Curriculum choices

By Alan J. Van Nevel

Adoption of CPM math has brought the method by which the district chooses a curriculum under review. I plan to implement a new system which gets more teacher input, more parental input, and allows for a more critical review once a program is in place.

To begin, CPM (College Preparatory Math) is a program, while well founded ideologically, is a program that fails in practice. This failure does not lie with the teacher; rather the failure is a result of the program itself. Any program that restricts the role of the teacher as an information provider, and restricts the questions that a student may ask of the teacher, is destined to fail in practice. In addition to the difficulties with CPM, Sierra Sands has compounded the problem with a lack of training for the teachers.

Ideally, CPM should be scrapped, and a new program put in place of it. However, budget constraints do not allow for that possibility. The current math review committee is a good first step toward a comprehensive curriculum review. Teachers are developing plans to supplement the areas that the current math curriculum does not cover. Such reviews are necessary, and should be expanded to include qualified parents. In addition, these reviews should be conducted for all curriculum areas.

While I have spoken directly to CPM, other programs have their problems as well, such as Mathlands at the elementary level. As both a teacher and a student, I know the value of good materials in the classroom. I will ensure that those materials make it to our teachers. I also will ensure that the programs are reviewed, and if in the event of a curriculum catastrophe, that steps are taken to alleviate the situation immediately.