Thanks to the uproar created by upset parents, the Washington Post is taking a look at how math is being taught in Prince William County (here). Parents are fighting a new text book, ”Investigations in Number, Data, and Space.” This text uses a technique called Math Investigation (MI) to teach elementary school children math.
The Post appears to being making every effort to cover the story fairly, listening sympathetically to both parent and school administrators. However, the story does have a particular slant. The Post article suggests that program works, but some parents do not like it. For example, we have this paragraph.
Debates over math curricula have flared in many parts of the United States. In Ridgewood, N.J., an incoming superintendent who supported math alternatives such as “Investigations” was recently forced to back out of the job after parents complained. In the Alpine City school system in Utah, officials scaled back “Investigations” under pressure from lawmakers and parents, though test scores improved.
Because it publicizes their website, http://www.pwcteachmathright.com, and their cause, those parents fighting the MI program should consider the attention the Washington Post is giving Prince Wiliam’s MI program a significant victory. In addition, parents should point to this paragraph.
The debate over “Investigations in Number, Data, and Space,” a Pearson School series used in thousands of elementary classrooms, including some in Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Howard counties, is one of the newer fronts in the math wars. Such battles over textbooks and teaching methods are fueled in part by the anxieties of parents who often feel powerless over their children’s education, especially in subjects they know (emphasis added).
Whether they like it or not, the PWC school division is forcing this new math program on everyone. As I see it, this shows why we need school choice. None of us have confidence in a big, monopolistic bureaucracy. Before admitting a mistake, we fear the management will cover up .
The question that I had after reading the WP article is: What about the kids whose parents’ math skills aren’t as strong as an engineer’s? If they can afford it, there’s always Kumon or online courses such as Johns Hopkins’ CTY. But what about families who don’t have that kind of cash?
The children who will be most hurt by the “fuzzy math” program are those whose parents are less educated and less affluent (who are also disproportionately African-American or Latino). These families also have less ability to simply move to a town with better schools, enroll their kids in a private school, or homeschool. You are absolutely right in saying that we need true school choice for *ALL* families, not just the wealthy!