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Questions Teaching Methods

Questions Teaching Methods image
Parent Issue
Day
13
Month
June
Year
1972
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Copyright Protected
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I Editc:' O; I f ' I One of t h e many c h a n g e s Supt. McPherson made in the school system is I decentralizatíon. He eliminated all the coördinators for every subject, and is considering doing away with department chairmen. That gives the school principáis absolute authority on hiring teachers, but naked of any professional advice. What is göing to happen if the principal is incompetent on certain subjects? Last February I filed a formal complaint against the incompetence of my child's math teacher in Forsythe, to the principal, on the following accounts: 1) She did no formal teaching of thé elass, only passed out assignment sheets ; 2) She collected no homework, only asked students to check their answers against her teaching manual laid out on her desk; 3) She assigned the 8th graders to write a paper on math, and required it to be 800 words in length. In answering my complaint, the principal saw nothing wrong with not collecting students' homework, because he assured me that homework is of no importance, only tests count. As to only requiring students to check answers against a teaching manual, he indicated assuringly it has been the standard practice of teaching math. He claimed that he has taught math before, and always asked students to check their own answers against the ones on the blackboard, just like checking out spelling. . His remarks shocked me profoundly. I undêrstand math is a language by itself. I have never taught school, but with a limited knowledge in math, I strongly feel thei-e are a few guidelines desirable in teaching junior high math, such as: 1) It is the quality we want, not the quan'city; 2) No matter how bright the students are, there still should be outlined teaching ... 3) Homework is important. It is a feedback. Handed-in homework provides the teachers an index on finding out how much the students have absorbed from learning as well as from teaching, and what is needed to be repeated for future clarification; 4) A correct answer does not guarantee the correct way of doing a math problem. Sometimes it may be arrived at by coincidence. Modern math does not only teach calculations which have diminishing importance after the invention of computers, but a logical way of thinking. With the deepest sense of a citizen's responsibility, I sent a certified letter to Supt. McPherson, requesting Mm to have someone clarify the principal's misconception on math. Three months have passed, I have received no response from the school administration. Neither has my child's math teacher improved any of her teaching techniques. Therefore, I feel compelled to appeal to the concerned public to offer the principal a correct concept of math, thus enabling I him to acquire more qualified judgments I on hiring better teachers in order to I benefit all Forsythe students ... I Concerned Parent of Four I

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