Lady slipper, weather, and school
How lovely! I don't think those grow around here.I have a question for those of you living in the southern-midwestern US. Is the weather more unsettled than usual for this time of year? It sure seems that way to me. Maybe it's just that we've had such drought conditions for so long now that I've forgotten the usual spring weather patterns.
We only have about another month of school. I have way too much to cover, and not enough time to do it, especially since we're required to waste at least 6 days in standardized testing instead of instruction. I know that the government thinks it has to measure the students' and teachers' progress, but 6 days! Furthermore, the kids seem to be less and less prepared when they come to me, and less and less willing to do any work at all. I teach Algebra II and Trig, and I've been re-teaching Algebra I to the Algebra II group before I can present the related Algebra II topics. I asked the Trig kids to memorize some common Trig facts that we need to use repeatedly, gave them more than 8 days to do it, gave the quiz once (really bad scores), and then gave the quiz again, and the grades on the quiz range from 27% to 100% (the second time I gave it!) There was only one person who scored higher than 80 %!
I've been teaching since 1978, so maybe I'm just a dinosaur.
I just sent off registration money to an inservice training workshop. It's going to take a week of my time, but I hope it will be more informative and a whole lot more interesting than the local "inservice" workshops. It's supposed to be on ways to combine the teaching of science and mathematics.
I'm almost finished piecing my mother's quilt. I need to finish grading papers and get some more done tonight.
Laura
posted by Laura in Alabama @ 3:57 PM
3 Comments:
Laura - I've been tutoring a Grade 7 student this winter primarily for reading comprehension. One of the things she is having trouble with is word problems in math. When we started working on those, I found that she couldn't do anything without her calculator. She didn't know any multiplication facts from memory beyond the 2's and some 3's. I asked her teacher about it, and she said that's not unusual, and she doesn't have time to go back and work on them. I did some asking around, and this is what teachers (elementary and secondary) seem to think is unavoidable. My regular job is teaching in an adult basic skills centre (all those folks who slipped through the cracks in school), and I can better understand how some of my younger learners came to be the way they are.
I gave my Gr. 7 girl a set of flashcards to take home, and in a few weeks she had most of them memorized. So it can be done. I think there has been a shift in what is considered essential learning by the educational powers that be, at least in Ontario.
Sorry if I've gone on too long; that's one of my buttons, obviously. LOL
Brenda in Nn Ontario
I've been maintaining that calculator use should be forbidden until advanced mathematics (Trig or higher) unless they are needed for a special activity. I'm swimming against the current educational trends, and have been since 1978. My supervisor during my first year teaching thought that calculators were the most useful tool ever invented for a math teacher, and would not listen to any argument against them. Now we're reaping the results: Colleges forbidding the use of calculators and sending "good" students back to remedial math because they can't add fractions!
You asked about the weather. Yes there are always the "spring storms" and some in the fall as well. After the 2 year drought we are finally catching up on rainfall here. Hugs. Lavinia
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