Free Press – June 15, 2006

Integrated Math, Renshaw Children, Speed Bumps, and FourWay Stop

 

Dear Friends,

            Good morning. Last Monday, several past and present students of the Quakertown Community School urged the school board to abandon Integrated Math. I met with five of them a few days before the meeting to hear why they were so critical of the math program. They told me in no uncertain words that QHS did not prepare them for college math and their career plans were very much in limbo because of it.

            Jim Scanlon is the Superintendent of Quakertown’s schools. Personally, I have a lot of faith in him because he’s an excellent leader and wants to do the best for the students. But there are many in the community who believe that the Quakertown school system doesn’t measure up. And at the moment, the math program is taking most of the heat.

            Joy Hirokawa and Lou-Ellen Renshaw are members of the Quakertown Community Advisory Committee (CAC). The CAC asked Scanlon to survey the math teachers anonymously to determine whether the teachers believe that Integrated Math should be abandoned. Scanlon told me that he expects to hear from the math and science teachers by June 30. At the end of the 2007 school year, Quakertown will either continue Integrated Math or follow the lead of North Penn and Bethlehem school districts, which dropped it.

            In addition, 1,000 citizens petitioned the school board to renegotiate the teachers’ union contract, which will increase salaries by two percent each of the next four years. Currently, the 303 Quakertown teachers average $72,956 per year, the seventh highest paid district in Pennsylvania’s 501 school districts. At Quakertown, the top teacher salary is $92,069.

            I wonder whether Quakertown’s students rank seventh in academic achievement in the state? Like all American public schools, Pennsylvania’s education system is a monopoly. Families can’t pick and choose where their school tax dollars are spent. Parents don’t have a choice.

            The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) regulates Pennsylvania monopolies like telephone, cable TV, commuter lines and the like. Who watches Pennsylvania’s largest monopoly…the 501 public schools? The state department of education, that’s who…speaking of the fox watching over the chicken house!

            With all of this as background, here are the comments about Integrated Math from five students: Charlene Chanoux, Kevin Heffentrager, plus Heather, Matthew, and Megan Renshaw.

            Matt Renshaw just finished his freshman year at the University of Pittsburgh. At QHS he was a solid A and B student. But he hasn’t taken college math courses yet because Quakertown’s math program didn’t prepare him, he says. “My friends (at Pitt) who graduated from Council Rock High School are miles ahead of me,” he told me. Council Rock teaches traditional math.

            Charlene  Chanoux agreed with Matt. She completed her freshman year at Kutztown University where she hopes to become an elementary school teacher. Charlene was also a solid A and B student at QHS. She says that her 9th and 11th grade sisters are struggling with Integrated Math.

            Heather Renshaw starts Penn State University in the fall. At QHS she was a solid A and B student but failed the state academic test for math. Heather took the Penn State math placement exam and had to leave 50 percent of the questions blank. “I was unprepared,” she told me.

            Kevin Heffentrager is training to be an electrician at Universal Electric in Souderton. “Integrated Math hurt me,” he began. “It’s a joke.” His employer expects him to be able to solve fractions, trigonometry and geometry problems. “I took a company test and failed the math questions,” Kevin continued. “So, I’m studying on my own. Hopefully, they’ll [Universal Electric] give me a [math] course so I can be ready for the field.

            Megan Renshaw just finished the ninth grade. She’s a good student but is tutored privately in math. Her tutor told the Renshaw family that Megan understands only 50 percent of Algebra 1. Like the other four, Megan urges the school board to drop Integrated Math.

            Charlene and Matt told me that their math scores in the SAT exam would have been higher if QHS had taught traditional math. Although their verbal scores were in the 600’s, their math scores were in the low 500’s.

            A father, Jim Renshaw is an engineer. “Integrated Math left our kids woefully ill prepared,” he said.

            I worry about America’s future. Studies show that America’s school children lag significantly behind their Asian and European peers, I wrote in the Bucks County Herald last week. I believe that technology will determine which country will be the economic leader at the end of this century.

            One of the keys for America’s success will be producing mathematicians and scientists who surpass the foreign competition. Too many college math and science teachers rail at too many public schools, which fail to prepare their students.

            “Don’t wait until your daughter or son graduates from high school to learn about the damage caused by Integrated Math,” Lou-Ellen Renshaw warned.

            We’ll just have to wait and see. Stay tuned.

Sincerely,

            Charles Meredith

 

PS. Have you noticed that the racetrack on Quakertown’s Mill Street is gone? Speeds have been reduced thanks to the two speed bumps, which the borough installed recently. Thankfully, traffic is much slower in the Memorial Park and the swimming pool areas. I wish the borough would install speed bumps all over town.

 

And…the four way stop at Mill and Fourth streets is the perfect solution for easing traffic…plus reducing frustration and road rage. The stop signs look temporary. I hope that they become permanent.

 

Finally…I think that Quakertown wisely initiated a curfew for teens younger than 18.

Too many parents aren’t willing to parent.