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Haim
Posts:
7,806
Registered:
12/6/04
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Re: Too Little, Too Late? WSJ on the NCTM
Posted:
Sep 14, 2006 9:38 AM
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Wayne writes:
>ED Week has more detail. Progress though it be,
>I wish I were more convinced that ed schools
>were ready to teach something other than
>constructivist received wisdom. Wolf in sheep's
>clothing comes to mind but I do hope that I will
>be shown to have been mistaken.
Wayne,
A leopard does not change its spots, and you are not mistaken. The Ed Week article is mainly smoke and claptrap. Buried in the article, and easy to miss, is the real reason we suddenly have this simulacrum of change,
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The Focal Points are being released at a time
when improving math and science education is
receiving significant attention at the federal
level,...
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What, exactly, does this mean? Oh, wait,
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Officials of the NCTM, a 100,000_member
organization with headquarters in Reston, Va.,
say they hope the document will help schools and
states as they struggle to raise student test
scores in grades 3_8, under the mandates of the
federal No Child Left Behind Act. The law
requires that students in those grades be tested
annually in math and reading. The need for
guidance, the officials say, is especially acute
at early grade levels, where many teachers lack
certification and training in math and rely heavily on textbooks.
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Notice, neither in these quotes nor in the rest of the article is there any high minded language about turning all 3rd graders into mathematicians, or closing the achievement gap, or empowering girls, minorities, people of color, gays, lesbians, and trans-gendered individuals. They just want the hurt to stop.
In other words, all that has really happened is the NCTM has been beaten about the head and shoulders with a NCLB club. Let the federal government go wobbly on NCLB, or upon the installment of the next Democrat administration, and I predict the Fuzzies will sweep back like avenging spirits.
All you math warriors out there, keep your powder dry.
Haim
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