The hurried curriculum leads to later difficulties

Oct. 5, 2010 - PRLog -- Dear Dr. Fournier:

My son was an excellent student in elementary school. In seventh grade he started having problems in math. He took pre-algebra in seventh grade, and in eighth grade they wouldn't let him take algebra. This year he entered algebra and it is a nightmare. He says he understands it but is making horrible grades. His teacher says he is careless. I don’t know what to do.

Philip G.
Winston-Salem, NC

Dear Philip:

I remember taking algebra in the ninth grade and loving it. I felt as if someone had given me a world of puzzles to do. I loved finding the values of the variables - that is, finding the answers to the puzzles.

I had a glaring advantage over children of this generation: I wasn't hurried in math prior to taking algebra. In elementary school, I fully understood what a fraction was and how it related to a whole. In junior high school, that fraction was converted to a decimal. Then came the percentages, followed by proportions, ratios, sales tax and probability. It was fun to learn similarities and differences of members of the extended math family. Unfortunately, the circumstance in which this learning is now expected to take place is drastically different from when I was in school.

ASSESSMENT

Many children are being taught and expected to learn all of these math family relationships while still in fifth and sixth grade. Children are then given pre-algebra to get them ready for algebra. This “accelerated” approach may look good on paper, but the elephant in the room is that we do not give them the time to finish learning math well.

In today’s world, we are faced with the realities of a hurried curriculum in most schools.  Our educational system has embraced the concept that giving children higher-level learning (and sooner) is a good thing. The general thinking is that earlier exposure to more advanced material will give them an edge. I think this line of thinking is faulty, and is detrimental to children in the long run.  The reason is that in order to facilitate a pushed down curriculum, the appropriate time for drilling and development of both basic skills (reading, writing, arithmetic, speaking, listening) and emotional/developmental readiness must be cut down to make room for the new material.  This robs children of the time and repetition they need to fully learn and master the basics.  While these deficiencies may appear minor, by the time higher level learning like algebra comes around in the student’s academic career and these basics remain unaddressed, the net results are declining grades and a host of unanswered questions.

Many problems encountered in algebra class stem from incomplete learning of basic math facts or the repetition of common math process errors.


WHAT TO DO

Philip, instead of saying “my child has problems in algebra,” you must define precisely why your child is losing points on his grade and what is left to be learned. Chances are that the whole of algebra is not the problem, but a missed basic skill (or skills) learning that due to the cumulative nature of algebra is producing a chain reaction that is causing his wrong answers.  The trick is to identify these missed basics.  To make this assessment, you must see all of his tests and graded work. Without these clues, you have no solution. If you cannot keep the graded tests at home, photocopy and return the originals.

Use these papers to help your child assess the reason for his loss of points. Create three tally sheets, one each for:

(1) Math Process Errors
(2) Math Fact Errors
(3) Algebra Concept/Process Errors

On each of these three sheets, make two columns labeled "The Reason," and ''Points Lost Because of This.”

Take all graded work and review it with your child to see where he lost points and why. One example could be that your child did an entire problem correctly but when he got to the point of finding the value of X when X=34/100, he may have written 3.4 instead of .34. That would be a (1) Math Process Error of converting fractions to decimals. As you review your child's tests, you may find that on one test your son lost five points for this type of error, 10 points on another, and six points on yet another.

With an accurate assessment, you can no longer say that your child’s grade is due to carelessness. It is due to a math process that he never learned correctly. In the example I gave above, relearning how to convert fractions to decimals was all that was needed.

You can also stop fearing that he doesn’t understand algebra. He does! Missed learning is the real culprit.

The point of these assessments is to guide your child as he finds his own mistakes. You do not need to be a math whiz, but if this process leads to family disagreement or hassles, help your child find a tutor, or ask the teacher for guidance. The point is to help your child pinpoint his problems and learn from them - no matter who becomes the facilitator in the process.

CONTACT DR. FOURNIER

Have a question about education, education-related issues or your child’s schoolwork or homework? Ask Dr. Fournier and look for her answer in this column. E-mail your question or comment to Dr. Yvonne Fournier at drfournier@hfhw.net.

# # #

For 30 years, Dr. Yvonne Fournier has been helping children become more successful in school. Her column, "Hassle-Free Homework," was published by Scripps Howard News Service for 20 years. She holds her doctorate in education.