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I teach high school math and my college required all secondary ed candidates to get a degree in their content area. I have a BS in Math, a minor in Education and got my teaching cert. at the same time. The only reason I declared the "minor" was because a minor was any area you took 5 courses in ... and I think I took 6-7 education classes in addition to the 10 for math, which also included 2 semesters of Physics and 1 semester of computer programming. The state requires a 3.0 in your content area to complete student teaching.
The elementary ed majors get a degree in elementary ed. but they must specialize in a certain content area. Even still, they were only required to take 1.5 math credits (a course was worth 1.0 at my school), one of which was a "Math for Elementary teaching" course which was totally worthless. They often have trouble passing the Praxis.
I'm an elementary education and special education teacher. My undergrad required the same math classes that every other program required for the first two years. Once I was in my major I had to take 4 math classes for my elementary Ed degree. My masters is in elementary mathematics and reading.
I fee comfortable teaching math up to middle school. Even though I took calculus in HS, I wouldn't fee comfortable teaching any HS content math other than remedial or basic algebra.
I notice a lack of mathematics understanding in the elementary level. Most elementary teachers are strong in the language arts department, and I'd love to see more schools let teachers teach to their strengths.
I used to think that until I learned that there is nothing wrong with allowing a student to learn the basics of a calculator in elementary so that when the time comes to use scientific or graphing calculators the kid isn't completely lost. I also utilize calculators in centers so that students can check their work without interrupting small group instruction time.
My son is in 5th grade. I let him use calculator since last month. He has already mastered fraction and decimal operation. He can do something like 12.3(5/12+8/15-7/10)=? easily.
When I was in middle school in Hong Kong years ago, my math teacher gave us a problem and encourage us to use a calculator. "Find the remainder of 36^36 devided by 10." No calculator could help to solve that. It took me half hour. I was not the brightest.
I think the Education major should be done away with... not an easy thing, now that Ed majors are entrenched throughout the system. We'd be better off with teachers coming out of scholastically demanding fields. That would eliminate some of the mediocrity.
I taught high school; in order to be certified at that level, we were required to hold a bachelor's degree in our content area, versus holding "an education major." I obtained my degree from an academically rigorous private liberal arts college, and my degree was identical to others in my major, except that I additionally had completed the requirements to become certified to teach in it (basically a minor in instructional design and related pedagogy, with the internship components of practicum and student teaching as well). Years later, I added an additional endorsement in special education, so that I could teach both in my content area and teach students with disabilities.
The rigor of my particular major at my particular institution made me very knowledgeable in my content area, more so than most educators I've come across before or since. It didn't make me an amazing teacher, however. Nothing does that but practice (in conjunction with a healthy dose of innate aptitude).
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Of course, those people coming out of rigorous fields probably prefer to go into law, medicine, management or software engineering, fields that pay really well and command some respect in our materialistic society.
For me, the pay is less the issue; it's the fact that the job is very clearly not valued, though this is illustrated quite nicely by the pay scale.
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I'm OK with raising teachers' salaries to be competitive with the professions like law, but I want to see more academic rigor there. No more Ed majors who can't even do basic math or find a country on the map or write a grammatical sentence.
There are many people coming out of many different majors who lack proficiency in a variety of combinations of the above tasks. It's not just people who majored in El. Ed.
Originally Posted by Dogwood Porter Common Core math is essentially Singapore Math. In fact, that's the main thing you see dimwit parents complaining about in every anti Common Core article on the internet.
I am using the Singapore Math homeschool curriculum after school with my kids.
If you go read the Common Core math standards, (Mathematics Standards | Common Core State Standards Initiative), the standards are extremely similar to if not exactly the same as what Singapore Math teaches. Early algebraic thinking, heavier focus on word problems and mental math, multiple ways to solve a problem, teaching understanding instead of rote memorization, etc. Singapore Math and Common Core math cover the same topics, but at slightly different pacing. SM does in Kindy what CC does in Kindy and 1st, SM does in 1st what CC does in 2nd. But SM slows down a little bit and spends more time on Multiplication / Division / Fractions, so that by 4th grade it's about even. Then SM speeds up again in 5th and 6th, covering in 2 years what CC covers in 3 years, so that SM students are ready to start the algebra sequence by 7th grade.
HOWEVER, the actual Singapore Math curriculum is FAR SUPERIOR to the various curriculums I've seen here in the states that are attempting to implement Common Core. They try to teach the same things, but SM teaches it beautifully and succinctly in a way that's easy to understand, and US curriculums completely butcher it. When I see my daughter's Everyday Math work sheets, I can see what they're *trying* to do, but it's like reading an essay written by a 1st grader, it's just very immature. I haven't seen bar graphs yet from Everyday Math, but I have seen lots of word problems that look like they were written with the intention of trying to use a bar graph, if only someone here knew how to teach them lol.
But the real magic in Singapore Math is the teachers and the parents. According to what I've read, in Singapore the teachers are brilliant mathematicians, with extensive training in teaching little kids. And the parents are involved, supportive, engaged, and place a high priority on their child's schoolwork. And they routinely pay for afterschool math classes for their kids, behind or ahead, so that they have even more exposure to math. The kids spend at least twice as much time in math instruction there as they do here, if not more. You get good at what you practice.
Thanks. Very informative. If the real Singapore math is FAR SUPERIOR, why downgraded it? Is it because many of our teachers are not up to the task?
@pkbab5, your daughter's school is using Everyday Math? I heard it is the worst curriculum out there. Does it tell kids to use calculator in the name of "embracing technology"?
Yes, they are using Everyday Math and I hate it. But not everyone does, I know another parent just as passionate about math as I am and he loves it. But he also supplements with a full math curriculum at home, so I guess that tells you something lol.
I have not seen yet any instructions to use a calculator, but she's still in 1st grade (at school, she does 3rd grade math at home). But I could totally see it happening. She brought home a math test the other day where about a forth of the questions were crossed out by the teacher that they didn't have to do because the questions were so awful or pointless. At least the teacher is paying attention, I'll give her that!
Thanks. Very informative. If the real Singapore math is FAR SUPERIOR, why downgraded it? Is it because many of our teachers are not up to the task?
Sorry I worded badly. The Singapore Math curriculum is far superior to the non-Singapore Math curriculums I've seen, like Everyday Math.
When they translated Singapore Math from the version in Singapore to the US version, I don't believe it was down graded. The English version works fine. There are actually 3 different versions of it, each tweaked just a tiny bit in what order things are presented - the US version was a straight translation, the Common Core version tweaked it to fit common core, and the Standards version tweaked it to fit California State Standards.
From what I understand, some schools in the US ARE using Singapore Math now, usually private and charter, but some public. In some schools it was not successful because the teachers did not receive any training in it first. In other schools, it has been very successful.
"Although some school districts have found the Singapore math curriculum is difficult to implement, advocates argue it could boost America’s math scores. So far, more than 2,500 schools — and an even greater number of homeschoolers — have made the leap.....After one academic year of Singapore math education, gains were equivalent to about one extra month of instruction, according to the study." https://www.the74million.org/listicl...the-better-way
"Singapore math was developed by the country’s Ministry of Education nearly 30 years ago, and the textbooks have been imported for more than a decade. The earliest adopters in the United States were home-school parents and a small number of schools that had heard about it through word of mouth. Today it can be found in neighborhood schools like P.S. 132, which serves mostly poor students, as well as elite schools, including Hunter College Elementary School, a public school for gifted children in Manhattan, and the Sidwell Friends School in Washington, a private school attended by President Obama’s daughters. SingaporeMath.com, a company that has distributed the “Primary Mathematics†books in the United States since 1998, reports that it now has sales to more than 1,500 schools, about twice as many as in 2008. And Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s Math in Focus, the United States edition of a popular Singapore math series, is now used in 120 school districts and 60 charter schools and private schools, the publisher says."
"And with Singapore math, the pace can accelerate by fourth and fifth grades, putting children as much as a year ahead of students in other math programs as they grasp complex problems more quickly. “Our old program, Everyday Math, did not do that,†said Danielle Santoro, assistant principal of Public School 132 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which introduced Singapore math last year for all 700 students in kindergarten through fifth grade. “One day it could be money, the next day it could be time, and you would not get back to those concepts until a week later.†http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/01/ed...math.html?_r=0
Thanks. Very informative. If the real Singapore math is FAR SUPERIOR, why downgraded it? Is it because many of our teachers are not up to the task?
I wouldn't say many. There are some, but with proper training a good teacher can and will learn how to teach math.
Successful education really requires three parts. One part teacher. One part student. One part parent. Until they are all on the same page, full potential isn't possible.
I wouldn't say many. There are some, but with proper training a good teacher can and will learn how to teach math.
Agreed. Most teachers here don't receive the proper training, unfortunately. It's expensive and time consuming.
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Originally Posted by Haolejohn
Successful education really requires three parts. One part teacher. One part student. One part parent. Until they are all on the same page, full potential isn't possible.
I teach high school math and my college required all secondary ed candidates to get a degree in their content area. I have a BS in Math, a minor in Education and got my teaching cert. at the same time. The only reason I declared the "minor" was because a minor was any area you took 5 courses in ... and I think I took 6-7 education classes in addition to the 10 for math, which also included 2 semesters of Physics and 1 semester of computer programming. The state requires a 3.0 in your content area to complete student teaching.
The elementary ed majors get a degree in elementary ed. but they must specialize in a certain content area. Even still, they were only required to take 1.5 math credits (a course was worth 1.0 at my school), one of which was a "Math for Elementary teaching" course which was totally worthless. They often have trouble passing the Praxis.
Apparently there are some colleges, anecdotally they seem to be in the Midwest, (do you mind saying what state you got certified in?) that require a degree in the content area to become a public school teacher and teach that. As I recall back around 1980 in Georgia, at least not all programs required this.
Although. I didn't hang out with the education majors much. Was never interested in that career field, so was not paying that much attention.
Our old school had a blazing logo that they were "Ocean's Above the Rest!"
And we just got a yearbook with "Forth Grade" typed out carefully. Across six pages.
Not kidding...in case anyone is wondering. It's abysmal.
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