Posted by
Waski_the_Squirrel on Wednesday, June 10, 2009 4:59:36 PM
The Westport School District of Connecticut
has dumped its math textbooks in favor of its own curriculum. I see this as a good thing!
They started out with good reasons for starting their own curriculum:
- Focus: The school district recognized that there are simply too many concepts in a typical math book. As a result, the text does not provide the focus and attention needed on each topic. They can do this with their own curriculum.
- Interactivity: Any teacher can include computer activities. Westport went a step further to pick out the best and those which fit its curriculum. Of particular note: they contracted with a specific company to provide many of the services.
- Adaptability: Something like this can be adapted for special ed students and for those who just need more practice, time, or explanation on a particular topic.
- Localization: Westport teachers know where their students are strong or weak. While one hopes that weaknesses from earlier grades are dealt with, this does make it easier to fix them.
- Time: A focus saves time! If you take longer on a topic, your students are more likely to actually learn it and thus need a lot less review. If you spend less time reviewing, you can teach more content!
There are a few natural concerns with this approach. The students must learn certain skills. Such a curriculum should ensure that. According to test scores, they are.
One textbook company had concerns about the quality and consistency of the curriculum. While there is some merit to this, I think a more diverse approach such as Westport's will enable students to deal with math in more situations. Some curriculums, such as Saxon, train students to always look for specific wording in problems. That's great...if you're doing Saxon problems.
Of course, it's worth noting that the textbook company in question was the one rejected by Westport in favor of growing a homemade version.
I see this as a contribution to diversity in the education market. More diversity is a good thing because schools have more choices. Sometimes those choices will be bad, but the same is true in any free market. I'd say that our current lack of choices has led to low quality in educational materials.