Math Wars: Time for a Truce?

Pittsburgh public schools conducted an interesting experiment on how to teach math, and they seem to have learned both less and more than they expected.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the schools used two different approaches and hired a research company to find out which was more effective.

One was the controversial "Everyday Math" program which stresses understanding what you're doing. The other was the more traditional Harcourt Math.

The result: no difference.

But the experiment wasn't as pure as the researchers, from Mathematica Policy Research, had hoped. That pesky human factor interfered. Teachers, it seems, filled in for what they thought were the weaknesses in both programs with supplemental materials. So the two programs, as actually experienced by children, weren't all that different. Teachers tended to prefer something between the two extremes.

So the study couldn't determine which approach is better. But it did suggest that if teachers are expected to carry out a strategy in the classroom, they had better be involved in planning it.

-- Alain Jehlen

No More Apples

A couple of years ago we asked teachers to tell us about the best -- and worst! -- holiday gifts they've ever received. And, wow!, did they tell us some good stories. We included many of them in Gift-A-Rama! The stories were so good, they deserve another telling.

What did the gifts include? Coffee mugs. Lots of coffee mugs. Lotions, bath soaps, and body sprays. Ceramic figurines, embroidered pillows, wall hangings, scrapbooks, Beanie Babies, stuffed puppies, a wooden box clock and a handmade quilt.

Other gifts were... well, how should I put this?... let's just say "strange" or "unique": a see-through nightie with two show-girl tassels, a broken guitar, dead baby birds, used soap, a tattoo parlor gift certificate, and one earring - her teaching partner got the other.

Here's my favorite, from Dawn Rankin of Centerville, Ohio:

My most interesting holiday gift was given to me during my first year of teaching some 15 years ago. As the students gathered around my desk offering me several homemade and purchased gifts for Christmas, one student came up and offered a small package wrapped in wax paper. I gushed about receiving another gift and proceeded to unwrap it. What a shock to find a mouse skeleton inside! She was quite proud and had found it underneath her bed. This skeleton showed no signs of fur or flesh and was totally intact. I stammered on about what I would do with such a "unique" gift. Finally the child asked if she could keep it for me. What a relief! I can honestly say that I have not received a gift as unusual as that since.

Check out more stories from teachers.

If you don't want to leave gift-giving to chance, DonorsChoose.org is a great resource. This Web site, pioneered by teachers at a Bronx public high school, collects donations from charitable individuals and uses the proceeds to fund classroom projects and purchase supplies. You can establish a project for your classroom on the Web site -- e.g., "Dictionaries for At-Home Use" -- and establish a monetary goal. Instead of coffee mugs, body lotions or risqué lingerie, have parents and students donate to a worthier cause: their own classroom.

Don't Drop Out -- Boost Up!

One student drops out of high school every nine seconds in America, and
the rate at which students leave high school between grades nine and ten has
tripled over the last 30 years. The reasons are many, but research done by the Ad
Council found that sometimes all that those students need is a little boost -- a
few supportive words encouraging them to stick it out.

That's the idea behind the "Boost Up" campaign and website, www.boostup.org, where visitor scan watch the video diaries of teens on the verge of dropping out, and then send them a "boost" email or text message asking them to stay in school.

Teens themselves can submit photos, artwork or essays to share how someone gave them a boost or how they boosted a friend. The website also includes a section for parents and teens with guidance on issues and problems relating to school, crisis and the community.

"Hundreds of thousands of teens make a life-altering decision to drop out of school each year," says Peggy Conlon, President and CEO of the Ad Council. "This program inspires students to join an interactive community where they can seek continuous support. Teens will see that they are not alone in their struggles, and parents and others will learn how they can
give any teen in their life a 'boost' to help them stay in school and have a better chance for a successful future."

Learn what NEA is doing to address the dropout crisis and read about three sisters and their struggles to stay in school. Also, read the next news story about a dropout-turned graduate.

--Cindy Long