At 09:27 AM 4/21/97 -0400, you wrote:
>On Thu, 17 Apr 1997, Josh Glazer wrote:
>
>> Hi. I am a High School Algebra (as well as cs) teacher. I, probably, am
>> the source of some your "problems".
>> Why? Do I pass some students who do not have complete mastery of
>> the subject? YES. Why? I teach a low level algebra I; this course is
>> for students who either did not pass algebra the first time or who
>> entered high school below the algebra I level.
>> While these students may pass my tests, their retention level is
>> minimal. Also, we at the high school level have these students
>> everyday, unlike colleges, and can spend much more time prepping them for
>> an exam. We also provide extensive remedial periods for additional
>> practice or instruction.
>> In addition, there are many students (too many) who are taking a
>> college prep couse load, who in reality should be more interested in
>> vocational training. Everyone wants their son/daughter to go to
>> college and are unwilling or unable to accept the reality until their
>> child flunks out of college.
>> I see some students with high grades -- averages of 88+ -- whose
>> SAT scores are below 1000. Can anyone explain that?
>> Perhaps we have different levels within the high schools. We
>> teach to the level of the class while you in college are more content
>> oriented. Our students must graduate from high school to survive in the
>> world, college is not a necessity.
>> Perhaps we should be focusing on career training instead of
>> college, but who wants to be the one to tell a parent that their child is
>> not going to be a rocket scientist?
>> I do not want to begin a debate on how unprepared these students
>> are when they arrive in my classroom; how the elementary and middle
>> schools are not doing their jobs. Also, what is the role, today, of
>> calculators in the classroom? Most, no all of my students are lost
>> without them.
>> Furthermore there are late bloomers. There are students who do
>> not begin to perform to their potential until way into high school. (One
>> of my children being in that group). These students will have "barely
>> passed" math and will h ave problems in college.
>> My question to you is: Do you provide tutoring and if so does
>> anyone make use of it? It is my opinion that these students need more
>> than 2 hours 2 times per week. They need constant reenforcement of
>> learning and it is probably difficult, or impossible, for a college to
>> provide this.
>
>Bay College has two tutorial centers. One works with Writing and
>Mathematics Courses, the other provides tutoring for any class provided
>we can find a tutor. Between the Math/Writing Centers, over 250 students
>have been served this year (out of a campus population of about 1700).
>The math center alone has seen 140 students (about 400 students a semester
>take a math class) so the use is definitely strong here. The Math/Writing
>Centers are grant funded. Full time staff and overhead are financed by
>the grant. The college foots the bill for peer tutors (aprox $10000)
>which provide (I am guessing) about 3/4 of the contact hours with students.
>
>I have seen the same two types of students you speak of in your note. The
>prepared and underprepared. Typically, those students who seem prepared
>for college come for quick Q/A type help. The have gone to class, done
>their work, but have gotten stuck on number 34. The other group, the
>underprepared, is a different story. These go to tutorial needing to see
>all of the material presented again. Generally, these students will pick
>up the material (most are somewhat intelligent) but do not retain any of
>the information. I attribute this to a lack of studey skills. I
>see a very large number of these students in Arithmetic and Basic Alg
>courses. Yes, they do need more than two meetings a week, but what they
>need is not many more hours a week of mathematics tutoring. They need to
>learn how to learn and get the motivation to do so.
>
>As far as those students who get 88+ on their math exams and do poorly on
>the SAT's...I imagine this may be caused by the same animal. Too many
>students cram tests and forget everything the next day. Poor study
>skills strike again.
>
>-Brian Goetz
>
>
>
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sharon Smith
Augusta Technical Institute
3116 Deans Bridge Road
Augusta, GA 30906
Math Instructor
Isa 43:1-3
email ssmith@augusta.tec.ga.us
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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