Barresi out

[bettingpython]

Outcome based education is an attempt to fit a square peg in a round hole, it's marginally successful based upon the size of the peg and the size of the hole. Teachers are focusing on teaching shortcuts to answer standardized test questions. Everytime we turn around there is more and more mandated testing going on so less time is being spent on teaching. Reform math is my pet peeve i could work problems on my sons homework assignments in seconds but the methods taught varied from school to school, grade to grade and even between teachers in the same grade throughout elementary and Jr. High. He constantly struggled because he didn't understand what he was supposed to do with problems.

I actually know a recent HS grad in a accounting school program who blatantly refused to grasp something as simple as division is multiplication by reciprocals. At the end of the day the correct answer was 5, not 500 which she kept insisting it was.

Somewhere there's a medium between outcome based and input based education that will provide for bright educated graduates. But common core is not it, in comparison to the standards of high performing countries the CCS standards are unclear and imprecise. They're a joke.

You're seeing the dumbing down of America by constantly shifting targets and over testing of students.

 

[rawhide]

You're right. . .I'm not, and therefore can give an objective view of the subject. Rather than a view tinted only by what educators tell me.

ETA: Hot topic, not wanting to pick a fight. . .but I am really tired of educators telling me how horrible Barresi is. As an employer, I see daily what 20 years of Sandy Garrett has produced and (in my opinion) however bad Janet may be she can't be worse than Sandy.

Opposition to Janet Barresi was never about returning to the status quo or a particular set standards.

 

[n2sooners]

I don't know "how" they were wanting them to answer the problem, so I can't call him a "moron" as you say. This is a prime example of what I was saying, parents doesn't understand, so the system is wrong. Just because his building block to do that math problem is different that what they were trying to teach, doesn't mean it was wrong. Just because an article says he has a "degree" doesn't mean a thing though, there's plenty of stupid people out there with degrees.

When you are only exposed to one way of doing things, most people think other ways of doing it are wrong. Well, you are asking a huge number of people to disregard the building blocks they learned, while they watch their kids struggle with something that appears to them to be more complicated than it needs to be, and it's new to them as well. What if in turn, it is actually a very simple answer they were looking for, and you just didn't know that, and your perception is what was wrong to begin with? Once again, parent involvement and taking the ego out of it. That parent's statement was nothing but ego. I'm a BLAH blah BLAH, this is STUPID, You'd get fired for that in the real world.... If they learned the system with their kids, maybe it would be different, and they could actually help, we'll never know though.

Instead of getting pissed, people need to try and understand, and shut up and listen. It's a hard concept these days though, because EVERYONE is ALWAYS right.

Showing kids alternative ways to solve problems is a good thing. Forcing them to solve problems in the most convoluted way possible isn't. My daughter had problems with high school algebra and I tried to help her with it. I showed her how we used to do it and she said it made sense, but she said she had to do it the way the teacher said and show her work. Math should be less about how you solve the problem and more about getting the right answer.

All these new methods they are using just make math harder which in turn frustrates kids making them dislike math and hurting them for years to come. The goal should be to make math fun and as easy as possible.

Sent from my LG-E980 using Tapatalk

 

[crrcboatz]

No argument, but it also is wise to look at the problem from more viewpoints than just the viewpoint of the people doing the job. If the overwhelming results from Drs/Lawyers are less than optimal, I have an obligation to question the methods the Drs/Lawyers as a whole are using.

I'm also fully aware that Sandy Garrett is not running. The (apparently missed) point was that educators want everything back like it was when she *was* in charge. . .and we've seen the results from that experiment.

Excuse me but I must ask this question.What in the world do lawyers know about education? Thats like consulting an educator on court proceedings. Drs too for that matter. They have no special lease on life that qualifies them to know anything about the educational process or children.

 

[crrcboatz]

There are 2 big issues I see with the current debate that a lot of people are leaving out.

The first problem is everyone is blaming Common Core, that it was failing. Well, it was built around existing systems that have been proven to work. Just because our educators, and student's parents don't understand the system, doesn't mean it was failing. Too many parents and teacher's have the mentality that the system is to blame, and it can't be them or their students. You have to look at the demographic of people that are complaining about a lot of these "issues", and their education level. Sorry, but just because a huge chunk of Oklahoma's are under-educated, and they want to complain that a system doesn't work, doesn't mean it's true. Oklahoma's education system has been well below par for a long time, and when generation after generation of people come out of those schools, it breeds a certain intelligence level, and that becomes a "norm" in the general populace so to speak. A teaching degree is one of the easiest to get, sad, but true. That's a huge problem. Mix that in with parents that take a back seat to their child's education, it exacerbates the issue.

Second, any Superintendent that comes in to try and fix our issues, has to deal with the issue from the first problem I stated. An under educated populace that wants an issue fixed immediately, but they all think they know what is "best for their child". That is painfully and obviously not true though. There's a reason minimum wage jobs thrive in this state. I see people complain about how Common Core taught math, and how the parents didn't even understand it. Well, guess what, just because YOU don't understand something, doesn't mean it doesn't work. Maybe YOU (the "people") are the real issue?! Most people don't understand Physics, Rocket Science, or Engineering, but it happens everyday, and it generally doesn't come out of the state of Oklahoma. The Common Core teaching of math is a VERY effective way of teaching math, and it teaches it in a way that a kid will learn how to use it without having to use a computer or calculator for everyday math issues. You know what is sad, go to a grocery store and ask the kid at the counter to count your money back to you, or ask them to give you your change without having to look at the screen. THEY CAN'T! It's truly sad when a kid can't do simple arithmetic in their head. It's sad how many ADULTS in this state can't read. How many of the people complaining about these "issues" may have the reading level of a 3rd grader?

ANY Superintendent is going to face a huge battle with the people to try and fix the system to everyone's liking. Was Common Core the fix, we'll never know, because a huge group of people that don't understand something complained until it was gone, and it never even had a chance to work. Was Common Core the only way to fix the system, of course not. Where there's a will, there's a way, and hopefully they'll find something soon.

To everyone that wants to ***** and moan about someone TRYING to make a difference and actually having the initiative to make changes, how about you give the system a chance before you shoot it down. Just because YOU (the "people") don't understand it, doesn't mean it won't work, and you can't fix a system as broken as ours' overnight, or even over the course of one or two years. Not one person it to blame for the issue, it is everyone in the state that has failed on this issue. From the State, to Educators, and parents. Everyone needs to take their ego out of the fight, because it's not a fight you are fighting for yourselves, it's for OUR kids.


Now, I personally think if they want the best chance for a new system to succeed, they need to start in the lower levels, and have the children evolve with a new system. Start it with Pre-K kids, and give it until 2nd or 3rd to test, and that is when you are going to see the results. 3rd graders wait until 5th or 6th grade to test. You can't take kids that have only been exposed to a flawed system, and force a complete change on them, and expect to see testing results overnight. After a few years, all of the kids will be exposed to the new system over time, and you can then start a "yearly" testing.

Im as educated as most anyone and I will tell you Common Core is a joke. LOL

 

[Fredkrueger100]

All I know is when I was in school it wasn't a nightmare like it is now. I didn't have the work load that the students have. The stuff my son would get was pathetic. And he was in second grade. I personally wish things would go back to he way they were in the 80's and 90's. It was 10 times better for the kids.

 

[rhodesbe]

The entire education system is a wasteful pile of crap, and any superintendent or teacher who disagrees is part of the problem.

Sorry to all the newly minted chest thumpers and educators on this board, but needing 520 school districts to administrate education in a state our size, with all the redundant administration staff from each district we employ on our dime is just plain wasteful.

Sure, Barresi may have been lousy, but there's a good shot the next one is lousy too. Status quo and all.

 

[Blinocac200sx]

I think some of you guys are missing the point. So what if Barresi was better than Garrett, that's like saying "Tuberculosis is better than the Plague, so you really shouldn't be happy to be getting rid of Tuberculosis." That's just insanity. Let's keep trying to improve things, and if the next one sucks, kick her out and try again. Eventually the people running for these offices will get the message.

 

[Shadowrider]

There are 2 1 big issues I see with the current debate....snipped.

Too many parents and teacher's have the mentality that the system is to blame, and it can't be them or their students....snipped

This is all you needed to type out, because this is the problem. A lazy a$$ kid goes through school and can't read when they get out of high school. Now that right there is the problem! Not the curriculum, teachers, schools, administrators or anything else. The "old" method of teaching has been proven to work for several thousand years and it's quite comical and at the same time depressing to see these college educated elitists come in with their latest brainstorm as to how to "fix" things that aren't broke. When we are too PC to give failing grades who is really failing? The schools aren't broken, but they can always waste err...use more money.

 

[Lakenut]

Shadow is right on. We are abandoning methods that have been tried and true in the classroom for methods thought up by folks at universities and the textbook companies. When teachers speak up and voice their concern, they are often labeled as "negative" or "non-team players". Their years of classroom experience is trumped by the so called "experts". Then at the end of the year when standardized test scores come back less than excellent, the teacher thinks to themselves "no kidding...if only I could have taught the way I KNOW works, things would have been different." At the same time, said teacher is held accountable for the poor test scores and is dubbed and ineffective teacher, all for teaching the way the experts told him/her to teach.

Student/parent accountability is another missing piece of the puzzle. School districts have safety nets in place to catch kids when they fall. Teachers bend over backwards and jump through hoops teaching and re-teaching and teaching again and again to students who give 0 effort to learn because they know that they are going on to the next grade come August. Add that to parents at home who have low expectations and the problem gets worse.

Our education system isn't perfect and changes need to be made. Lets all hope that that whoever ends up in the state sup office will listen to the boots on the ground.

PS-Right on with the pic about wasting 2 mill on the campaign. Why would anyone in their right mind spend that kind of money on a job that pays what it does. I smell fish!!!!