LETS GET BACK TO WORKSHEETS

Lets Get Back To Worksheets

The U.S. is falling behind the world in math. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said, "We are lagging the rest of the world, and we are lagging it in pretty substantial ways."

A special analysis put out by the National Center for Education Statistics found that the math performance of U.S. high schoolers was in the bottom quarter of the countries that participated in the most recent Program for International Student Assessment.

Results of the 2009 ACT and SAT show that U.S. students are no better in math this year than they were last year. Math performance has improved in other countries while it has remained stagnant in the U.S.

These findings are disturbing in an increasingly global economy where careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) are becoming progressively more important for nations to compete internationally.

According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the proportion of students obtaining STEM degrees from U.S. universities has dropped from 32 percent to 27 percent over the past decade. At the same time, the percentage of non-U.S. students earning these degrees from U.S. universities has increased dramatically.

In The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, Thomas Friedman argues that getting more Americans to pursue careers in STEM fields is critical to the future of our nation's economy. Friedman is not alone in his opinion.

The National Science Foundation reports that non-U.S. graduates from U.S. universities accounted for more than half of the doctorate recipients in physics (58 percent), computer sciences (65 percent), engineering (68 percent), and mathematics (57 percent). The most numerous of these non-U.S. graduates were from China, India, and South Korea. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that over 40 percent of non-U.S. doctoral degree recipients intended to leave the U.S.

Not only are we losing ground to non-U.S. citizens at our own universities, but we're also falling behind other nations. The U.S. is no longer the leader in STEM education. In absolute numbers, Japan and China are producing more graduates. Our rate of STEM to non-STEM graduates is roughly 17 percent while the international average is nearly 26 percent. We're not even keeping pace with some developing countries.

President Obama has acknowledged that other countries--especially Asian countries--are performing better in math than the U.S. How does he plan to prevent us from falling farther behind?

In the U.S., we used to focus on basic computation skills when we taught students traditional math. Ever since the U.S. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics developed standards for school math in 1989, many U.S. schools starting teaching reform math.

Recently, I visited schools in Japan and Taiwan. I found they're teaching math the way we used to teach it; they're focusing on basic computation skills.

Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea--all top performers in math--are also focusing on the basics. Even the cram schools, which are prevalent in Asia, focus on the basics.

The largest and most established cram school in Asia is Kumon. I visited their head office in Tokyo to interview public relations executives Mayu Katata and Shinichiro Iwasaki about the Kumon method. In a nutshell, they focus on using worksheets to help students master basic computation skills.

Traditional math emphasizes basic computation skills and algorithms that lead to the correct answer while reform math places more value on the thinking process that leads to any answer.

Both of these skills are needed. However, the major problem with reform math is that it puts the cart before the horse by trying to teach students abstract concepts of math before they have built strong foundational skills. With traditional math, students often work individually on worksheets. With reform math, they often work in groups cutting, pasting, and coloring.

Sure, worksheets and algorithms are boring compared to gluing stuff and explaining how you came up with an answer that may not even be correct, but which method will better prepare our students to compete in an increasingly global economy?

America, let's get back to worksheets.

This very interesting article is by;
Bill Costello, training director of Making Minds Matter, teaches parents and teachers the best strategies for education. He can be reached at www.makingmindsmatter.com

TEN COMMANDMENTS

TEN COMMANDMENTS THAT APPLY TO MY ROLE AS A KUMON INSTRUCTOR

My job is to awaken the possibility in my students. I know I am successful when they are able to progress steadily, are confident enough to ask for a review or to move on, are actively involved in feedbacks with me and when this independent learning has a trickle effect on other subjects and areas of their lives.

1. Be interested in your subject. (Being an instructor for a number of years now I realise this has to be as much a calling in life as well as a successfully run business)

2. Know your subject. (By attending regular training, going over case studies, completing worksheets, learning from excellent students)

3. Know about the ways of learning: The best way to learn anything is to discover it by yourself. (The same applies to adults as much as it does to children)

4. Try to read the faces of your students, try to see their expectations and difficulties, put yourself in their place. (Please parents do understand that center time is meant for your children strictly, you are free to call or email on non-center days)

5. Give them not only information, but "know-how," attitudes of mind, the habit of methodical work. (by timing your work, daily worksheets, daily marking & corrections, review when required, copy the example given and fully understand it before moving on, ask for help only after you have tried it first, discipline & routine, taking responsibility)

6. Let them learn guessing. (and then correcting!)

7. Let them learn proving. (and proving again and again sometimes!)

8. Look out for such features of the problem at hand as may be useful in solving the problems to come — try to disclose the general pattern that lies behind the present concrete situation. (too easy? too difficult? boring? takes too long? not enough motivation? frustrated? not enough support from home? scared to ask for help? perfectionist?)

9. Do not give away your whole secret at once — let the students work at it before you tell it (let them find out by themselves as much as is feasible, these are skills that are transferable to other subjects and other areas of their lives and that will last a lifetime)

10. Suggest it (do not force it down their throats, let them come up with the solution - learning how to learn, again a transferable skill)

KUMON READING PROGRAM COMPLETION

READING PROGRAM COMPLETION

Program completion is the ultimate goal of the Kumon Math & Reading programs.
`Every child has the desire to grow further as well as the potential to do so. As we respond to such desires that can be developed without limits - we believe this not only brings happiness to children and their parents, but is also very important for society.`

Students who have completed the Kumon Reading Program have built skills in close reading and reading comprehension, and can think abstractly, analytically and critically. They have built a strong academic background in preparation for advanced high school and university or college-level English courses. Students who have been exposed to the variety of genres included in the Reading program often have a richer understanding of history, math, science and literature. Kumon focuses on all of the skills that are necessary to help students succeed in their academic pursuits. The Kumon reading program is designed for `education that helps children understand how society in structured and how our lives should be`

WHY DO WE READ?

• for knowledge
• to learn
• for fun
• to do research
• for studying
• for information
• to relax
• interesting subject
• for instructions (`how to`)

HOW DO WE CHOOSE BOOKS?

• eye catching front cover
• information on the book cover
• interesting title
• authors we know and like
• great illustrations
• recommendations form friend, family, friends
• another book in a series
• books that are turned into moviesé tv programs
• genres that we like
• to try the beginning
• new and popular books
• heard it read aloud
• read it before and enjoyed it
• part of a book club

MAKING GOOD BOOK CHOICES EASY: want to relax, a favorite picture book or storyline, you have heard it read aloud before, a book you have read before, does not take a lot of effort to read and understand.
JUST RIGHT: understand it well and enjoy the flow of writing, enjoy the unfolding of the plot or the enjoy the topic at hand, only a few new words or phrases to think about, can get lost in the book and cannot wait to turn the next page, would highly recommend it further.
CHALLENGING: difficult for you to read, trouble in understanding many of the words or the phrases, too complicated a plot.

To find what is the right level or the recommended books, inquire about the Kumon Reading Recommended Library list (RRL). At the Kanata North Kumon Centre we have almost 80% of the recommended books plus a lot more for our students to read. We also offer the book tracker. This maintains a record of all the books you have read either while in the program or from an outside library too and has been designed for the child to write a `book report`in their own words and thoughts. This allows for creativity and a vivid imagination.

In addition, students enrolled in both the Math and the Reading Program at the Kanata North Kumon centre are automaticaly entered in the reading scholarship program ($500 plus gifts and certificates from the centre and Kumon head office) once they complete the reading program (Level L) successfully.

This year we are please to announce 2 reading completer's and winners of the reading $500 scholarship. These students are currently also enrolled in the Kumon Math program in high levels.

• Ravi Unhelkar in Grade 11 and
• Rathess Aravindan in Grade 10

Congratulations to these students who have persevered and enjoyed working through the reading program over the years. It has also been my pleasure as an instructor and personally very fulfilling to plan and lead them to a successful completion of the Reading program. I wish them the same success as they continue to work through the Kumon Math program.