Weekly Math Updates

August 8, 2005

Dear Petition Signer,

    We appreciate having your signature on the Investigations math petition.  We believe we are making good progress with the petition and have some media coming up that will help even more.  But we can't lose momentum and we need your help.  When you signed the petition, you were given a file you could email or print and show to your neighbors.  We really need all of you to get 5 more signatures this week.  I'm certain if you start calling your neighbors you will quickly find that many of them do not like this program at all.  The research I have done and have displayed on my webpage below specifically shows in detail where the Investigations program is condemned by hundreds of top professionals in this country.  Backing the program is our NSF (National Science Foundation).  One of the expert panel members of the NSF (Steven Leinwand) wrote an article in 1994 and made this absurd statement:

"It's time to recognize that, for many students, real mathematical power, on the one hand, and facility with multidigit, pencil-and-paper computational algorithms, on the other, are mutually exclusive. In fact, it's time to acknowledge that continuing to teach these skills to our students is not only unnecessary, but counterproductive and downright dangerous." (http://www.edweek.org/ew/1994/20lein.h13)

Our National Science Foundation believes it is dangerous and counterproductive to teach standard math methods to our children.  This man, Mr. Leinwand, is still on the NSF's "expert panel."  IS THERE ANY QUESTION IN YOUR MIND THAT THIS PERSON SHOULD BE NOWHERE NEAR OUR CHILDREN'S EDUCATIONAL CURRICULUM?!?!?!

PLEASE don't let this fight die with you.  PLEASE contact just a few people this week and tell them what's happening and get them to sign the petition.  It is imperative that we fight this fight now.  We need to eradicate this program from the Alpine District and then get it eradicated from the Utah board of education's acceptable programs.  We must do something or condemn our children to tutoring and remedial math expenses in their future.

Please get everyone with children to sign the petition whether they are in the public school system or charter or private or homeschooling.  All parents of school age children should sign this petition and demand quality education in our area.

Petition page:

http://www.oaknorton.com/mathpetition.cfm

Update page:

http://www.oaknorton.com/imathresults18.cfm

Community comments: (if you have a story to tell, email it to me and I'll post it on the site)

http://www.oaknorton.com/imathresults19.cfm

Sincerely,

Oak Norton

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