Post AktImqC8jWSXOmoCTQ by bxknits@mas.to
(DIR) More posts by bxknits@mas.to
(DIR) Post #AktGhXTIibcpyQBCgS by phonner@mathstodon.xyz
2024-08-11T22:19:11Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
Math teacher Gary Rubinstein gives five reasons why the Illustrative Math curriculum mandate in NYC is destined to flop. https://garyrubinstein.wordpress.com/2024/08/09/illustrative-math-the-new-curriculum-that-nearly-every-algebra-teacher-in-nyc-has-to-start-using-this-fall-and-why-it-is-destined-to-flop/#Math #MathEd #Teaching #Education
(DIR) Post #AktHHusn9ath0URtzM by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-12T12:22:09Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@phonner WHY do they think this is a problem that can be solved through a one-time purchase of a "new teaching method" --I realize that there isn't the funding to do the things that might actually work:* Decrease class size* Attract and retain more experienced teachers* Provide better administrative support. For example it can be hard to contact parents because databases are not kept up to date. * Make schools more integral to communities with clubs, arts and sports.
(DIR) Post #AktHXiwZJKDWbzkkvw by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-12T12:25:02Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@phonner There is no such thing as a magic math math book or lesson plans that make students who have been underserved by their schools regain the years of learning and support they are missing. I understand why this keeps happening. The real solutions aren't in the budget... but there is no good reason to change the math books again. This is just extra work for teachers who could better use that time tracking down the phone number of that one student whose parents you've never spoken to.
(DIR) Post #AktHjWiMbVnQ9ujkQ4 by Elizabeth3@toot.community
2024-08-12T12:27:04Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird @phonner my mom said it’s because every few years a new superintendent comes to the school systems and they want to put their dissertation into practice that could be exceptionally cynical, but that is what she saw
(DIR) Post #AktHm8I3rx0xHFg1ui by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-12T12:27:39Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@phonner Granted, tracking down phone numbers shouldn't really be the teacher's job. But, before I moved to a school that avoids this BS (the best schools in the city aren't subjected to this nonsense ... which says everything really) I simply used my time as effectively as possible and sometimes that meant updating the school contact list FIRST... and paying attention to whatever gimmick curriculum they were rolling out next LAST. eg. being a teacher and teaching things.
(DIR) Post #AktHptuPHV8DpePRWy by jmax@mastodon.social
2024-08-12T12:27:59Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird @phonner Yes, but that doesn't fit the "managers will fix it all with one simple pronouncement, using their godlike superior knowledge" myth that the managers love.
(DIR) Post #AktHxzzOYfOx0UbW08 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-12T12:29:46Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@phonner It's not that curriculum design isn't important. It's just a very limited component in the issue. It's like you are trying to throw life preservers to drowning people and there are some people arguing about the color and shape of the preservers. I mean... yes, I suppose yellow is a more visible color than green, but I can use either, and I could use some help getting these people out of the water.
(DIR) Post #AktI4xVCCfvpJvnUuG by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-12T12:30:59Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@Elizabeth3 @phonner I'd like to see what happens if they put a ten-year ban on major changes. Then look at the data. See if letting teachers get good at teaching with particular material makes a positive difference. I bet it would.
(DIR) Post #AktIhCUSvT9coGgtRg by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-12T12:37:57Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@Elizabeth3 @phonner Spend the entire budget for new curriculum on snacks for after school activities then compare the test scores since everyone likes test scores so much. I bet really good snacks would have a bigger impact. (Of course many teachers buy snacks out of pocket as it is, but now you have me staying at work late and PAYING to do it. So of course very few people want to do that. SNACKS NOW. You can't think deeply or have a school community if everyone is cranky and hungry.)
(DIR) Post #AktIkymHqoRrRIpQi8 by ShiitakeToast@beige.party
2024-08-12T12:38:34Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird @phonner because the consultants don’t get paid for smaller class sizes, etc. They get paid for “innovation*”*innovation = buying something new the mayor can talk about if a pre written press release.
(DIR) Post #AktImqC8jWSXOmoCTQ by bxknits@mas.to
2024-08-12T12:38:58Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@futurebird Before he retired, the regular switching of reading curriculums drove my husband nuts.. Every one was going to be the magic formula, and he was there long enough to cycle through the same opposite approaches several times. There was no magic bullet, it took a good teacher who had the skill to adapt any set curriculum to a variety of students.
(DIR) Post #AktJpSfkkGRTGhTPns by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-12T12:50:32Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@eirias @phonner Admins have very little money to work with and the solutions everyone with experience knows will work are too expensive. The amount of money that can be flexible isn't enough to make a big impact in those areas (my suggestion of buying snacks instead is realistic.)Snacks would have an impact, but wouldn't get the same publicity for the admins. So, it's tempting to switch out the books again even though everyone knows how it will end.
(DIR) Post #AktJrFHpU6GAKe8NQO by phonner@mathstodon.xyz
2024-08-12T12:50:58Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird Curriculum / textbook changes are good for lots of interested parties: They make executives look decisive, they make administrators look busy, they make publishers lots and lots of money. But they make very little difference.
(DIR) Post #AktJsiuynieAWQ9Qa8 by Okanogen@mastodon.social
2024-08-12T12:50:58Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird @phonner What really chapped my ass was the entire "Charter school/Free Market will fix it" fad that was popular for way too long, where the "Invisible Hand" would magically produced the best school through competition. Premised on the unavoidable reality (by design), that most schools will fail and fuck those kids in them anyway. Someone needs to take one for the team.
(DIR) Post #AktKWv6qtOqXuss640 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-12T12:58:29Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@eirias @phonner For 100s of years we've been teaching math all wrong, but THIS TIME the superintendent has discovered the secret magic math book that will work and make huge gains!Two years later either you proclaim that a natural fluctuation upwards in test scores is a success... or, if scores go down or stay the same you just pick another book and try again. Solving Problems. Yay.
(DIR) Post #AktKgMwUmOkkqSX6HI by StephanieMoore@mastodon.online
2024-08-12T13:00:07Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird @Elizabeth3 @phonner it wouldn’t really be that simple because the materials do matter. We saw this with different literacy curricula, for example, that take very different approaches. There are certain key principles and strategies that do make a difference. Schools using a curriculum without those - for however long - saw dramatic drops in reading. Districts change curricula for good reasons and for silly reasons.
(DIR) Post #AktKlxelhlkq9xuLK4 by rhinocratic@functional.cafe
2024-08-12T13:00:35Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@bxknits @futurebird Just wondered - did the USA suffer the abomination of the Initial Teaching Alphabet? As a child in the UK of the 60s, I could read before I started school - but then had to set aside the progress I'd made in order to relearn the accursed ITA. I could then "enjoy" the limited array of outstandingly dull books written in this cipher, before reverting back to "real" written English after a few years. I can't imagine why anyone thought this was a good idea. Presumably, there was money behind it 😄.
(DIR) Post #AktLFYLkMLrcMM7Yw4 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-12T13:06:33Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@eirias @phonner This is how it ought to work, but this requires building in time for teachers to work collaboratively to develop their curriculum. (That's how it works at my school, it's great.)But our schools outspends other schools on staffing and materials at a rate of 2:1 at least. There are many public schools that manage to do this, and it works, but you need to secure the funding.
(DIR) Post #AktSb9t4grOcXZxX3A by justafrog@mstdn.social
2024-08-12T14:28:52Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird @Elizabeth3 @phonner One of the biggest problems for Dutch schools is the unrelenting flood of new directives from MinEdu.Sometimes coalition forming takes exceptionally long, and schools really benefit from the lack of new policy.Seriously, everyone in charge of education wants to reform the whole thing and it's just annoying and wasteful.
(DIR) Post #AktU3u3uhsw9oOId1s by geonz@mathstodon.xyz
2024-08-12T14:45:16Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird @Elizabeth3 @phonner Illustrative Math is open source so a ton cheaper than most curricula
(DIR) Post #AktUH0SSEr2lPe1h0y by geonz@mathstodon.xyz
2024-08-12T14:47:38Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird @phonner THere's no magic, but with both reading and math, knowing how to teach it matters. SIgh, the texts and curricula *don't* teach how to teach it...
(DIR) Post #AkuQja1xMuurBlxgDw by lufthans@mastodon.social
2024-08-13T01:42:43Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird @phonner a new platform/curriculum without support or plan to transition from the current system is the opposite of "Attract and retain more experienced teachers"I recognize all these points from discussions with teachers year after year