The Michigan Merit Curriculum: A Math Teacher's View

About a year ago, the Michigan legislature passed and the governor signed into law a bill creating statewide graduation requirements (previously, each district set its own requirements; only civics was a statewide graduation mandate). Among other things, this "Michigan Merit Curriculum" (MMC) requires the incoming Class of 2011 to have seventeen required credits to graduate (plus electives), and of these, four are in math: Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, and a fourth class of the student's choice.

Like the equally well-intentioned yet equally unwise federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB, 2001), the legislation represents an attempt by legislators to dictate to local school districts what is best for those districts. Herein lies the first problem: Legislators know less about what schools and students need than the superintendents, school boards, principals, and especially the teachers in those schools. I have a hard enough time believing that my own state representative could keep track of what all the school districts in her own elected area need—much less what a big-city district like Detroit, or a far-off rural district in the U.P. needs. And I certainly know that members of the U.S. Congress can't keep track of individual district needs!

The corollary to the first problem is this: Not every district in the state should have the same graduation requirements. There is nothing wrong with this. Currently, not every district offers the same array of courses/electives. That's fine, too. If anything, people moving to an area would be encouraged to learn more about each district's course offerings and graduation requirements (and test scores) before buying a home and settling in to a school district. Some districts could justify a four-math-credit requirement; others most certainly cannot. Competition among districts and efforts to distinguish a district from its neighbors would likely thrive. These are good things.

But the Biggest Problems lie here: The inevitable outcome of the MMC policy will be a combination of the following things:

• The dropout rates will soar. Already, it has been reported that 20-30% of freshmen students failed Algebra I last year—statewide. These students, plus many more who came close to failing, are already discouraged from taking Algebra II (not to mention the other newly-required courses) and will be more likely to choose dropping out than frustration. Dropout rates that were released this week are already dismal enough.
  
• The course known as Algebra II will be watered down...a lot. In order for many to pass, teachers and administrators will feel the pressure to make the class easier so that more kids will pass. This pressure will come from nearly every corner...and it will be effective in most places. Note: The "curriculum standards" will not change, just their application in the classroom. The test scores, on the other hand, will change.
  
• Social promotion will return with a vengeance. Yes, students will be passed along by teachers who, quite frankly, don't want them (and perhaps their ill-mannered, complaining parents) in their classrooms next year. It's already going on in public schools without the newly added pressure. Some teachers will face administrators administering that pressure.
• The disgraceful irony of this will be that the teachers/education system will be blamed. Teachers and schools who hold the line on not watering down the math courses and who do not practice social promotion will take heat for no other reason than a larger number of failing students—when they ought to be commended for encouraging quality work. Admittedly, there are teachers who aren't doing the job as well as they should (but is this not true in every vocation?). Yet I think that ignorant legislators, ambivalent parents, and apathetic students will all be getting less of the blame that will inevitably come when this MMC is shown to be unsuccessful.

In sum, I think the MMC is a bad idea. As a math teacher, I want every student to take as many math courses as they can. I want students to enjoy them and be successful—this is my passion. But not every student is capable of being equally successful, and it may be that other coursework is more appropriate for some students or more conducive to their long-term success. The MMC does not allow much liberty in this regard.

This will eventually become another example of a well-intentioned, poorly-thought-out, dictated-from-the-capital government policy that has the unintended consequence of failure. Significant decisions like these belong in the hands of local school leadership.

Good Advice from a Rabbi to an Errant Catholic

Recently my dad sent me an article written by Rabbi Marc Gellman, author of "The God Squad" column that appears in many newspapers. The lengthy question, written by a Catholic, could be paraphrased like this:

"I was alienated from the Catholic church, so I joined a tradition that taught some universal truths, but then became disillusioned with that, so I came back to the Catholic church, in hopes to promote some new ideas. I encouraged them not to blindly and completely accept all church doctrines, and that the religious education of the children—being too stuffy with religious study—should be improved. Are my suggestions 'really so ill-conceived'?" (The last few words are a direct quote.)

The questioner was disappointed that his thoughts received "a cold reception."

The rabbi graciously but firmly and convincingly wrote why "Cafeteria Catholicism" is a bad idea by any religious standard (and certainly by Catholic standards). With a few edits to replace Catholic doctrines with Baptist ones, it would be required reading for some of us!

At one point, the questioner stated that the study of the Bible was "boring." And this is where the rabbi shows exceptional wisdom, when he replied:

"If your experience with Bible study has been unfulfilling, find a new teacher, not a new book."

Brilliant advice! So many people complain about the Bible being "difficult" or "boring" or "dry," and yet they make no serious effort to locate someone who can help them to understand it!
In our day, with a multitude of Bible study "helps" out there, it might be tougher to merely sort through to find a good help, than to find one in the first place!

There is really no excuse for being unable to meditate, learn, and gain wisdom from the study of the Word. Every Christian, with the Holy Spirit indwelling him and aiding him, can do it.

Christian Education: The Students

Once again, here is my operative one-sentence philosophy of Christian Education:

Christian Education exists to provide a quality Bible-based education that is Christ-centered, academically excellent, and well-rounded, enabling the student to daily serve Christ and become more like Him.

The student is a creation of God, created for God's specific purpose. The student has a will and a personality. How, then, can he be best taught?

The students must be obedient children of God. This means that, first and foremost, the students need to be saved. Certainly, if a Christian classroom has unsaved students, efforts should be made to bring the Gospel message to those children. The unsaved, "natural" man (1 Cor. 2:14) cannot understand spiritual things—and that is the most essential part of Christian education. Not only does the student need to be regenerate, he must also be willing to learn. The student, ultimately, is responsible for having "a pure heart and a willing mind" to learn [See Christian Education: Its Mandate and Mission, p. 5]. Only an obedient child of God can do that.

All students, because each human being has a sin nature, are naturally disobedient and rebellious, making it difficult to teach them biblical truth, because Satan has somehow convinced them that their own decisions and perspectives are superior to God's. This is not limited to Bible class; it could just as easily apply to math, history, or literature. Students who refuse to be submissive, obedient, and honoring to their authority figures not only harm themselves academically, but also forfeit the blessings God has promised to those who submit, obey, and honor. Could those blessings extend to a fuller understanding of the subject matter? As a teacher, I believe that is so. I also know that a student can learn and understand academic information without salvation or without a submissive spirit...but that is not an ideal outcome. The student needs to learn academic information within a biblical worldview, and must also grow spiritually, which requires salvation.

Parents, the primary educators of their children, must therefore seek not only to lead their children to the Saviour, but also to train them to be submissive, obedient, and respectful of authority figures. To the extent that they can help them with phonics or algebra, that is helpful; but Christian teachers teaching saved, submissive students can bring about not only academic understanding, but also cultivate great spiritual growth and maturity.