Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion The Ultimate Bad Homework Question Thread!

OK, I'm in a bad-homework-question quandry at work.

I'm an English as a second language teacher at a junior high. Part of my job is helping content area teachers alter their materials to be more accessible for English language learners. I define the words in simpler terms, trying to lose as little meaning as possible (which is kind of a fun challenge, in a way).

Annnnnnnnnyway... this afternoon, I was work on the vocab for a seventh grade social studies class. Their political science unit includes the types of government, and includes the following:
*republic
*democracy
*oligarchy
*anarchy
*dictatorship
*monarchy
*COMMUNISM

BUT! Communism is not a type of government. You could have a communist dictatorship, a communist republic, a communist oligarchy... but COMMUNISM IS NOT A TYPE OF GOVERNMENT.

So. What's a first-year-in-this-building teacher to do? I'm supposed to work off the content area teachers' materials, and only adjust for comprehension purposes. Do I call out teachers on their content-area knowledge and/or accuracy? After all, I'm NOT a social studies teacher. They're the "experts" in that area; I'm theoretically just supposed to be helping with language acquisition stuff. I either have to create, teach, and assess material that contains an inaccuracy, or I have to battle coworkers with whom I need to work pretty closely for at least the next seven months (hopefully longer).

Interesting side note: I know that they used to teach that communism was not a type of government. I know, because I took seventh grade social studies at this school... actually, in the room in which I'm currently teaching ESL Literature and Writing. <--useless factoid

Well, I think that the obvious thing to do is to ask if "Capitalism" belongs on the list. You know, like you're concerned that it might have been left off. Er... or... something.


I'm sly like that, though.

Hmm... I was raised Upper Midwestern Catholic. If I do anything well, it's passive agressive.

ROFL

Seems to me that given specific quantity needs, the correct answer is that this is not an appropriate time to use estimation. 47 would also round to 50, but 3x47 < 144.

Bingo.

They're really obsessed with estimation and rounding in 3 and 4, aren't they? I don't quite follow why, given the clear limits of the technique, as seen above. (Then you have the previous Stupid Homework Question about estimates vs. exact amounts that I cited earlier in the thread.)

Anyway, I really would think that you are supposed to say that Sasha rounded wrong.

Then again, maybe they're trying to teach the kids something about using the right tool for the job. Because if she knows she's making exactly three necklaces, each requiring exactly 49 beads, and she has exactly 144 beads... why is Sasha estimating at all?

Good point, Zen! And I agree ultramarina, I don't know why they are so obsessed with rounding! I feel like it puts the cart before the horse. Once you are really comfortable with solving the actual problems, the rounding just becomes a sensible short cut that we use to save time. I've never felt like it makes sense to "teach" them how to round before teaching them how to calculate the actual problems since it is a less accurate approach. We have had multiple homework assignments in 2nd & 3rd where he was told to estimate the answer first and then find the actual answer second. He almost always does the calculation first and then goes back and does the rounding and I let him. When the actual calculation only takes a second for him to do, estimating does not seem useful to me (or him!).

And, I do hope that the answer they were looking for was that Sasha made a mistake. But I am just not sure because the similar question on the review sheet was just a straightforward estimation question. But who knows? At this point, I will give them the benefit of the doubt, especially since there were no $60 bills on the test!