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3. Yes, I made assumptions about you BASED ON YOUR POSTS. When you spent/spend "thousands of dollars" on private assessments, private tutoring, and private schools, then that reinforces my opinion that you want what you want and you keep searching for someone and some organization that agrees with you. I don't know about you, but one of the problems we experienced was parents of SPED kids who wanted some pretty bizarre things, some not based on reality. The example that comes to my mind was the SPED parent at out school who sued the school system for refusing to pay for horseback riding lessons, which was also turned down by the feds.
More assumptions from you.
We had to hire someone to teach our son using the Orton-Gillingham method. That is not "horseback riding lessons." It is the universally agreed best approach for teaching dyslexics how to read and spell. Our previous state's schools would not teach it, nor would they pay for it.
We didn't hire that tutor because we were searching for someone to agree with us.
We hired that tutor so our son could learn.
I find your posts very condescending, so it would be better to leave it at this.
We had to hire someone to teach our son using the Orton-Gillingham method. That is not "horseback riding lessons." It is the universally agreed best approach for teaching dyslexics how to read and spell. Our previous state's schools would not teach it, nor would they pay for it.
We didn't hire that tutor because we were searching for someone to agree with us.
We hired that tutor so our son could learn.
I find your posts very condescending, so it would be better to leave it at this.
And there's a good example. The Orton-Gillingham method's efficacy is still in question. It's promising, but studies have been inconclusive. The state and school system are not required to use your preferred method of teaching. And the school is certainly not going to break rules at the system and state level for you.
And there's a good example. The Orton-Gillingham method's efficacy is still in question. It's promising, but studies have been inconclusive. The state and school system are not required to use your preferred method of teaching. And the school is certainly not going to break rules at the system and state level for you.
You are perfectly welcome to "leave it at this".
OG is not "my preferred method." OG has been used since the 1930s and has long been established as a beneficial system. Having said that, the school district in our previous state would not provide *any* kind of specialized dyslexia instruction. I'm sure you'll find a way to justify that and twist what I'm saying and blame me.
At least the basic understanding of Algebra should certainly be required to have a high school diploma. It is relevant to our every day lives, and is most certainly not abstract just by using variables (most commonly 'x').
For example, say after high school you get a job selling tailor made suits.
For one month of work you get $1500, and then in addition you get $20 for every suit you sell. Another job pays $12 per hour regardless and has no incentives or promotions.
How many suits do you have to sell in order to get the same amount you would get at the $12 per hour job, and can it realistically be done? Can you realistically sell a lot more than that and make more money even though the base salary is much lower?
For this, you cannot just get out a calculator and punch in numbers given to you without understanding what the problem means. That is what I deal with every time I work with students as a substitute in middle school algebra. They can do multiplication/division problem where the numbers are handed to them without a calculator, but when it is put into real life scenarios, you have to be able to know what to do with it without being told how to crunch the numbers.
So, if you cannot do a simple linear equation with an x variable, you haven't met the bare minimum to have a diploma with your name on it, and use it to get a job.
OG is not "my preferred method." OG has been used since the 1930s and has long been established as a beneficial system. Having said that, the school district in our previous state would not provide *any* kind of specialized dyslexia instruction. I'm sure you'll find a way to justify that and twist what I'm saying and blame me.
No, school's should provide assistance. But I disagree that it is the "universally agreed best approach".
Many jobs require a high school diploma, even if abstract algebra or analyzing complex literature is not part of the job. Yet abstract algebra and advanced mathematics is often a requirement for a diploma. Some students will never understand it no matter what, even with intensive tutoring. I do think all students should learn statistical algebra, like mortgages, finance, budgeting, percentages, loans, compounding interest, graphs, fractions, data plots, etc. Abstract algebra should be optional. I am referring to solving equations like 2(x2-1)+3x(x+ 4) or finding the function or the value of X.
I checked the requirements for a security position in my county’s library system. The security job duties patrolling the library, providing exceptional customer service, aiding sick and injured people, confronting and de-escalating problems and informing departments on fire/safety issues. This job requires a high school diploma and the posting said some college preferred, even though you won't be finding the value of X, analyzing complex literature or reciting the byzantine empire conquest as part of the job. Even a custodian position at the library requires a diploma. I understand custodians have to have knowledge on proper use and safe disposal of chemicals, but that stuff is not taught in high school.
We should have a system like Britain, where you get a GCSE in each subject. A student can get a GCSE in an electricians class or marketing class and work at a related field. High school should have more career-related classes. I do support graduation requirements being the bare minimum to tell employers you can work compose a professional email, understand basic math like I described above, etc.
We should also stop telling students that everyone should go to college, or college is the only way to achieve economic success. Encourage apprenticeships, vocational schools, etc. Get students thinking about different career options and maybe have them try out different careers so they will have a better idea about what they want to do.
Solving simple equations like the one you posted is NOT abstract algebra. (This is Abstract Algebra - it is an advanced masters degree level course.) This example you gave is elementary to intermediate level high school Algebra and the point of having this subject is to begin teaching young people about computational thinking. It's really a skill required in problem solving. In general, you use Algebra every day and probably don't even realize it.
If it turns out that, even after various help has been given, as required by law, your son is unable to do the work required to pass a key element of the curriculum, you want the school system to give him a high school diploma anyway.
I would suggest you look into a big inner city high school in a big urban district. There, if he shows up every day, makes an effort, and doesn't cause trouble, he'll be passed.
Maybe you mean well and really want to help. However, and with respect, what you did as a principal in your school is irrelevant to my son's situation.
You make a ton of assumptions about me, my son, about parents of SPED kids and so on. I have homeschooled in the past; we have spent thousands upon thousands of dollars on private assessments, on private tutoring, even on private schools.
I am not asking for "the world". I am asking for my son not to have take Geometry and to take a lower level math class instead. There is a math class that includes personal finance, which despite your snide comment that it isn't "rocket science", is useful, practical, and something many Americans learn the hard way. He can't take it because he is *required* to take Geometry. And because he is *required* to take Geometry, he is not learning in a way that is best for him.
If you think that a parent asking for an appropriate level class for their child is "asking for the world" and "whining".... and if you then come up with the same excuses about money and funding and staff shortages and I don't know what, you are part of the problem. To say to a parent who wants not a special class, not more accommodations, just a different class that is *already* offered that they are "whining", is rude and offensive.
Honestly, I think you have missed the entire point of my comments because you wanted to discuss your own experiences. I think further discussion with you would just continue to aggravate both of us.
While I understand your concern, perhaps he simply needs a better way of teaching him geometry and its concepts.
If it turns out that, even after various help has been given, as required by law, your son is unable to do the work required to pass a key element of the curriculum, you want the school system to give him a high school diploma anyway.
I would suggest you look into a big inner city high school in a big urban district. There, if he shows up every day, makes an effort, and doesn't cause trouble, he'll be passed.
This is the truth. At my school, students have received passing grades in classes they never attended, apparently. Students who actually show up often get much higher grades than one would expect given their reading scores, which average upper elementary level.
In reality, the high school diploma is expected from everyone now and the bare minimum. However, the jobs people get without any education or experience typically never ask to see your diploma, so just giving people a high school diploma just for showing up really doesn't do anything for them than without it other than being able to get into college, but in college if they don't know those basic math skills, they are going to have to retake them in remedial courses that don't count towards graduation, so it's best to learn it for life skills, and if you have any desire to go to college, you will want to be able to get into a class you can get that counts for graduation, or else you're gonna repeat the content anyway.
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