Parent Power June 2000: A Parent's Turn -- Teachers Getting Back to Math Basics

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Parent Power! Helping You Make Sense of Schooling Today Contributing Editors Carol Innerst Sean Kelly 1001 Connecticut Ave., NW Suite 204 Washington, DC 20036 202-822-9000 800-521-2118 Fax: 202-822-5077 parentpower@edreform.com www.edreform.com Published monthly by The Center for Education Reform Jeanne Allen, President Bring Parent Power! to your home. To subscribe, send your tax deductible donation of $7.00 to the address above, or call us at our toll free number. I’m a parent and I’m relieved. The National Council of Teachers of Math (NCTM) retreated on their hard line stance that understanding concepts is more important than basic fluency in mathematical computations. Since my oldest son is among the majority of children who do well in computation but fail to grasp lengthy word problems and fuzzy lessons, I’m enormously relieved. The NCTM retreat means that textbook publishers, standards setters and, hopefully, teachers, will put more emphasis on getting our kids to know their addition, multiplica- tion and division facts so that they can more aptly apply them quickly and from memory in any number of situations. The release of the revised math standards by NCTM means that there could be less concentration in math books on pictures, word games, and even multicul- tural exercises intended to let us know how other civilizations live and work, which, of course, has never been a necessary part of mathematics. The NCTM move also means that I may not have to fight with my third-grader the next time he says, “Mom, can I have a calculator?” The last time I said no, I had to write a note to the teacher because he thought he would get in trouble for not using one. I am relieved, but I’m only cautiously optimistic. You see, most schools in the U.S. already are using books that are heavily dominated by NCTM’s policies. In fact, the textbooks under review for adoption next year at my children’s school are NCTM-fat. On top of that, the debacle with history stan- dards a few years ago is illustrative. Those voluntary, “national” standards that warranted a 99-1 resolution against them in the U.S. Senate and the ire of even the well- balanced Secretary of Education, Richard Riley, still had an influence on how history is being taught. At my organization, we still get calls from teachers looking for copies of THE national history standards. Some long-time critics of NCTM’s fuzzy math proscriptions wonder if there’s not just a little bit of lip service being paid to tradi- tional math proponents. Afterall, if they really wanted to emphasize that correct answers in math are the most important thing, and that drill and basic skills are not dirty words, the latest NCTM document would emphasize “in bold letters that it is important for basic skills to be learned,” says Brookings Institute scholar Tom Loveless. Even so, I am relieved. The warring math factions have for the last year or so been at loggerheads. The less-funded traditional math folks have seemingly always curried less favor with the establishment, though we parents just love them. And yet, for all the name calling by the fuzzy folks and their indignation that their values were ques- tioned, this move proves the squeaky wheel theory, and that, to use another cliché, you can fight city hall — and win. Even better is that parents, teachers and concerned citizens nationwide now have more evidence to offer their schools and curriculum directors. We can now state with full certainty and the backing of NCTM that fuzzy math is no longer the preferred approach, and that perhaps there are math programs and books available that will better help our children gain the math skills and knowledge they need to achieve. The job now falls to parents to make sure this information is relayed to decision makers in their schools and to demand that their educators impart basic, in depth math skills before turning to more esoteric goals. So for the power to do that, I’m relieved, but I’m still keeping the pressure on. *Allen is the publisher of Parent Power! and a mother of four school-aged children. This commen- tary was written for the Scripts Howard News Service and appeared in numerous newspapers. A Parent’s Turn Here’s a plus: Teachers getting back to math basics The move means that I may not have to fight with my third- grader the next time he says, “Mom, can I have a calculator?” BY JEANNE ALLEN*