{"id":561,"date":"2008-05-27T06:31:12","date_gmt":"2008-05-27T10:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.citizennetmom.com\/?p=561"},"modified":"2008-05-27T07:16:01","modified_gmt":"2008-05-27T11:16:01","slug":"backward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.citizennetmom.com\/?p=561","title":{"rendered":"Backward"},"content":{"rendered":"

In preparation for increased math requirements in high school beginning in 2009-2010 (15 months from now), Metro Nashville Public Schools are dropping their 7th grade Algebra<\/a> offering. <\/p>\n

\n

Julie Martin, the district’s math coordinator, said parents should embrace the new changes. She said two years of middle school preparation are necessary for the new, more rigorous Algebra I curriculum requirements that roll out for 2009-10 — far tougher coursework than what’s tested on the current Gateway end-of-course exam.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I’ve read and re-read the article, but the concept still doesn’t make sense to me. If the new Algebra I is going to be that much harder, perhaps they need to raise the standards required for admittance to the course in 7th grade, but to bar admittance entirely based on grade level seems foolish. Some kids are ready; some are not. However, keeping a student in a course that is too easy for their ability level fosters boredom and loss of interest, which is decidedly counterproductive.<\/p>\n

Different people — even children — have different interests, aptitudes, and abilities. Any given child may possess extraordinary abilities in one subject, while remaining rather ordinary in others. Some are advanced in all areas, and others struggle with everything but gym. I’ve wondered for a long time what it might be like to have school based upon mastery alone, rather than our current system of age-based progression.<\/p>\n

If we wish to raise the level of math competency in high school graduates — an entirely different conversation, but assume for the moment that we do wish to do this (because the state says we must) — would it not make more sense to allow those students who are ready for advanced material earlier, to do so?<\/p>\n

Some thought needs to be given to the core principle of enabling each student to reach their full potential, in whatever discipline that might be. We all talk about it, but sometimes, it seems like we’re going in the other direction. <\/p>\n

Postscript<\/em>: Jackson Miller<\/a> has an opinion on the subject.  Along with the City Paper<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In preparation for increased math requirements in high school beginning in 2009-2010 (15 months from now), Metro Nashville Public Schools are dropping their 7th grade Algebra offering. Julie Martin, the district’s math coordinator, said parents should embrace the new changes. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.citizennetmom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.citizennetmom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.citizennetmom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.citizennetmom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.citizennetmom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.citizennetmom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.citizennetmom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.citizennetmom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.citizennetmom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}