by Brian
Our high school graduation is two weeks away, and it looks like Jake (not his real name) will make it. Jake is in my Algebra class this year, and he needs to pass it because he did not pass the state math test. The rules say that he can graduate anyway as long as he has taken, and passed, additional math classes in his junior and senior year. Whether or not he passes those classes is a decision that the teacher makes, based on his own standards and knowledge of his students. Two weeks ago Jake quit coming to school. It looked like he was going to drop out, a month before graduation. Then last Thursday his girlfriend talked him into coming back and trying to finish. He came into my room after school and asked me if there was any way he could still pass. He said he knew he could catch up in his other classes, but Algebra was the one he was worried about. It was why he got discouraged and quit coming to school. I could say yes, you can pass, because it is still my decision to make.
I'm thinking a lot about that because many of the students in Jake's Algebra class this year are freshmen, and the rules are very different for them. They have to take Algebra and Geometry and pass end of course exams in both. They have to take an additional year of math as well, and it is supposed to be Algebra 2. In three years a student like Jake will not be able to come into my room at the end of May and ask me if there is anything he can do to pass. It won't be my decision. The tests will determine whether or not he will be able to graduate. That is the intent of the new rules. It will ensure that graduates will get what Terry Bergeson once called a "meaningful diploma". It will also ensure that kids like Jake won't get one.
Is that really what we want? Do we want the decision about whether or not a student graduates made by a computer-scored test, or by a teacher with knowledge and compassion about the student's life? Because there are an awful lot of kids like Jake out here.
I’m not advocating a blanket policy. I’m talking about my own three cases at home….and my hope that they do not turn into the very “young” and immature boys that I see. To be truthful, though, having taught 9th grade for eight or nine years, I definitely see it as more an issue with boys than girls.
I think one of the great flaws with our education system in general is that advancement and placement are based on chronological age, not other factors. How to do any other means of placement, though, is certainly a huge debate.
I worry about blanket policies like “hold boys out of kindergarten until they’re six.” It makes more sense to decide case-by case. I’ve seen plenty of immature boys, but I’ve seen some pretty young girls, too.
Tim-10-ber, you articulate the exact reasons why we are waiting to start all our boys in kindergarten until they are six (and in one case, my youngest will actually turn seven right before the end of kindergarten).
I teach freshmen, and I see so many young men who are “young freshmen” because they started kindergarten mere moments after turning five years old. Stated simply, they should still be in the eighth grade, or even seventh. I wholeheartedly believe that scores of boys are erroneously labeled with ADHD simply because they are developmentally behind the norm, not because of a true organic condition (which I do believe exists for a fraction of those diagnosed). I read a study somewhere which indicated that boys labeled ADHD are often simply a little late in blooming in terms of cognitive and social development…and that within a few years, they “catch up.” I’d much rather my children be the first to drive, the oldest in their class, because I believe they will be more cognitively and socially mature and able to handle the demands of school better.
Brian,
Thanks for your personalize approach with Jake. It was a happy ending to the story and certainly the start of another chapter because of your efforts with him. Well done!
Despite the challenges of the state or federal system; educators still need to guide, influence, and inspire students to excellence. that’s what you did!!!
I agree with Tom about the elementary piece as well.
Tom – I am truly not being critical of elementary school teachers as they gave my kids a solid math foundation but that 10 years ago. Today, with the calculator being used the kids are not learning the basics (you know timed drills which really work!)…at least that is what I am seeing in my district. So…I do believe the problem with the lack of both a solid math and reading foundation do rest solely with the elementary schools and the teachers/administrators in them. (Not all of them but many, many.)
I am a mother of two boys. The challenges in education seem to be more prevalent in boys than girls. If I had listened to my father neither of the boys would have started kindergarten until they were 6. Thankfully I was able to get the school to hold both boys back a year (one in second grade who was academically very strong but could not “stay on task” or “work within the time limits” and oh yes had a horrible second grade teacher) and the other one both the kindergarten teacher and I agreed he needed another year to mature.
If you could see my boys today you would know holding them back was the right thing to do…
So…why isn’t the start age for boys raised to 6? If it were would this make a difference? Another option would be to send boys to a T-1 program between kindergarten and first grade. I believe the current factory model of schooling is the boys’ biggest enemy.
So…two questions…are teachers not seeing the same issues in boys in K-2 that I saw in mine? Second question…why are teachers so afraid to hold students back?
I am not putting the blame on teachers but if parents are not engaged then who is the one to be the advocate for the child? The teacher is.
Thanks again —
We live in the land of unlimited redemption. I think if Jake shows a good-faith effort to pull off his last-minute attempt to salvage his senior year, let him try.
Tim- Go easy on your criticism of grade-school math instruction, man! We’re doing some pretty amazing stuff with those little guys. Unfortunately, though, math is a use-it-or-lose-it proposition. People forget math concepts and skills almost as fast as they learn them. (Which is why end-of-course exams make more sense than comprehensive tests.)
I agree with DrPezz…the real issue lies in an education system with virtually no accountability for the student. I teach 7th grade math and we are always talking about the issue of how do so many kids get to us that can’t even add single digits numbers in their head, better yet know their multiplication tables. Yet they continue to be passed on from one grade to the next be “retention doesn’t work”. I don’t know what the solution is, but I don’t see the issue being fixed when kids know that they won’t be held back, and therefore lack the motivation (that successful students have) to try to learn each day that they are at school.
on calculators…I believe they came into schools with NCLB. I am most grateful mine did not start using them until 7th or 8th grade.
I have another question…how can we get calculators out of the schools? They don’t belong…I survived through college calculus without one just fine. My younger son just graduated high school and in his calculus classes they had to write out the equations and solve the problems. I don’t think they really used the calculator this year — thankfully!
Yes, parents have to do their part. Parents need to be engaged, supportive of the teacher and the child, send the child to school each day prepared to learn…but if the teachers do not have the education themselves to teach the foundations well of math (and reading) what else do I as a parent do? I would struggle with doing my part at home (including math and reading) and the schools not doing theirs…where is the balance?
Thanks for the comments!
This is always a tough dilemma.
Is it more beneficial to take the student’s individual situation into account, or do we have the same bar to reach for every student? If everyone gets a diploma, does that diminish its value?
I teach high school, and so many students are woefully unprepared when they arrive. More than anything else, I lay the most blame on a system that allows students to progress 9 years without accountability (on the student) and then suddenly changes the rules on the students.
However, parents play a role, and so do we. When we make exceptions for one student over another, does this make us part of the problem? It’s a tricky question to answer.
I think tim-10-ber has a valid point about where the math problems begin. I hesitate to lay all blame on earlier grades, but perhaps blame is better placed on the lack of reinforcement of basic computational skills. The 9th graders I work with in my intervention program have the thinking capacity to unravel Algebra I, but they are calculator-reliant and lack the computational skills to even question the calculator if the accidently enter a number incorrectly.
I hate to say this, but if I were in your shoes, Brian, I’d probably end up finding a way for the kid to pass (provided he put in the effort I ask of him). Maybe this means some after school time, some extra work, teaching to an end-of-course test, but if he’s close and willing to do the work, I’d be inclined to facilitate it. I guess I’m glad I only teach 9th and 10th grade then…
As a parent who believes in a strong academic program for all students I have a question about “Jake”…when he got to high school how solid was his math foundation? In your experience as a teacher what is the real reason so many kids seem to struggle with math? Where do the problems for these kids truly begin?
A little background…I was required to have three years of high school math (Algebra I and II and Geometry) to graduate high school in the early 1970s. My sons just graduated from private high school. Both were required to have four years of math in high school. So…one went through pre-calc and the other who had Algebra I in 8th grade completed calculus. Both spent most of their school years in government schools.
Thanks for sharing your observations. I really want to figure this one out. My thinking is the trouble begins in elementary schools, is not corrected in middle school and by the time many of these kids get to high school they have given up and the teachers have so many students…