brochure for 2011-2012 was handed out to students. Whether this is a County, State, or Federal policy punishable by death, why in the dickens would you give such a brochure to a class of 2011 student in the final semester of his schooling?<br /><br />DO THEY THAT IN GWINNETT?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-88955313502027472592011-01-22T17:15:10.634-05:002011-01-22T17:15:10.634-05:00Dekalb County has neither the prestige nor the mor...Dekalb County has neither the prestige nor the moral standing to resist the flights of fancy of the Georgia Department of Education in the areas of math, sciences, world languages and so forth.<br /><br />Other more prestigious (those with more qualified administrators and real curriculum experts) counties can opt out or co-opt the State.<br /><br />I suspect that Dekalb's willingness to spearhead (or to pilot) so many programs has gotten it burned so frequently that one would think they have learned their lesson.<br /><br />But having done it so often, now in Dekalb County, every echelon (school, area, county)act as if every silly demand from the above rung is a Tablet from Mt. Sinai that cannot be questioned or interpreted.<br /><br />Check this out: in every school yesterday school choice brochure for 2011-2012 was handed out to students. Whether this is a County, State, or Federal policy punishable by death, why in the dickens would you give such a brochure to a class of 2011 student in the final semester of his schooling?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-89041750719102340442011-01-22T17:15:03.883-05:002011-01-22T17:15:03.883-05:00Oops. Make that "practical".Oops. Make that "practical".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-81153724603579945672011-01-22T17:13:57.590-05:002011-01-22T17:13:57.590-05:00I think the whole problem with Dekalb's implem...I think the whole problem with Dekalb's implementation of the new math curriculum lies in its being used as the primary method of instruction, rather than as a supplemental method of instruction. <br />The idea of learning to use math for pratical problem solving needs to be integrated into math education, but should not be done at the expense of math skills mastery.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-90364985475416255502011-01-22T16:49:10.957-05:002011-01-22T16:49:10.957-05:00Students need repetition on material to learn it a...Students need repetition on material to learn it and it sounds like they are not teaching mastery of the skills but only introducing many concepts in math.<br /><br />The very bright child may be able to do fine but many students will be left way behind.Ella Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16485840445272819682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-38693699379769705822011-01-22T15:04:03.507-05:002011-01-22T15:04:03.507-05:00We have too many consultants - and not enough teac...We have too many consultants - and not enough teachers in DeKalb.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-24910999403680149812011-01-22T14:36:00.612-05:002011-01-22T14:36:00.612-05:00The problem with the math curriculum goes all the ...The problem with the math curriculum goes all the way back to elementary school. The pacing is too fast and the students do not become competent in a skill before they move on. For example, the third graders do not spend enough time on multiplication. We all know that multiplication is very important for future skills. They were pushed rapidly through it and then made to go into long division with remainders. It is no wonder the benchmark scores in DeKalb are so bad. The teachers have been complaining, but unfortunately the people in the county office have not been responding to them. The students do not regularly use a textbook and they skip around with the skills. A lot of teachers in the elementary school are very frustrated. Someone should ask the county for the end of semester math benchmark scores for elementary and middle school students-I know they are terrible.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com