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Glenda Lappan: Letter to LAUSD Supt.
Posted:
Mar 14, 2000 12:06 PM
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************************************************* From California Online Mathematics Education Times (COMET), Vol.1, No.7, March 14, 2000. Carol Fry Bohlin, Editor (carolb@csufresno.edu). See also http://www.nctm.org/speaksout/la_unified.htm *************************************************
Letter to the Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District and Los Angeles Unified School Board Members
February 21, 2000
Ramon Cortinez Superintendent Los Angeles Unified School District P.O. Box 3307 Los Angeles, CA 90051
Dear Superintendent Cortinez:
I write to you on behalf of the over 100,000 members of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. We have been following the events in the Los Angeles School District with growing concern. We see that once again groups with interests in the issues advocate for their perspective, with very different ideas about claims and what counts as evidence for those claims. The result is a community divided. The arguments become polarized and those who give their time, experience, and energy in schools teaching our children are ignored. This is not the environment in which decisions that affect the lives of our children should be made.
The improvement of mathematics teaching and learning is a very complex enterprise. Improvement in students' mathematics learning is not simply a matter of changing curriculum. Yes, the curriculummatters, but so do teaching, community/parent support, administrative support, and a host of other variables such as poverty, primary language, motivation, expectations, etc. Just as important as any of these is the time and support given to teachers to work on improving curriculum,instruction, and assessment. Change does not happen overnight. It takes a concerted effort over a long time to effect real change. Trying to change systems by decree from the top disenfranchises teachers who have been working so hard over the past few years to reach more students in mathematics.
Here are some common sense facts: The traditional mathematics curriculum, which promotes the status quo, is not working. Too many adults suffer math phobia and avoidance. International comparisons leave us well behind our economic competitors. The achievement gap between white and non-white and between wealthy and poor students is large and unacceptable. We are not yet where we want to be. However, a return to methods and curriculum that have produced a nation of adults who avoid mathematics and find it mysterious is certainly not a solution to our problems.
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has worked for over a decade to provide some starting points for consideration in building local school mathematics programs. The NCTM Standards documents provide focus and direction to long-term efforts to improve mathematics teaching and learning. States such as Connecticut, Michigan, Texas, and North Carolina have made strong and consistent investments in state standards and assessments that reflect the NCTM Standards. These states have shown some of the greatest student gains in mathematics over the past decade. The rising NAEP scores, representing approximately a grade level of improvement between 1990 and 1996, and increasing SAT scores provide a clear and consistent message that the direction of change is working. Furthermore, these increases are only two of the many measures - some at local, district and state levels-that support this message.
In your own school district, Los Angeles Unified, the data are also clear. The schools using integrated mathematics materials that are more in the spirit of the NCTM Standards, are working for students. The scores for African American and Latino students show very positive gains in these schools. In those same schools the scores of white students are increasing as well. Why would you want to force all integrated materials from the system and take the heart out of the teachers who have worked so hard to help students make these gains? This makes no sense.
We urge you to listen to all sides, not just professional mathematicians who have little knowledge of or experience in teaching students in schools. Their knowledge and their voice should be heard, but it should not be the only voice, nor even the primary voice to which you attend. Look at your own district's data. Consider the damage you will do to progress underway if you mandate a different direction. Remember that the problems we are facing are not new. Our mathematics programs have traditionally served to privilege some students over others by concentrating more on sorting than on enabling. We are trying to change this because we believe that all students should be afforded the opportunity to learn mathematics. We believe in inclusion rather than exclusion. In the year 2000 it is unacceptable to deny any child an excellent mathematics program that enables him or her to learn.
We know that the issues you are facing are difficult. The political environment in which you have to make this decision makes common sense solutions harder to find. We hope that you listen to your teachers and to those who support teachers. Look at the data from their work over the past few years. Support them to continue working to build excellence in mathematics for every child in your district. Help break the spiral of failure facing poor, non-white, and non-English speaking children. We know this will be hard, and we wish you well in making a decision that will be in the best interest of the students in your district.
Sincerely yours,
Glenda Lappan President of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
cc. Los Angeles Unified School Board President Los Angeles Unified School Board Members ************************************************************
Jerry P. Becker Dept. of Curriculum & Instruction Southern Illinois University Carbondale, IL 62901-4610 USA Fax: (618) 453-4244 Phone: (618) 453-4241 (office) (618) 457-8903 (home) E-mail: jbecker@siu.edu
mailto://jbecker@siu.edu
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