Math Wars, part the zillionth

or

What if They Gave a War and Nobody Came?

Had to do a presentation the other night. There had been a huge buildup to this thing, perhaps involving pitchforks and torches. A large auditorium was selected. Only about 80 people showed up: the diehard Math Men, the usual PTA ghouls (among whom I count myself), and a fairly large number of teachers. The presentation was IMO a mess: not well-organized, no clear narrative thread.

As usual I find myself riding the fence hard. Hate the curriculum, hate the anti-constructivist rhetoric, hate the preening, hate the double-talk and lack of clear answers. As a couple of my friends pointed out, what in God's name are "supplemental materials"? I can only hope that by bringing up some critical issues (lack of time in the school day, lack of oversight ITO services, recommended interventions, etc.) we've shone enough of a spotlight that some oversight will be in place, at least for the next few years.

And I get it that there's a balance between teacher/staff autonomy and laissez-faire. I'm a teacher myself, and I rather adored the freedom I had once class started (at least at the university level: in the city schools, there was an overabundance of oversight, including mandatory filed lesson plans, goals on the board, people patrolling to see that the hallway bulletin boards were changed every few weeks--all kinds of micromanaging). But.

Will write more later.....