Parents tell us they are very concerned about math at CET

LC, mother of a first grader, came in for the open house for parents to see the math program in action. She reported to us that she saw many kids “getting” the easy “roll and record” dice assignment , early on, then get bored doing it over and over. Many started drifting into free play. “It’s a drag to have to do math that you are not challenged by over and over again,” says LC. She subsequently joined our group.

GC, dad of a first grader and a third grader tells us with sadness that his kids once loved the math they were learning at home. Now, they are so bored by math in class that they mastered long ago, they think math is boring. However, they were once again excited when they looked at the math at the nearby Catholic school. This family will probably transfer out of CET next year, specifically because of the math.

KL, mom of a second grader who moved here this year is also upset with the math at CET. Her son was learning many more math facts in first grade in his upstate New York class. She is angry that her child can no longer add up how much the ice cream will cost at the Blue Pig, when he was very able to do this last year.

A mother of two first graders is pulling her kids out of CET next year because the math they can do with ease is many levels beyond what they are allowed to do in school at CET.

A Kindergarten mom says her daughter always complains that the math is too easy and she is bored that she can’t move on to learn new things in math. She joined our group.

why “just right” is vital math teaching

If your child attends CET you probably know a thing or two about “Just Right” reading and writing. The cornerstone of our very fine literacy program is based on the concept that the best and the brightest readers can learn in the same classroom with kids that are struggling with literacy, and kids that are making average progress. In this way, all the kids in our community are served and can learn side by side. The reading and writing is adjusted to the level your child is on, and s/he can make progress in a year’s classroom time no matter where the child was at when s/he first walked in the door.

For some reason, and we suspect it is political more than academic, the math instruction at CET is on one level only, so if your kid “gets” the math right away, or comes in with superior math skills s/he is still forced to go over and over material that has already been mastered. The child is prevented from moving on. The message: math is boring stuff and geared for people who need remedial help. This is not the way to build strong math learners!

We must take an active role changing this approach. We want the children assessed during the first weeks of September 2008. Then we want different levels of math learning taking place within the classroom, just how it is done with literacy. Come down with us on May 12 at 8 or 8:30 pm at Croton High school to insist to the board and Dr. Castro, that math be taught in this way. Exact time will be posted on this site during the first week of May.