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Education Opinions 2008

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HI!! My area of expertise is Secondary Mathematics ... but I have strong feelings about a lot of the things I see happening in education ... and I like to write down my thoughts ...

Latest Posts

Tests and Reviews .....

Dear High School Math, Physics, and Chemistry Teachers ....

Do you want your students to be successful? Do you want your students to pass tests?? Do you also want to put the burden of really learning the material back on the student's shoulders??

Well then .... here is my advice .... GIVE THEM THE ANSWERS TO THE REVIEW WHEN YOU GIVE THEM THE REVIEW!!!

What good is working on a review the night before a Test if they can't verify that their answers are right? I know many of you give Extra Credit for doing the Review .... fine ... go ahead and do that if you must .... just ask them to SHOW THEIR WORK in order to get Extra Credit.   But honestly, if they have the answers to the Review ... and they DO the Review and they check their answers to be sure they are doing things right .... they will do BETTER on the Tests!! And they won't need your extra credit.   Also .... if they check their answers as they work and they AREN'T getting the right answers, they should know that they need help. They can then get help from a parent or a friend or a tutor or YOU the next morning. If they choose not to get help, then they choose to fail.

I do know that some of you post the answers to the Review outside your door the morning of the Test. I have seen the crowds of students gathered around the one set of answers trying to verify their Reviews. That tells me that the students care. They want to be successful. But what if their answers are wrong? Are they going to have time to get help before the Test later that day?

Please give your students the tools they need to be successful. When you give them the Review .... Give them the answers, too.

Thanks!

 

Posted by Cincin21 on Sep 28, 2008 8:40 PM
My Claim to Fame ....

Several weeks ago I was on the elliptical torture device at my local LA Fitness when I glanced up at the multiple TV screens cleverly placed to distract exercisers from their suffering. There ... briefly ... for just a couple of seconds, on two different screens, I saw the faces of two of my most famous past students. "Good Morning Texas" was on one TV and their guest of the moment was Elizabeth Showers, a popular Dallas Jewelry designer whose creations are exclusive to Neiman-Marcus stores and her website ... http://www.elizabethshowers.com/
 
One of the ESPN channels was on another TV and I had a brief glimpse of Deron Williams as Team USA, the American Basketball team for the 2008 Olympics, was being featured. Deron is also a starter for the Utah Jazz.


I taught Elizabeth Showers at Hillsboro High School in Hillsboro, TX back in the mid-to-late-1980's. I taught Deron Williams at The Colony High School in The Colony, TX in his sophomore year, 1999-2000. I taught both of them Geometry.


I'm sure Elizabeth and Deron BOTH owe their particular successes to their Geometry teacher! At least, that is what I imagined they were saying as I saw them side-by-side on those TV's in the gym. In honesty .... neither one probably remembers me very much. Yet I wanted to shout to the gym, "Look!! They were my students!! Look!!! They are famous!!".   I resisted the urge. For one thing, neither of them were on their respective TV screen for very long once I spotted them. For another thing, almost everybody in the gym wears an MP3 device of some sort. So I could have shouted .... but no one would have noticed at all.


Instead, I just quietly felt proud. I refer to these two people as my "claim to fame." I taught them and they are now famous. In actuality, they are more like my "brush with fame way before they they were famous". Way back when they were my students, they were just a face among 30 in the classroom ... although Elizabeth always had a strikingly beautiful face .... and Deron was always certain he would play for the NBA.


Over the 22 years I spent as a Math teacher, I taught roughly 180 students a year. 180 students times 22 years equals 3,960 students. Of those 3,960 students, Elizabeth was not the only beautiful face I saw and Deron certainly was not the only young man certain of a future in Pro-Sports. These two young people went on to become very successful adults ... and I am proud to say "I knew them when ...".


So are an NBA star and a noted Jewelry designer really my "Claim to Fame"? As I was swimming laps a couple of days ago, I started thinking about that statement. (Swimming isn't difficult for me, so once I get in a "zone" I can think deep thoughts while doing my laps.) I taught roughly 3,960 students and I am only claiming 2 of them because they became famous? What about the other 3,958 or so students who passed through my classroom doors? Are they Chopped Liver? NO! These students are my true Claim to Fame.
 
Every student who left my classroom and went on to college and completed their degree successfully is my Claim to Fame.
 
Every student who is now gainfully employed and paying taxes is my Claim to Fame.
 
Every student who joined the military and served their time, even in a time of war .... ESPECIALLY in a time of war ... is my Claim to Fame.
 
Every student who is now married and raising a family is my Claim to Fame.
 
Every student who has gone on to become a teacher is my Claim to Fame.  I am especially touched by the students who have taken the time to find me, in person, or online, and tell me that they became a teacher because of MY teaching.
 
Every student who adds me as a "Friend" on Facebook or Myspace, because they remember me fondly,  is my Claim to Fame.
 
Mind you  .... over the years, I have had students end up in Prison.  One killed a police officer, more than one committed Grand Theft Auto, several got involved in drugs or alcohol, some dropped out of school ..... I have to claim these students, too.    I didn't cause them to do what they did ... but I didn't stop them either.

I didn't cause Elizabeth and Deron to go on to fame and fortune ... but I didn't stop THEM either!   Thank goodness!

It is said that "Teachers Touch Lives 4ever" .... but it is a two-way street.  My students have also touched my life forever.   

If you are reading this, and you have a teacher who was especially special to you ... try to find him or her.   The internet makes this a lot easier!!  Send them an email or give them a call ... and let them know they affected your life!   They may consider YOU to be their "Claim to Fame"!

Posted by Cincin21 on Sep 21, 2008 9:01 PM
Public Education and IQ



Freshmen in Texas Public schools this year, also known as the Class of 2011, are required to take and pass 4 years of Math and 4 years of Science in order to graduate. The 4 years of Math will be Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, and one more class higher than Algebra II such as Pre-Calculus or Advanced Placement Statistics. The 4 years of Science will include Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and one other Science. The State Board of Education would like to see the course called Introduction to Physics and Chemistry (IPC) NOT count as a Science credit. For now, IPC does count.




All of this sounds like a great step forward for Public Schools. To the outside observer, 4 years of Math, Science, English and History seem to be reasonable expectations. They certainly should be required for anyone planning to attend, and be successful in, college. But do all students who attend Public High Schools plan to go to college? What about the students who are in High School to get a High School diploma and then plan to learn a trade? Honestly .... do they really need Physics? Do they really need Algebra II? If YOU had to take and pass Pre-Calculus in order to graduate from High School, would you have been able to do it?




As I stated in my previous Blog, approximately half of all Americans have a below average IQ. I suppose it is possible that Texas High schools do not follow this pattern, but I find it highly unlikely. Do we honestly believe that EVERYONE needs to be able to do Pre-Calculus?? Do we honestly believe that EVERYONE needs to be able to do Physics??


Do I sound elitist?


Okay ... maybe I do sound elitist. But this worries me greatly on many fronts. By expecting everyone to be able to pass a solid Pre-Calculus class, one of two things has to happen. Either a large number of students will fail and have to retake the class, possibly more than once, thus extending their stay in high school to more than 4 years or causing students to drop out before completing their credits .... or math teachers will have to lower the standards of the class in order for more students to be able to pass. If teachers lower the standards of the class, it is no longer a solid Pre-Calculus class.


There was a time when only students who were planning on going to college and majoring in engineering or architecture or mathematics or physics or medicine actually took 4 years of Math and 4 years of science. There are a large number of college degrees and life professions which require little or no Math background.


Meanwhile, people cannot balance a checkbook nor keep track of credit card debts nor reasonably figure out a household budget. But they WILL be able to identify an equation as being that of an Ellipse, or a Parabola, or a Hyperbola, or a Circle. Life skills, for sure.



Is High School now just College Prep? What happened to teaching life skills? What will happen to the people who simply cannot pass those 4 years of Math and Science and who end up dropping out? What happened to the over 40,000 students who did not graduate from Texas Public schools last year because they couldn't pass the TAKS test? Where are they now?


Is it not public education's job to educate THE PUBLIC? And approximately half the public has a below average IQ!! Where are the people with an 80 or 85 IQ supposed to go? What are they supposed to do? Are we lifting a High School diploma out of their reach?   Don't we want these people to be viable members of society ... able to work and contribute to our system?  I am not talking about people with below 70 IQ ... they qualify for Special Education.  I am talking about people with between 70 and 100 IQ who are actually functioning at their IQ level.   Good people, wonderful people, hard-working people .... look around you in a public place ... half the people you see qualify.  They do not qualify for Special Ed in any way.  Special Ed is either for people with a below 70 IQ or for people whose functioning IQ is more than one standard deviation below their actual IQ.   ((Special ED is NOT what the general public thinks it is.  Look it up.))


 I am a retired Math teacher.  I am now a Private Math Tutor.  I expect my business to grow leaps and bounds as this year's freshmen move through their math courses.  I also expect my frustrations to grow equally.  I love Math ... and I would like all people to enjoy Math.  I just don't think everyone needs to learn Pre-Calculus to get a High School diploma.

Lucinda Mackinnon is Owner and Chief Tutor of Math-Matters ... http://www.Math-Matters.org

Posted by Cincin21 on Jan 15, 2008 10:13 AM
America and IQ

My husband recently read the following quote in The Wall Street Journal's online Opinion Journal ... "Actually, studies have shown that a near-majority of Americans have below-average intelligence. But maybe they'll be dumb enough to believe Biden's flattery."

You can read the context of the quote via the link above. It's not the part about Senator Biden, nor the part about the Democrat candidates not trusting the American people which bothers me. The part of that quote which I find bothersome is ... "studies have shown that a near-majority of Americans have below-average intelligence".   In other words, approximately half of all Americans have a below-average IQ.  Really?? Oh My!! This must be because of Public Education!! Something must be done! After all ... don't we all live in Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon where ... "all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average."?

I firmly believe that most Americans feel this way. And there will be a number of people who won't read beyond the 2nd paragraph above before they'll go on a rant about how awful public education is and how we must fight this "below-average IQ epidemic!" In fact, a number of you who are now reading these words are probably shocked by the the FACT that a near-majority of Americans have a Below-Average IQ.

I capitalized FACT because it is a fact .... and will always be a fact ... no matter what party sits in the White House ... No matter what public education does ... No matter what mandates come down from congress .... No matter what anyone says or does, there will always be a near-majority of below-average intelligence people in America. Of course, there will also be a near-majority of above-average intelligence people in America, too.

After all .... just what makes something "average"? Think about that.

Ever since my husband came home with that quote, I have been tossing it at friends and family and acquaintances to check their reactions. All of them have been shocked. It seems that we truly do expect most Americans to be smarter than average. We can't imagine that fully 1/2 of our great country has a below-average IQ. But it is true.

I have also noticed that I have started paying attention to my interactions with people and mentally placing these people on the IQ Bell Curve in my mind. The results have been a bit depressing. Of course, myself, and my husband, and most of our friends are on the right side of the Bell Curve ... but during the Christmas shopping season, I encountered a large number of people whom I felt would test in on the left-hand side of the curve.  I also encounter these people on the roads around Dallas-Ft.Worth, and often in the Editorial sections of the Dallas Morning News ... (but only if their opinions are different from mine.)

 

Where do YOU fit on the curve?  Do you have any idea?  There are a number of IQ tests available online, some serious, some just for fun.  Since you are probably reading this BLOG online, go ahead and run a search for IQ Tests and take one yourself.  Make sure you have lots of time as a good IQ Test might take an hour or more to do.

Instead of writing a big long article about IQ and its implications in our lives, I am going to write a series of shorter BLOGS with my thoughts and some research into IQ and Education policies, IQ and Racism, IQ and its competitor, EQ ... and anything else I come up with.

If you have any thoughts, please feel free to comment!

 

Lucinda Mackinnon is a retired Math teacher and current Owner and Chief Tutor of Math-Matters.






Posted by Cincin21 on Jan 3, 2008 9:20 AM

Most Recent Comments

The Colony is deservedly proud of Deron Williams and his accomplishments. I am sure your teaching...
by robert_tracy on My Claim to Fame ....
Go for it. I can't wait to see what you have to say. I'm not sure where I sit on that bell curve,...
by Jodi Shumway on America and IQ

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