Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!mcl!unibase!leigh
From: leigh@unibase.UUCP (Leigh Calnek)
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Re: In defence of the K-12 school system
Message-ID: <81@unibase.UUCP>
Date: 5 Apr 88 16:14:37 GMT
References: <3435@medusa.cs.purdue.edu> <1005@aucs.UUCP> <3635@medusa.cs.purdue.edu>
Organization: EMIS Consulting, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Lines: 160
Keywords: mandatory math
Summary: student retention in mathematics
I sense that there are many differences between how we
approach similar problems between Canada and the U.S. In
Saskatchewan, students would appear to be in math courses
over a longer grade span than in the U.S. Our school system
graduates students after 12 years, and we regard grades
10-12 as high school. To illustrate my point about greater
retention, the following table shows our provincial grade
population and enrolment figures.
Grade Total Enrol Algebra Gen.Math. Geom-Trig Calculus
====== =========== ========= ========= ========= ========
10 14,798 12,943 888 7,845
11 13,786 11,291 840 5,197
12 14,174 10,161 645 7,014 1,289
Students who are enrolled in the Algebra course may not enroll
in the General Math program. Also, students who are
enrolled in the Calculus or Geom-Trig programs are also
found in the Algebra course. As you can see, over 70% of
our senior grade enroll in some kind of math program. One
reason for this relates to our requirements for graduation,
which requires a math or science to be completed at the
grade 11 or 12 level.
This is not meant to suggest that our graduating students
would necessarily better math skills, for this set of
statistics does nothing to describe the 25% of the student
population that fails to graduate from grade 12.
In addition, it would be safe to suggest that the recipients
of our students are not fully satisfied with the math skills
of students on exiting of the school system. The
Kindergarten (pre-grade 1) to grade 12 (ie K-12 system) is
constantly under fire for students exiting with "poor"
skills, and most frequently the criticism points to a
perceived inadequacy to use basic math skills.
I feel there is some considerable room for discussion
regarding any expectation we may have that all students
should be able to develop competency in all or any subject.
Educators at all grade levels find students who challenge
their abilities beyond our capacity to deliver....that is to
say we find students that are incapable of learning what we
are teaching. This is true of teachers in the primary
grades and it is true of teachers at the university level.
The sign of the true teacher is that upon recognition of the
problem, a variety of approaches are tried hoping to find
one which will allow the student to master the necessary
concepts. We do no favours for ourselves or others to
suggest the problem lie in the earlier education experience.
Teachers at all levels need to be able to respond to the
skills level brought by the students, and work with them
from that point.
A good education system is one which is constantly reviewing
its needs and products, seeking alternative strategies and
approaches to improve its product and retain its student
population. In Saskatchewan, we have begun implementation
of a new strategy for attempting to educate our students.
It combines the concept of a "core curriculum" (content and
processes in major curriculum areas) for all students with
that of "common essential learnings" (concepts and processes
common to all subject areas) to address some of the problems
we all recognize exist in an education system. The
mobilization and "re-tooling" of 10,000 teachers looms as a
major task in the successful implementation of this "new"
approach. The exciting aspect is that educators at all
levels are prepared to "give it a try". I will try to
provide some further information pertaining to the new
thrust in Saskatchewan over the coming months.
------------------------
uunet!mcl!unibase!leigh
Leigh Calenk
3002 Harding St.
Regina, Sask. Canada
S4V 0Y4
phone: home (306)789-9007
bus. (306)787-9448