SouthernN'Proud
Southern Discomfort
Go Figure
A columnist at the Newton Tab in Massachusetts suggests that school officials there wondering why scores on standardized math tests have plummetted in recent years look no further than recent curriculum changes for an explanation.
About five years ago, writes Tom Mountain, the Newton school district opted to start emphasizing its commitment to “anti-racist education” instead of division, multiplication, fractions and decimals. According to benchmarks established by administrators, the number one priority for math teachers was teaching “respect for human differences.”
Now, administrators are puzzled as to why scores on sixth-grade standardized tests have declined steadily over the past three years to the point where 32 percent of sixth-graders are now in the "warning" or "needs improvement" category.
**end**
I know my life was changed when that math teacher stopped focusing on calculations and began teaching us to respect the differences in human beings. That one event alone was responsible for my never wasting my time on a nuclear physics degree, and instead having to rely on a computer to make change from a ten-spot.
Absolute bunk. Addition and subtraction are the same no matter how damn different you are. We need to spend less time tolerating differences and more time calculating totals. Hell, I thought we were supposed to be equal anyway. Some of what I hear tells me that, then other stuff tells me that I need to be aware of the differences. Which is it? Are all men created equal, but some to be treated better than others? Am I to treat evereyone the same but some better? Is that possible?
When y'all figure it out (oops, figuring it out might require math skills...scratch that part...) When y'all decide, somebody let me know how it's supposed to be, wouldya? I'll be the redneck on the hill with a mason's trowel in hand laying block on a small building. See, I'm able to do that, because I correctly calculated the area of the structure and was then able to know how many blocks to buy. I took exact change for this purchase so I wouldn't trouble anyone with trying to count it back to me. True, I mighta pissed somebody at the store off because I failed to recognize their uniqueness, but I think it'll be OK in the end.
A columnist at the Newton Tab in Massachusetts suggests that school officials there wondering why scores on standardized math tests have plummetted in recent years look no further than recent curriculum changes for an explanation.
About five years ago, writes Tom Mountain, the Newton school district opted to start emphasizing its commitment to “anti-racist education” instead of division, multiplication, fractions and decimals. According to benchmarks established by administrators, the number one priority for math teachers was teaching “respect for human differences.”
Now, administrators are puzzled as to why scores on sixth-grade standardized tests have declined steadily over the past three years to the point where 32 percent of sixth-graders are now in the "warning" or "needs improvement" category.
**end**
I know my life was changed when that math teacher stopped focusing on calculations and began teaching us to respect the differences in human beings. That one event alone was responsible for my never wasting my time on a nuclear physics degree, and instead having to rely on a computer to make change from a ten-spot.
Absolute bunk. Addition and subtraction are the same no matter how damn different you are. We need to spend less time tolerating differences and more time calculating totals. Hell, I thought we were supposed to be equal anyway. Some of what I hear tells me that, then other stuff tells me that I need to be aware of the differences. Which is it? Are all men created equal, but some to be treated better than others? Am I to treat evereyone the same but some better? Is that possible?
When y'all figure it out (oops, figuring it out might require math skills...scratch that part...) When y'all decide, somebody let me know how it's supposed to be, wouldya? I'll be the redneck on the hill with a mason's trowel in hand laying block on a small building. See, I'm able to do that, because I correctly calculated the area of the structure and was then able to know how many blocks to buy. I took exact change for this purchase so I wouldn't trouble anyone with trying to count it back to me. True, I mighta pissed somebody at the store off because I failed to recognize their uniqueness, but I think it'll be OK in the end.
I get voluntold quite often. 