Author Archives: rmberkman

Loyal readers will know that I have little to no respect for the Go Math! program, including it’s instructions to tell students that the fraction 3/1 is pronounced “three ones.” A correspondent writes that her principal criticized a lesson she … Continue reading →

Walking around my hood I bump into a fellow do-gooder. She tells me she saw my piece on Diane Ravitch’s blog. I tell her how the whole issue gets my blood boiling, and describe the shameless use of 194 children … Continue reading →

in which we imagine a day in the life of an “educational coordinator” at one of the Success Academy Charter Schools. Dramatis Personae: Educational Coordinator: a 21 year old marketing major from a state college in the midwest. Teacher: A 24 … Continue reading →

You know an organization has reached rock bottom when it uses children as human shields to advocate its alleged mission. Such is the “save the 194” campaign being waged by Eva Moscowitz and groups with deep pockets and hyperbolic names … Continue reading →

A couple of third grade teachers and I were discussing how difficult it is to teach fractions well to children, especially those who are former ELL. We discussed how difficult it is to help children understand that the number “3,” … Continue reading →

I recently received a very sincere email by an acquaintance who was interested in my recommendations for a math program that would be used in a charter school that was to be opened by a friend of said correspondent. My … Continue reading →

Everybody loves a good bandwagon, and the “love” being showered on Khan Academy is one that initially elicited a shrug from me. Of course, when Bill Gates tells us that Khan is the “best teacher he’s ever seen” (and if … Continue reading →

We all have heard about Michael Lewis’ economic take-down of Major League baseball through the development of “sabermetrics,” the practice of using objective statistical information to optimize a team’s performance at the lowest possible cost. Lewis concluded that this was … Continue reading →

I’m thrilled Andrew Cuomo is governor of this great state, because it means that I can publish the above question and, being the public figure he is, I can totally get away with it. I can also ask “Is it … Continue reading →

In my previous rant, I went on and on about the cruddiness of math workbooks and how teachers come to rely on them for exercises for their students. However, the truth behind these workbooks is that they are rarely written … Continue reading →