Some parents are unhappy with Columbia's integrated math curriculum
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COLUMBIA -- For a subject like math, there's certainly a lot of fuss.
Critics of the integrated math curriculum in Columbia's public schools have complained for some time that it's not an effective way to teach math. Wednesday night, parents and former teachers met again to voice their concerns.
Opponents have even created an online petition which has raised over 600 signatures - all to protest Columbia's integrated math curriculum, which starts in 9th grade.In a sense, it's a way for students to explain in writing how they solved a particular problem, and where teacher encourage students to use multiple ways of solving problems.
"Integrated math is one of two curriculum options that we have for our students in the secondary system," said Dr. Sally Beth Lyon, Chief Academic Officer for the Columbia Public Schools.
The other is algebra based, by Lyon said both tracks will equally prepare students to take calculus their senior year, or in college.
"I have children here in the Columbia Public School District and I have just seen the deterioration and the effect that it has taken on my children" said Patrick Crabtree, a concerned parent who organized Wednesday's meeting at the Columbia Public LIbrary. He said the integrated math system doesn't put enough emphasis on repetition.
"That repetition causes skill and it builds instinctive skill," Crabtree said. "Not skill you have to think about."
Which, he said, is not the case with integrated math.
"It doesn't give youngsters the time to really learn and understand something at a particular level," said Dr. Roy Keller, a retired professor. "And if that doesn't happen the learning of mathematics for that particular person is limited. I claim you can almost predict how far they'll go."
Jo Duncan is a grandparent who attended the meeting. She said her 11-year-old grandson is stumbling with curriculum. "Math is just like a ladder - add, subtract, multiply, divide. If you learn these steps as you go along you're steady," Duncan said. "But they seem to cover a lot of: 'Why did you do this?' [and] 'How did you do this?'
"If the answer's wrong that's alright as long as you gave the right answer why you gave the wrong answer," she said. "It's very strange."
The debate, no doubt though, will continue.
"We have and continue and want to be in dialogue with our community about the strengths of our mathematics curriculum and our programming and how we can work to improve it," said Lyon.
