educationrealist.wordpress.com
I Don’t Do Homework | educationrealist
https://educationrealist.wordpress.com/2015/02/15/i-dont-do-homework
No Dewey-eyed dreamers here. February 15, 2015. I Don’t Do Homework. Our school had its second Back to School Night. Attendance was spotty. I don’t judge. As a parent, I rarely attended. But boy oh boy, could four sets of parents generate some excitement. I had a genuine culture clash. It all began when I was going through my brief dog and pony show for my second trig class. 8220;But last term, I suddenly realized that the end of the first semester was weeks. The fact that I got that glorious tenure emai...
educationrealist.wordpress.com
The Day of Three Miracles | educationrealist
https://educationrealist.wordpress.com/2015/04/28/the-day-of-three-miracles
No Dewey-eyed dreamers here. April 28, 2015. The Day of Three Miracles. I often hook illustrative anecdotes into essays making a larger point. But this anecdote has so many applications that I’m just going to put it out there in its pure form. 8220;If we set ourselves the goal of getting one kid from freshman algebra all the way through to pass. 8221; schedule makes it possible for a dedicated kid to take a double year of math if he chooses). 8220;What do you mean? 8220;Which means we’ll lose a who...
educationrealist.wordpress.com
Algebra Terrors | educationrealist
https://educationrealist.wordpress.com/2012/11/10/algebra-terrors
No Dewey-eyed dreamers here. November 10, 2012. A day or so before the school year began, I went to an empty classroom that had a supply cabinet. This classroom was way. Better than mine. It was 3 or 4 feet wider, had shelving and. A smart board. Now I didn’t care much about the smart board, but all smartboards have document cameras, which my room does not. 8220;Hey. This is a great room. Who gets it? 8220;I guess the other new teacher.”. 8220;When’s he coming? You’re here first.”. Oh, yes, that’s ...
educationrealist.wordpress.com
Five Education Policy Proposals for 2016 Presidential Politics | educationrealist
https://educationrealist.wordpress.com/2015/07/31/five-education-policy-proposals-for-2016-presidential-politics
No Dewey-eyed dreamers here. July 31, 2015. Five Education Policy Proposals for 2016 Presidential Politics. Every election year, someone bemoans the fact that education is never a major factor in presidential politics. This year might be an exception, because of Common Core. But the reality is, presidential aspirants never talk about the issues that really interest the public at large. Instead, politicians read from the same Big Book Of Education Shibboleths that pundits do. There’s a catch, of cou...
educationrealist.wordpress.com
Troubling Students | educationrealist
https://educationrealist.wordpress.com/2015/02/08/troubling-students
No Dewey-eyed dreamers here. February 8, 2015. My classes are easy to pass, hard to do really well in. I’m a pushover for a D, but think three or four times about giving out an A. I didn’t fail a single kid last year. Save for Year Two. All Algebra All the Time, I’ve failed fewer than six kids a year, and even Year Two I had the second lowest fail rate of the math teachers. A projectile motion problem and, even while making multiple small mistakes, beam with pride because by god, he kind of gets. Kids li...
educationrealist.wordpress.com
Homework and grades. | educationrealist
https://educationrealist.wordpress.com/2012/02/06/homework-and-grades
No Dewey-eyed dreamers here. February 6, 2012. The NY Times rewinds the typical homework debate. The post gets predictable pro and con responses: “homework is ruining my kid’s life” vs. “homework is a necessary component to learning”. High school students are far less likely to do assigned homework and the consequences for non-compliance are much higher, because students who don’t do homework often fail—not for lack of demonstrated subject matter skills, but simply for not doing their homework. Don’...
educationrealist.wordpress.com
Math fluency | educationrealist
https://educationrealist.wordpress.com/2012/10/05/math-fluency
No Dewey-eyed dreamers here. October 5, 2012. My Math Support class, for students who haven’t yet passed the state graduation test, is the most challenging of my preps. In many ways, though, the class offers the dream scenario for any math teacher who longs to focus on fundamentals. I owe no allegiance to a curriculum. I’m not teaching arithmetic in and around an algebra course. For example, I have long suspected that the received wisdom about math fluency. Has holes in it:. 8221; First kid holds up card...
educationrealist.wordpress.com
Education Policy Proposal #3: Repeal IDEA | educationrealist
https://educationrealist.wordpress.com/2015/08/06/education-policy-proposal-3-repeal-idea
No Dewey-eyed dreamers here. August 6, 2015. Education Policy Proposal #3: Repeal IDEA. I’ve gone through the low-hanging. For presidential campaign education policies. Now we’re into the changes that take on laws and Supreme Court decisions. And so this dive into “special education”, the mother of all ed spending sinkholes. We’ve been living in the world of IDEA. Well, in 2013, the federal allocation. For special education was $12.8 billion. That’s less than a fifth. All have varying percentages. Of spe...
educationrealist.wordpress.com
Teaching Students with Utilitarian Spectacles | educationrealist
https://educationrealist.wordpress.com/2012/10/06/teaching-students-with-utilitarian-spectacles
No Dewey-eyed dreamers here. October 6, 2012. Teaching Students with Utilitarian Spectacles. In my last post, commenter AllaninPortland. Said, of my Math Support students, “Their brains are wired a little too literally for modern life.”. James Flynn, of the Flynn Effect. Yesterday I gave my math support kids a handout on single step equations. Similar to the one in the link. 8220;Oh, I know how to do this,” said Dewayne. “Just subtract six from both sides.”. 8221; asked Jose. 8221; Over half the class ra...
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