National Math Panel Emailed Public CommentsChicago – Miami Meeting: April 19, 2007 – June 4, 2007
(The following emails appear in reverse chronological order from June to April 2007.)
-----Original Message-----
From:
John Shacter [mailto:jsplg@comcast.net]
Sent:
Thursday, May 31, 2007 2:09 AM
To:
Graban, Jennifer
Subject:
My Reactions to the Continuing Math Panel DeliberationsHi again Jennifer -As you know from my prior messages to the National Math Panel -- when I list maininstitutional causes of our failing educational system -- including but not limited to math --I generally list colleges of education at or near the top.The following sentences refer to an item which was published today.As you may know, Arthur Levine has recently resigned from his position as president of Columbia U.'s Teacher College.The results of his comprehensive study on the effectiveness of this nation's teacher andleadership training, as well as in research, have been announced today.You can get reports which summarize his findings from the Goldwater Institute or theAmerican Daily of Phoenix, AZ.(http://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/AboutUs/ArticleView.aspx?id=1597)Levine makes drastic suggestions for a sweeping recasting of teacher and leadershiptraining in the U.S.So much for the charge by the Administration to the National Math Panel to base their work on "research-based" evidence.Whose research and which evidence?As I have asked before, are these "experts" willing to prove themselves by demonstratingtheir effectiveness in a real public-school classroom?As you know, I have spent a number of years doing so. This would be the only real-lifedemonstration of relative teaching effectiveness -- namely student gains in two randomlysplit classes of students -- say in the crucial elementary or middle-school grades.I also feel that the public and professionals have been totally misled about the supposedbenefits of ever-smaller classes. So I would be willing to take on a much large group andcompete with the expert's or professor's much smaller group.In any case, you'll have to forgive me if I do not expect much more from this panel thanfrom the many past ones on all kinds of subjects, including math. Naturally, I hope thatthey will prove me wrong.Please send copies of this to the members of the National Math Panel.Cordially - John
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