I know I haven't written anything down in a long long long long long long time (about 10 months). Teaching was crazy. I will elaborate later. I figured I should get started again though. I decided to start with a beautifully written article in the New York Times called "Why Do Americans Stink At Math?" by Elizabeth Green.
Here is a link: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/27/magazine/why-do-americans-stink-at-math.html?src=recg&_r=1
I though this article was a great summary of why any math education reforms haven't worked in the past and why we're struggling now with Common Core. We don't know HOW to teach differently. We aren't trained to. We have some 13,000 hours of training learning the old way and some 2-10 hours of the new way (if you're lucky).
One thing I've struggled with is that we have new standards, but everything else is the same. Tests still focus on algorithms. My district gave us a scope and sequence wherein we can hit each topic if we spend one day on it. My attempts at doing otherwise have yielded backlashes. There needs to be a shift in philosophy on all parties in order for Common Core to fully work.
Educational policy makers probably won't change. It will have to start with me and you. Teachers will have to change on their own. Teachers are going to have to take the risks and take the fall if students don't succeed.
Can I risk losing my job for trying to do better?...
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