tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15329279.post3301091350767860759..comments2023-08-25T05:18:29.312-06:00Comments on Madville Times: Spend More on Kids and Teachers, Get Higher Math Scores? Maybe!caheidelbergerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03261598066395322681noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15329279.post-70865352467775537812010-12-09T23:28:10.074-07:002010-12-09T23:28:10.074-07:00Hire math teachers to BE math teachers, not coache...Hire math teachers to BE math teachers, not coaches who happen to also teach math. There is a big difference. I do not know the math teachers currently in Madison HS, but this was a problem years ago. Same thing with some other subjects.nonnienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15329279.post-14445919083068424512010-12-03T21:46:41.724-07:002010-12-03T21:46:41.724-07:00I'm hoenstly not sure, Kelsey. Teacher trainin...I'm hoenstly not sure, Kelsey. Teacher training may not be the issue at all. Maybe it's too much TV and texting, not enough parental involvement.<br /><br />If teacher training is part of the issue, then we either need less, mroe, or different. I was not terribly impressed with what was taught in my education classes: my best teacher training was practice. I didn't feel much scholarly rigor in my teacher training classes. I could have done with replacing those classes with... something. Maybe more subject area classes? Maybe very different teacher training classes? Maybe more teaching internship experiences?caheidelbergerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03261598066395322681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15329279.post-72059333231051897792010-12-03T09:36:02.881-07:002010-12-03T09:36:02.881-07:00Maybe we need to change the teacher certification ...<i>Maybe we need to change the teacher certification process to focus less on traditional teacher training and more on having a major and experience in the field.</i><br /><br />Interesting -- you less training on how to teach and more focus on the subject matter would make for better teachers? My gut (and my husband, who maintains that is the biggest problem with teachers at the college level) would tell me the opposite.Kelseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09833213923742764650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15329279.post-68905425644588592202010-12-03T04:44:49.196-07:002010-12-03T04:44:49.196-07:00We always have to optimize/make do with what we...We always have to optimize/make do with what we've got. But South Dakota schools and teachers are being asked to make do with awfully little... and I worry the Russ Olson Senate is going to ask them to make do with even less to balance the budget. Even if money isn't the magic input, it is the moral input—i.e., we should pay people a good wage for good work.<br /><br />Stan, when you mention Asia, you hit a big point behind Hanushek's research. He opens with this: <br /><br />"Maintaining our innovative edge in the world depends importantly on developing a<br />highly qualified cadre of scientists and engineers. To realize that objective requires a<br />system of schooling that produces students with advanced math and science skills."<br /><br />...and...<br /><br />"<a href="http://www.nber.org/papers/w14633" rel="nofollow">In a prior study</a>, two of the authors of this report<br />demonstrate that growth in the economic productivity of a nation is driven<br />more clearly by the math proficiency of its high school students than by their<br />proficiency in other subjects."<br /><br />I'm thinking the best route to better math scores is better math teachers. Maybe we need to change the teacher certification process to focus less on traditional teacher training and more on having a major and experience in the field. (I'm not sure how we make that work at the elementary level, though!)caheidelbergerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03261598066395322681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15329279.post-63059150735273273362010-12-03T00:54:53.926-07:002010-12-03T00:54:53.926-07:00Compare Texas and New Mexico, two states that spen...Compare Texas and New Mexico, two states that spend similar amounts on education, that lie next to each other geographically, and that differ <i>drastically</i> in math scores. How can we explain this <i>vast</i> disparity? (Note: New Mexico has a personal income tax; Texas does not.)<br /><br />It appears to me that South Dakota does pretty well in math as a function of its education spending, relative to states in general. How can we explain that phenomenon?<br /><br />The real question, methinks, is "How can we get the most 'bang for our bucks' in mathematics performance?" and then we can go on to ask "How can we optimize our mathematics performance in the absolute sense?" Finally, we might ask ourselves "How important is good mathematics performance to us, really, in relation to other factors?"<br /><br />We might look to Asia for answers. They're killing us in mathematics proficiency today, just as they've been doing for decades. They're starting to swamp us economically, too. I suspect that it will all come down to good old fashioned hard work and dedication on the part of the individual, but of course I cannot prove that. Maybe Robert Reich can, if he's-a mind to.Stan Gibiliscohttp://members.authorsguild.net/stangibnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15329279.post-3753356296720129502010-12-02T16:02:47.888-07:002010-12-02T16:02:47.888-07:00I see coaches as great motivators to a student'...I see coaches as great motivators to a student's success. The athletes must maintain a certain level of academic performance or they cannot participate in their chosen sport.Michael Blacknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15329279.post-23392543624347753472010-12-02T09:26:36.301-07:002010-12-02T09:26:36.301-07:00John Thune seems to think so. And I have seen numb...John Thune <a href="http://thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=OpEds.Detail&Oped_id=786d6839-16f8-4ad5-a041-eb6a4712010f&Month=11&Year=2010" rel="nofollow">seems to think so</a>. And I have seen numbers saying that at the collegiate level, South Dakota athletes maintain higher GPAs than the overall student population. But as with the above money numbers, that's correlation, not causation. Do college athletes do better in school because they play sports? Or does the same ambition that drives them to play sports also drive them to hit the books harder?<br /><br />And if we can find numbers on sports participation, I want them placed side by side with numbers on arts participation. I'll bet any academic gains from sports are swamped by academic gains from music, debate, drama, visual arts, and other such activities.caheidelbergerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03261598066395322681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15329279.post-43947007667313706292010-12-02T09:16:01.340-07:002010-12-02T09:16:01.340-07:00I wonder what the numbers say about participation ...I wonder what the numbers say about participation in athletics giving an edge in student performance. Do you think that players do better in school because they are part of a team?Michael Blacknoreply@blogger.com