what is the value of "Motivation"? how important is it in the learning process?

just watched michigan state beat uconn. is michigan state really better than uconn? i think not. michigan state was simply more motivated to get the job done. what is motivation? it the mental vibe that gets us up and keeps us moving toward a desired goal; it is the reason for our action; it is that which gives purpose and direction to our behavior; motivation is key to doing anything. my,now forever late, mentor prof. kodjoe would say, "anyone can do anything with enough time, motivation and help". it is this spirit that must guide us when we participate in the business of teahing african american youth. of course this is complicated. how do i as a teacher discern, tap into the psychology that causes an individual to move in a particular direction? how do i know, a priori, their strengths and the elements of their curiosity? you can't. so what to do? as a start, i suggest that you bring expertise and enthusiasm to the game. this might seem a small thing but expertise and energy will go a long way to alleviating the deadening effects of economic insecurity, poor housing, unsafe neighborhoods, and negative peer influences that often times overwhelm our young people and serve as obstacles to educational motivation. observe well the the beauty, the expertise and the intelligence displayed by the the young on the basketball court,and understand clearly that this is the result of serious effort and energy directed at this task. this is what we need to tap into as a community and we can start by simply raising our own game and our own energy. go villanova. more to come. be well.
see

in brooklyn?

instead of having students take exams in order to benefit from advanced education programs for the gifted, the board of ed will take a more cautious and long-term approach, a high-ranking official said yesterday. the board of ed has announced that it will train 3,000 coordinators responsible for the education of students showing excellent academic results in elementary schools. the so-called gifted coordinators will be sent to elementary schools in every neighborhood in brooklyn to monitor all students, working closely with their teachers, the coordinators will then pick final candidates for special education programs run by public and private universities based on math and science potential. the board of ed also plans to raise the enrollment limit at science high schools and change 100 ordinary high schools into ones that prioritize mathematics and science. special emphasis will be placed on institutions located in poor and underserved neighborhoods. science high schools have traditionally been reserved for geniuses our new schools will be modeled after “super science high schools” in Japan, but directed at all the people according to a board of ed source. smile. now the real story. and more of the real story.

a good idea. a bad idea.

a good idea: In a storefront at a Marblehead strip mall, six students aged 10 to 12 sit at folding tables and stare at math equations handed to them moments before by their teacher. For the next two hours, they will puzzle out dozens of math problems with little assistance. The students are among the first 35 pupils at the newest satellite branch of the Russian School of Mathematics. The school, which teaches algebra to kids as young as 5, began in founder Inessa Rifkin's Newton kitchen 12 years ago. At the time, Rifkin believed her son was underachieving and decided to start a small class for teenagers. Today, the school has 1,800 students at its Newton location, a camp in New Hampshire, and branches in Acton, Marblehead, and San Jose, Calif. The North Shore branch opened earlier this month.

a bad idea:As the New Jersey Department of Education continues to redesign its high school curriculum to add more rigor, officials have moved away from one of the proposed plan's most controversial elements: requiring all students to pass Algebra II. Algebra I already is a graduation requirement for this year's freshman class, and plans are to make geometry - or a course with equivalent content - mandatory. But the proposed Algebra II requirement has been relaxed, enabling students to comply by taking a yet-to-be-designed course that builds on Algebra I and geometry. Marlene Brubaker, a science teacher at Camden County Technical School in Pennsauken, criticized what she called a "one-size-fits-all approach" to education.

"I have the highest regard for people being able to do higher math," Brubaker said. "However, you need to have appropriate levels of math and science for the careers the students are shooting for."

As it is, she said, her students lost time from their technical course work to get tutored for standardized tests in math and language arts. She worries what will happen if the state requires multiple exams for graduation. She would like to see versions of third-year math that target differing needs of students.

At a legislative hearing two months ago, Joseph G. Rosenstein of the New Jersey Mathematics and Science Education Coalition called the Algebra II requirement an "intellectual Ponzi scheme."

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i am not sure what an "intellectual Ponzi scheme" is, but it seems clear to me that the good people of new jersey have this wrong to the detriment of the kids in that state.

republicans and algebra?

two good ideas: a group of republican lawmakers are pushing an education proposal which will enable florida students to better compete against students worldwide. the bills (HB 1293, SB 2654) would set forth requirements for florida students that would ensure they had to take higher level math and science classes in order to graduate. this can't be done on the cheap so it would be nice to see the republicans, embrace, smile, rep. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, who is pushing his own education bill that would raise the state sales tax by 1 cent to pay for education. at a Florida Education Association press conference Bullard pointed out that there is no way lawmakers can address standards without looking at the money. he said,“We can't have the conversation about increased standards and not begin to address the issues in and around increasing the funding or providing revenue that will help alleviate the burdens, of teachers, administrators, school boards school systems, et cetera.,” the increase in the sales tax by a penny for three years, would generate $3.5 billion for schools. let's hope the folks in florida do a bit more than "have a conversation", for the kids sake. more to come.

who is andres alonso?

Andrés Alonso is an immigrant with four Ivy League degrees. He has been tasked in Baltimore to bring a culture of high achievement to a school system where historically only about half the students have graduated. It is an enormous task, one at which many have failed, not only here but in cities across America. But Alonso, a 51-year-old bachelor, believes fervently that the poor, minority children born into America's underclass don't have to be stuck there. His urgency and intensity, often fueled by little more than diet Lipton green tea, have inspired some employees and alienated others. Read more.

girls, boys and algebra

here is a story from the phillipines dealing with the performance of girls and boys in 8th grade algebra. read it.

facing up to the algebra business around the country

here are some recent articles on algebra around the country. we have to bell this cat. there is no way around it. the thing to understand is that this is not very hard to do. what is required is sustained will on the part of the community. the first article deals with some efforts in minnesota Charlie Weaver: What's worse: A tough test or a free pass? and the second concerns efforts in orange county california.