USE A GRAPHING CALCULATOR

I watched C-Span last night. They had some Educational Psychologist with a Ph.D.—"pile higher and deeper"—explaining to the United States Governors and other various politicians why test scores are so low in Mathematics and Science at the secondary level. He said teachers are paid the same amount based on seniority and not content. A social studies teacher can make the same amount as a mathematics teacher. He said this needs to be fixed. He said this is wrong.

Well I’ll be damned! How many times have I heard that argument? Hasn’t made my salary inch upward. In fact, we had a teacher with a masters degree in Parks and Recreation making more money than the other teachers. Guess mathematics isn’t as important. Or science.

Here’s a classroom management suggestion from yours truly, a prison educator certified in mathematics at the secondary school level (7th – 12th grade): Next time a disturbance arises in the classroom, identify the source of the problem, give him your TI-82 or TI-83 graphing calculator, have him punch the program button and select “work.” Then tell him to press enter. This subtle message usually works. Now how much can I get for that piece of instructional knowledge?