Hundreds of college math professors blast decreased math standards in K-12

[landscapingvol]

I think too much of school is focused on mindless memorization/regurgitation of facts. That will only get you through basic arithmetic.

Umm no it isn't and part of being a good math student is learning fundamental facts through memorization

 

[landscapingvol]

California Tries to Close the Gap in Math, but Sets Off a Backlash



Apparently one solution to this in California is to simply lower the ceiling. Gap closed, problem solved.

Correct, that is exactly what is happening. The problems in education exist way beyond the classroom and go much deeper than any goofy new strategy we throw at it, repackaging the same bs into different new acronyms. Discipline is lacking, students don't know how to fail or struggle without complaining/giving up, very few students are allowed to fail, homework has been devalued, and respect is earned, not given. Many of those issues come from the home and are hard to correct in a school day when the other 16 hours are spent away from school. A lot of good educators are retiring early or leaving the profession and many potentially good educators aren't entering the profession that ordinarily would have 3-4 decades ago. The leaders of the education system at the state and national level continue to throw money at it hoping that they can bribe enough people to enter the profession or find new ways to entertain students in the classroom through massive investments in technology. We have a fundamental issue in this nation when it comes to education. We either want to have a great education system or we don't. At this point in my career, nothing seems to suggest outside of empty speeches or overspending that we do want a great education system. We seem to be very content with being average.

 

[Wireless1]

Correct, that is exactly what is happening. The problems in education exist way beyond the classroom and go much deeper than any goofy new strategy we throw at it, repackaging the same bs into different new acronyms. Discipline is lacking, students don't know how to fail or struggle without complaining/giving up, very few students are allowed to fail, homework has been devalued, and respect is earned, not given. Many of those issues come from the home and are hard to correct in a school day when the other 16 hours are spent away from school. A lot of good educators are retiring early or leaving the profession and many potentially good educators aren't entering the profession that ordinarily would have 3-4 decades ago. The leaders of the education system at the state and national level continue to throw money at it hoping that they can bribe enough people to enter the profession or find new ways to entertain students in the classroom through massive investments in technology. We have a fundamental issue in this nation when it comes to education. We either want to have a great education system or we don't. At this point in my career, nothing seems to suggest outside of empty speeches or overspending that we do want a great education system. We seem to be very content with being average.

You left out the part where educational administrators moved the goal from learning "skills" to "teach them to think" closely followed by "teach them to think like us"......and since many of the teachers didn't "think like them" they decided to depart.

 

[AshG]

Correct, that is exactly what is happening. The problems in education exist way beyond the classroom and go much deeper than any goofy new strategy we throw at it, repackaging the same bs into different new acronyms. Discipline is lacking, students don't know how to fail or struggle without complaining/giving up, very few students are allowed to fail, homework has been devalued, and respect is earned, not given. Many of those issues come from the home and are hard to correct in a school day when the other 16 hours are spent away from school. A lot of good educators are retiring early or leaving the profession and many potentially good educators aren't entering the profession that ordinarily would have 3-4 decades ago. The leaders of the education system at the state and national level continue to throw money at it hoping that they can bribe enough people to enter the profession or find new ways to entertain students in the classroom through massive investments in technology. We have a fundamental issue in this nation when it comes to education. We either want to have a great education system or we don't. At this point in my career, nothing seems to suggest outside of empty speeches or overspending that we do want a great education system. We seem to be very content with being average.

PREACH!

If we wanted great, effective, stable education systems we'd look at what the long term world leaders in education are doing. Instead, we're trying to reinvent the wheel every three or four years and findc ways to make it profitable for as many interests as possible.

 

[hog88]

We need to quit teaching to the lowest comprehension levels, challenge students and let those that can't/won't do the work fail. Don't hold back the achievers just so the Cousin Eddies don't get left behind.

 

[Orangeburst]

We need to quit teaching to the lowest comprehension levels, challenge students and let those that can't/won't do the work fail. Don't hold back the achievers just so the Cousin Eddies don't get left behind.

Party allegiance in the USSR was merit to become more highly educated.

 

[AM64]

While on the surface that’s true, there are underlying issues in some communities that push “education” way down the list.

"Underlying issues" are basically included in a community's value system. I don't believe a person's skin color, race, or ethnicity determine a person's ability to learn. However, example after example proves that macro and micro community values set the course for many factors including education. Generally the Asian community as a whole values education more than the white community, and the white community values education as a whole more than black and hispanic communities. It's why the 60s era civil rights legislation has basically failed - change comes from within; it can't be forced from without. We simply changed how communities choose to cripple themselves, and CRT has reared it's ugly head as an excuse to cover up the real failure mechanism. Education, for example; you either embrace and use it or fail ... shunning education is the path to failure - Darwinism at it's simplest.

 

[GoVols1998Yeah!]

Umm no it isn't and part of being a good math student is learning fundamental facts through memorization

I didn't say there should be no memorization. The fundamental facts have to be memorized (no calculators). I'm talking about memorizing steps instead of learning the reasoning behind the steps (so you don't have to memorize them).