Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Conceptual mathematics

Oh no, Delbws, we are in Illinois!
Oh the terror!
DD6 could do the 4th grade math quesion for the ISAT.
I should consider myself lucky that I've already figured this out and have been taking math matters into my own hands since last year.
I think our school is reaching for higher standards than that, but still the math is lagging their ability.
I see Dottie's point, but it's easy to be less concerned........she's in PA, not IL!!!

- not for you Dottie, for Illinois education standards......

Thanks for the insight, Dottie. (and everyone else!)

When I read reports like the Washington Post article, I mistakenly assume that they are going to teach the material (algebra for example). I get all excited that maybe someone, somewhere has decided that we need to beef up our math curriculum and make our kids stretch that unused muscle in their head. Silly me! What was I thinking?

And it never occurred to me that pushing the average kid up a notch in math by challenging him/her would necessarily mean dragging the above average kids down. In my mind, if the average kid are being challenged, then they could do some really awesome things with the gifted kids. I was assuming that both groups would rise together. <Sigh>

I hate it when reality rears its ugly head!

Hi CFK... You snuck in your reply while I was busy typing.

I so desperately wanted to see this positively!! Challenging kids is a good thing. The school just needs to realize that all kids need to be challenged!!

No Dottie... I'm just hopefully optimistic! And I haven't been fighting this fight long enough to have the optimism driven out yet.

I still have visions of writing my congressman, sending letters to presidential campaigns, and writing an essay for Newsweek's My Turn, and marching on Washington. Or at least running for the school board of education. <evil grin>

I worry that if all of the gifted students get fed up with the school system and bail to the safe confines of homeschooling, then things will never change. I'm still in the "up-in-arms" stage of denial. Give me a few months or a year and I will simmer down a bit.

Just straddle the middle, ebeth. All school officials have good intentions. I do think they believe in what they do. Our principals and sup.s are VERY smart people.
They are responsible for a group and I think they do a great job. I've gotta do what I've gotta do at home for mine.
DD6 has said for over a year that she wants to be a scientist. When asked what kind she says: "the kind that blows stuff up"
Everyone thinks this is very cute and funny. Unfortunately, I know that she really does want to blow stuff up!
That's chemical engineering, people. The math base I see at school isn't going to cut it. She's going to be too far behind by high school if we don't carve an alternative path for her.
Of course she's free to change her mind from now til then..........but just in case she doesn't......................

And oh by the way, how pathetic am I. I've given up trying to influence the system. Now I'm going to figure out how to work around it for my kids.
I'll be an education reform activist after my girls get off into the world................

Thanks Dottie.

98th, 99th percentile. That is a tiny part of the population. The school's responsibility is the whole group. They can't expend massive amounts of time and resources catering to 2%. I don't even think that would be right.
But, I am a taxpayer and they do have to be flexible with me in my quest to properly educate my child.
If they can do that, I'm more than happy.
My child, my responsibility. DH and I have the largest stake in that process, it's good to be realistic.

I have to continually remind myself to straddle the middle.. so it is good advice. I just get very passionate when I believe so fiercely in something. But anyone who knows me would laugh. I'm quiet and shy enough that I go into a school meeting and silently get walked all over. I'm really only up-in-arms when I'm alone in front of the keyboard.

And I didn't mean to place any unintended blame on those of us who homeschool. We might be there sooner than I had imagined. <sigh> It just seems that we are spread out so thinly that none of our voices are being heard by the local powers that be. We need to find a way of raising these discussions to a national level. If people can push through these other math fads, we should be able to start a new math fad for gifted kids. I'm personally thinking of framing it as "We need all of the bright young minds we can get to solve all of the future global problems".

'Neato: Tell your daughter from me, that as I scientist, I say blowing things up is way cool!!

Backtracking a bit in the topic, I wanted to give a shout-up for DEVELOPING MATH TALENT by Susan Assouline and Ann Lupkoskie-Shoplik. They cover conceptual/computation balance by saying, in essence, that precocious children often move ahead much more quickly in conceptual math than in computational. They advise that the conceptual tendency should be given rein, but provision be made to do some work along the way to back-fill in computational skill areas and drill them.

I would recommend this book to anyone, by the way, whose child has an early inclination towards mathematics. It's very good.

Fitzi, I'm on my over to Amazon. Been meaning to pick that book up and if Amazon has the Singapore I want to order I'm going to throw that in my cart.
I don't know if this is good or bad, but I'm requiring DD8 to master 1-12 multiplication and division facts to instant recall status before we move on. I've had recommendations both ways. I am however, letting her move on in geometry and diddling with fractions. Maybe this book will tell me I am wrong!
BTW she was very much resisting memorizing the facts till Aleks put Quick Tables up on their program. Now she's breezing through because that time/game element is making it more fun for her.

Ebeth, take all my advice with a grain of salt. I really don't know what I'm doing! This is all uncharted territory for me as well.
And I'd like to revise my statement a little. Even though 1-2% is a minority, they should be taken care of in the public education system. Being able to totally individualize curriculum for them is because I stay home which is a luxury these days, not an option for every parent of a child who is underserved at school.

And I will tell C-dog what you said....from one scientist to another! She'll love it!