Who is runnin our schoolz?

[Lindley]

Algebra I is a prerequisite for geometry. Algebra I can in some cases be stretched to a two-year course. Then comes a year of geometry, but somehow he had two years of it. You're already up to four years. Next he takes Algebra II, which is only a one year course, but I guess he took it twice. He's up to six years. Then comes a year of trig (or pre-calculus), followed by a year of calculus.

If someone is sufficiently good at math, it's entirely possible he was allowed to take the more advanced courses early, possibly simultaneous with taking the normal ones for bookkeeping purposes. (After all, they'd be easy by comparison.)

Also, I took geometry in 6th grade. That isn't necessarily a high school course.

 

[gturner]

Lindley, somebody in the thread said he'd taken all those math classes in high school. Perhaps he actually did - by not taking any English classes.

 

[CaptainStoner]

That's fine. If he's not effective at doing his job, that's one thing. If people have honest disagreements with his polcies and accomplishment, that's fine, too.
I just find it deplorable that some would go after the guy for what is an honest disability. The disability alone doesn't disqualify him for the job, so why even bring it up? I don't see what points are scored by doing it. Well, I do, I just don't like it. Hed ov Deetro-it skoolz kant rite. Figyours.

I agree. Unless there's more to it, this story is "Ohhh! Look at the irony! The School Board President can't write well!"
What class does a School Board President teach?
Does this disability actually impact his job functionality, or is it just something annoying the other Board Members have to deal with?
And, since we're touting the importance of brain power - who is to say that a person with better writing skills would necessarily do a better job?

This is clever irony along the lines of claiming there is no global warming because it snowed in the south this year.

 

[Franklin]

Lindley, somebody in the thread said he'd taken all those math classes in high school. Perhaps he actually did - by not taking any English classes.

Read the link I posted upthread from the Fox News Detroit story. The quote in my post is from that story. Ron Savage was the roporter. HE reports the guy was a math wiz. HE reported the guy took all those math classes. Was the reporter duped? Is he a bad or gullible reporter?

What's more, are you disputing the factual reporting of Fox News?

By the way, your remark about not taking any English classes is insensitive. His disability is real.

 

[Rii]

This discussion is getting to be a bit of a circle jerk.

Getting to be?

 

[Misfit Toy]

Perhaps he actually did

But you posted otherwise as fact. If you don't know for sure, then why pretend to know what you're talking about? Or are you just stirring things up for the hell of it?

 

[Lindley]

Lindley, somebody in the thread said he'd taken all those math classes in high school. Perhaps he actually did - by not taking any English classes.

Perhaps he was assigned a private English tutor rather than being expected to take the normal classes, yes. Sometimes that's what schools do in learning disability cases.

However, that's just speculation.

 

[gturner]

Perhaps he actually did

But you posted otherwise as fact. If you don't know for sure, then why pretend to know what you're talking about? Or are you just stirring things up for the hell of it?

I was giving the benefit of the non-doubt.

Please explain to me how anyone can take an eight-year sequential course in mathematics in less than eight years.

I only ask this because so many mods seem to have an inability to grasp the nuances of communication, like they went through special ed themselves.

 

[Hound of UIster]

Block Scheduling?

But yes, four years of algebra sounds like bullshit or he is learning disabled in the math department too.

 

[Misfit Toy]

Please explain to me how anyone can take an eight-year sequential course in mathematics in less than eight years.

You assume that the article in question is referring to an eight-year sequential course. No one (other than you) has described it as such. Since you can pull such "knowledge" out of ...the air... I'm sure you'll have no problem pulling an explanation out of a similar location.

 

[Franklin]

Please explain to me how anyone can take an eight-year sequential course in mathematics in less than eight years.

Why is it eight years sequentially? The story just says, "Four years of algebra, two years of geometry, and trigonometry and calculus." How does one get eight years out of that? He was probably taking a number of those courses at the same time.

If it's not toally correct, the information is not attributed directly to Mathis. If this bothers you, I suggest you e-mail the writer of the article and ask him where he got his information. I guess right now you're exercising your right under Fox's slogan: "We report. You decide."

But why would you assume that he couldn't be a math wiz?

 

[Lindley]

Block Scheduling?

But yes, four years of algebra sounds like bullshit or he is learning disabled in the math department too.

Perhaps in his senior year he took Linear Algebra or Matrix Algebra at a local college. Together with Pre-algebra and Alg 1 and 2, that could make four classes which a reporter might lump together as "Algebra".

 

[Hound of UIster]

^You usually need two years of calc to qualify for Linear Algebra.

Of course there is also the question where he got the extra year of geometry.

Why is it eight years sequentially? The story just says, "Four years of algebra, two years of geometry, and trigonometry and calculus." How does one get eight years out of that? He was probably taking a number of those courses at the same time.

Because basic level math courses require you take them in order unless you test out. Aside from trig, the order is usually prealgebra-algebra-geometry-algebra2-precalc-calculus.

 

[Snaploud]

The two geometry courses could probably be taken at the same time as Algebra II and Calculus/Pre-Calculus. For instance, there are many schools that have students take Geometry before Algebra II and vice versa.

 

[Franklin]

Are some insinuating Mathis is lying about being a math wiz? Or, are some simply thinking that the reporter got the classes wrong? That's where we're going here.

He can't write a lick, so he can't be a math wiz? Is that the reasoning?

Regardless of whether or not the course listings are correct, the reporter also says he aced his college math exams. That's wrong, too? Do we need to demand to see his college work? Call Wright State's Department of Mathematics? I mean, some are apparently accusing him of padding his educational background. That's a serious charge.

 

[gturner]

Surely NO Detroit politician would do something like that!

 

[Franklin]

Surely NO Detroit politician would do something like that!

Ah, they're all crooked. That's the logic!

The reporter narrated the math stuff into the story. So, he's either a lazy fact checker with no ambition to advance his career by exposing a potential lie, or the report is basically correct.

And again, why CAN'T Mathis be a math wiz just because he can't write? Why assume it's not true? Why dispute that he could be very good in math?

 

[gturner]

Well maybe Mathis should spread some of his math genius around. His school system desperately needs it.

From ABC News - Detroit

Scores released Tuesday indicate students posted the worst math results ever recorded in the 40-year history of the prestigious National Assessment of Educational Progress, a standardized test that serves as a nationwide yardstick in measuring student learning.

Not only did they fail, they set a new record for it! Maybe it's their African centered education system or something.

African-Centered Education in the Detroit Public Schools will address both cognitive and affective development of students through a cultural and wholistic learning environment. Educational programs must be culturally based so that children are able to see themselves in the learning process. Cultural understanding for children is essential for improving academic achievement and creating self awareness as they analyze their role in a global society.

The educational process should allow students to engage in rigorous discourse on societal issues that impact them. African-Centered Education provides the basis for the development of self-determination and self-actualization within the context of the group’s cultural identity. History and culture will anchor African-Centered Education in the Detroit Public Schools.

Math... not so much.

 

[Franklin]

gturner, I love your state. Married a woman from Kentucky. I love the Poke Sallet Festival. I love bluegrass music. I love Makers Mark more than I should. I love Keeneland in the spring and in the fall. I say Lou-a-vul. I love Kentucky bas-ket-ball. Not Lou-a-vul. I think of Rick Pitino as the failed coach of the Boston Celtics. I like hot browns. I know mint juleps are OK, but they're mostly for tourists. I like moonbows on Cumberland Falls. God help me, I even like Owensboro BBQ mutton. I like the views of Cincinnati from Covington. I like the views of Kentucky from Cincinnati. I was upset when Florence had to change its watertower from "Florence Mall" to "Florence Y'all" because they weren't supposed to advertise from public water towers. I like knowing the trivia that the entire Ohio river is within the borders of Kentucky. It's cool that Conrad Roebling designed the bridge between Covington and Cincinnati before doing the Brooklyn Bridge. I like Churchill Downs on a regular weekday when there's only about 1000 people there. I like pinto beans and corn bread. I've had a special tour of Henry Clay's home, Ashland. My personalized Louisville Slugger bat is one of my prized possessions. I am a Kentucky Colonel. So is my wife. The Commonwealth is a great state.

But gturner, I dispair of you.

 

[scotpens]

. . . Maybe it's their African centered education system or something.

African-Centered Education in the Detroit Public Schools will address both cognitive and affective development of students through a cultural and wholistic learning environment. Educational programs must be culturally based so that children are able to see themselves in the learning process. Cultural understanding for children is essential for improving academic achievement and creating self awareness as they analyze their role in a global society.

The educational process should allow students to engage in rigorous discourse on societal issues that impact them. African-Centered Education provides the basis for the development of self-determination and self-actualization within the context of the group’s cultural identity. History and culture will anchor African-Centered Education in the Detroit Public Schools.

Math... not so much.

"African-Centered Education"? WTF??

Did the United States become an African country recently? Did I miss something?