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$math meeting$ My life is wrapped up around middle school and high school students and their parents. Whether it’s families I come into contact with from church or people I meet in the community they all seem to say the same thing about mathematics at Romeo Community Schools: The curriculum stinks.

When you dig a little deeper into that statement you’ll learn precisely what the complaint means. It doesn’t mean that the teachers are bad. It doesn’t mean that Romeo students aren’t capable of learning math. And it doesn’t mean that both parents and teachers don’t work hard. All of the complaints about the districts math curriculum lead to the transition from elementary school to middle school.

There have been whispers about this for months and on Tuesday April 1st @ 7:00 PM these whispers will be brought to the public at large.

In Romeo, students are taught one style of math education in elementary school and a completely different math style in middle school and on towards high school. This leads to a major math struggle for most students in 6th grade. The result is that many simply give up. Parents don’t know how to help their children learn the different methods and no ability to explain to their kids “why” there is a change. The majority cry through the transition [literally] and can re-train their brains to grasp the new concepts to move forward. But this leaves many behind. Too many.

Getting Beyond Politics
I’m confident that when a few board members proposed a meeting with all parents and Shannon Griffin, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, that it was a seen as a political attack. I truly don’t believe this to be the case. I believe that the intention is pure. It isn’t about complaining to Ms. Griffin. (who has a very difficult job, is well-education, and has demonstrated an intricate knowledge of her position) It isn’t about teachers unions. (Whom will likely be represented as teachers are concerned that they may have to change how they teach math.) This isn’t about board politics or making one person look bad. This is about the education of our children. We are one community, this is one school district, and we need to come together to voice our concern over how our children are educated.

If there really is a systemic reason for the two systems I have no doubt Ms. Griffin will ease parents anxiety and reassure them that the struggle they face in 6th grade is worth it. But if there is not a real reason for the different curriculum, I hope that the district is willing to address the issue and fund a change. “This is the way we’ve always done it” is not an answer parents are willing to accept. “This is a new way of doing it” is not an answer parents are willing to accept. They want to know exactly why and they will keep asking questions until they get to the bottom of it.

I’m in favor of a single mathematics system across the district
When I was in high school I moved around a bit during my 11th grade year. Within 3 months I was in 3 different math programs. I went from a combination algebra/geometry program in Indiana to a straight geometry class in Virginia. Then I moved schools again and because I was in AP physics, a counselor moved me from basic geometry to AP trigonometry about 12 weeks into the school year. The result is that I now hate math. Up until those moves I had done well in math… but going from A’s to D’s and F’s zapped the life out of me. I was hopelessly lost, frustrated, and just gave up. When you move 3 times in 11th grade… that’s to be expected. But doing that type of thing to every incoming 6th grader in a school district? I don’t think that’s a good idea.

Parents! Make sure you drop in on this meeting. It’s at 7:00 PM this Tuesday in the cafeteria of Romeo High School.

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