Hundreds of NC teachers are flunking math exams

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: DieGloke

Indiana, and its sticky hot

Well Colorado is where I got the job offer. Not sure if I ever got anything in Indiana. Not all states are in a teacher shortage.

Still don't think I would move though at least not to the states, teaching there seems to be more indoctrination.

a reply to: Bluntone22

This does not surprise me at all. I worked for a very large well known bank. We were in IT and the majority of people could not do basic math. Many could not do math with the help of computer programs/calculators. If you wonder why mortgages take so long it is because people in the mortgage department are sleeping. I wish I were kidding.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: ketsuko

Ha, yeah it is.
But there is also a do as I say attitude in schools.

We have a volleyball meeting last night with the coach and she informed us that the girls could randomly be drug tested, they use a lottery system.

I asked if the coaches were in the lottery...
She just stared at me..
So I said, you should lead by example....
Got some chuckles but my kid might never see the court.....lol

That strikes me as highly unconstitutional. Although I have heard it is a thing, down south especially. Mandatory drug testing of high schoolers i mean.

I know I would have told them to kick rocks back when I was in HS.

They don't pay teachers enough to attract quality educators.

You get what you pay for....

a reply to: Bluntone22

I actually think education standards are getting much harder. My son, in kindergarten, is already expected to count to 100, and do addition and subtraction, even some basic multiplication was introduced.

I remember kindergarten as being learning your colors, alphabet, and naptime. Thats about it.

They actually suggest mine repeat kindergarten before progressing. But we also couldnt afford preschool.

The question is that if you're a history teacher how often will you be expected to cover maths class?

The problem with maths is that it soon rusts up in your brain and while a bit of a read before class or a very slow delivery will oil the brain cells as I can't remember some of the stuff I studied at uni as why does a comp-sci guy need to know proof by induction for example other than make the module up to a certain level of pain.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: Vasa Croe

My daughter started her sophomore year today.
They are not allowed to carry bookbags or purses to class this year and the excuse is the jewel/vape epidemic.....
Good god the kid had a vape....whoopie....

I pointed out that half the school is teenage girls and they need a purse if ya get my drift..

Crickets....

I gotta run for school board

I would go for it and run! That or id certainly be seeking out a new school district. That is downright totalitarian.

originally posted by: howtonhawky
So how dwe fix it?

Maybe remove government completely from the equation? Destroy the department of education, bury it and grow a mountain on the grave site.

Make education private again and if the cries of inequality of opportunity are too loud, create a voucher program. It isn't like the well connected, the politicians and the rich use our public education centers, the majority of them already send their kids to private school. It is time to even up the odds a bit.

I do not have kids so may be a bit behind the times on this, but are people saying that if you get the right answer on a math question, they can still take points away from you because you didnt use the appropriate method?? if so, that is some bs right there.

only way I can see that, is if they thought the student was cheating and just wrote down the answers without work on how they got there (for more complex problems).

originally posted by: annoyedpharmacist
I do not have kids so may be a bit behind the times on this, but are people saying that if you get the right answer on a math question, they can still take points away from you because you didnt use the appropriate method?? if so, that is some bs right there.

only way I can see that, is if they thought the student was cheating and just wrote down the answers without work on how they got there (for more complex problems).

If you studied Common Core you would know the answer to that.

The process of how you reached your conclusion is important.

a reply to: Bluntone22

How is it not their fault?

a reply to: Bluntone22

True, but they also need to be able to do math.

a reply to: annoyedpharmacist

Cheating is exactly why we had to show work when I was in HS, college, too, now that I think on it.

a reply to: Annee

So what do you think about common core?

I have looked at some of the example problems and solutions. Something like 7+7 should be simple right? Maybe you use multiplication tables and instantly know 7x2=14, but with common core that would be wrong. You need to first borrow 3 from 7 and add it to the other 7 to get 10 then add the remainder of 4 to get to 14. Start factoring everything by 10s and 100s, grouping sets of numbers in a specific way.

Me personally, I think it is absolutely trash. It is conformist thinking. It is teaching rote memorization and regurgitation. Just like the rest of the crap being passed of as education any more. I can understand needing to show your work to prove you are not cheating, but if you have different methods that arrive at the correct answer, especially with simple subtraction and addition, why is that wrong.

Are the teachers so uneducated anymore they only know one formula to arrive at the answer and can't envision there are other ways of reaching the answer? Are we paying teachers too much in the states anymore, attracting money hungry people instead of people that actually care about shaping young minds? Isn't there a study out there that shows past a certain low threshold, each additional educational dollar spent actually reduces competency and results?

originally posted by: ClovenSky
a reply to: Annee

So what do you think about common core?

I have looked at some of the example problems and solutions. Something like 7+7 should be simple right? Maybe you use multiplication tables and instantly know 7x2=14, but with common core that would be wrong. You need to first borrow 3 from 7 and add it to the other 7 to get 10 then add the remainder of 4 to get to 14. Start factoring everything by 10s and 100s, grouping sets of numbers in a specific way.

Me personally, I think it is absolutely trash. It is conformist thinking. It is teaching rote memorization and regurgitation. Just like the rest of the crap being passed of as education any more. I can understand needing to show your work to prove you are not cheating, but if you have different methods that arrive at the correct answer, especially with simple subtraction and addition, why is that wrong.

Are the teachers so uneducated anymore they only know one formula to arrive at the answer and can't envision there are other ways of reaching the answer? Are we paying teachers too much in the states anymore, attracting money hungry people instead of people that actually care about shaping young minds? Isn't there a study out there that shows past a certain low threshold, each additional educational dollar spent actually reduces competency and results?

I had a kid (grandkid) just starting it.

What I did was research the creator of Common Core and why he created it.

I do not fear new things. "It's always been done that way" -- makes me cringe.

I agreed with what the creator said.

That was a couple years ago. So, I don't remember exactly what it said.

a reply to: DieGloke

Wages for teachers are actually not bad considering the time they get off in the summer. Of course, part of the problem is the unionized wage structuring which enforces equity across the board for all, good or otherwise, so the best teachers can't be paid as if they are the best ones but are instead only paid commensurate with their level of seniority cross-referenced with the number of college credits they have - neither of which mean much for how effective they actually might be at instruction in a classroom.

The other problem is the level of monopoly the unionized teachers in the public school system enjoy which makes it easy to abuse the system, especially for administrative level bureaucrats who can mismanage finds to their hearts' content because the kids are trapped into the schools either way.

a reply to: Annee

Kids should be allowed to learn the way they learn best, not the way some expert thinks every one of them learns best.