treestarfae Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 http://open.salon.com/blog/annie_keeghan/2012/02/17/afraid_of_your_childs_math_textbook_you_should_be Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Well, that's all well and good, but by including nothing more than a few "hints," the author doesn't give us one single piece of information we can actually use, like.... oh, I don't know... the titles of some of these error-ridden math books, perhaps??? :glare: Call me careless and foolish, but when I go to a conference or a bookstore, I don't usually take the time to work every single problem in the book to check for errors before I buy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetandSimple Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Wow-- that's really interesting. One more reason to be grateful for all the options that we have as homeschoolers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aelwydd Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Hey, fascinating article! Thanks for sharing. I feel somewhat validated in my own feelings I expressed not long ago, about how math is taught in my son's k12 cyber school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I'm not sure homeschooling is a sure way to avoid this problem. One of the programs she is talking about is very commonly used by homeschoolers, for instance. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 (edited) Most school children around here anyway are not allowed to bring their math book home. The most you would get are copied homework sheets. And the parent has no idea what steps the teacher uses in teaching the concepts in class. When I was a ps teacher I had zero say in what math curriculum was chosen by the school district. At the most we might be able to supplement weak areas with extra worksheets and try to explain things as well as we could while teaching the concepts. Since we were having to do similar supplementation and extra explanations in other subjects other than math as well, it was not that easy. And while I absolutely loved and benefited from my math education classes, I know for a fact that many of my colleagues did not have the math background to find errors in presentation and sequence. I was never high enough on the totem pole to know how the district chooses curriculum. I know however that our local district has had parents picketing because they chose the Discovering Math series. Edited February 25, 2012 by Jean in Newcastle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy in Indy Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 The textbook business is such a racket! When I was teaching in the ps, we'd have committees for book adoptions. The state chose 7 for us to choose from and the district said to pick 1. I was on a reading book committee--it was a nightmare! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aelwydd Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I'm not sure homeschooling is a sure way to avoid this problem. One of the programs she is talking about is very commonly used by homeschoolers, for instance. :001_smile: Yes, I agree. Thus, my rant several days ago about how math is structured in a cyber charter my son is enrolled in. It is k12 though, which is a popular hs curriculum. IMO, a lot of hs curriculum is subpar. Just look at what passes for science (when it even is included). However, at least I have the option of picking a different curriculum. Such as Math Mammoth, for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 It's dealing with a warped math curriculum similar to those mentioned here that's driving me from enjoying teaching in our local public high school. The lack of math ability from even the math talented kids is depressing. It's not the kids' fault, but they're sure getting shortchanged. I'm so frustrated I can't wait to quit. I'm mulling taking up tutoring - but using what I like, not what the schools supply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I'm not sure homeschooling is a sure way to avoid this problem. One of the programs she is talking about is very commonly used by homeschoolers, for instance. :001_smile: What is it? Is it the foreign one? Is that Singapore math? Because I bought Singapore math long before the US versions came out and I don't remember ever seeing anything about calculating your level of attractiveness. But I have the elementary texts so perhaps it was in a higher level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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