Is it the job of technical schools, 2 years colleges and state schools to help students through math?

I recently read an article that says a post secondary degree is becoming the new HS diploma for getting a job (degree deflation).  So as good jobs disappear for people with only HS degrees, we see everyone talk about worker retraining -- get them back to school to get the skills for the jobs of today.  And I think that is great, and I agree.

But what responsibility does the technical school/college have to getting students through math.  We often talk about secondary schools providing opportunity, a student must choose to work and do well.  But with most remedial math students (and especially non-traditional students) it is not a choice, they have not done well with math at the HS level and instead of realizing that, our secondary institutions demand more math, faster, at a higher level of performance than HS.  Now I agree high schools must do better but I don't agree with institutions that decide to 'help' but really are entering for profit or pseudo-profit.

What I mean is once you tell prospective students that you can lead them to better training thus to better jobs you have a commitment to that student.  That student is paying for a service.  When you then place students into remedial math courses that as an institution you know only have a 40-50% pass rate you are doing a disservice.  Especially with non-traditional students.  Only in our secondary education system can you look at a 50% pass rate and blame the students.

I am not saying we teach less, but once you run into a wall a few times, shouldn't you look for a door?  Should we look at how we are teaching, how do we expect students who have never mastered numeracy to quickly do that in a few weeks, so we can do lines, expressions and quadratics?  I believe these are skills that a student should master but is the current system correctly doing that; with so many non-traditional students that have not used math skills for so long that they have lost them repeatedly taking remedial math I think the answer is no.  Yet tech schools and colleges advertise themselves as centers of opportunity, get your loan, come on in, we will help....   And sure they offer tutoring, but that is within the context of the existing secondary math curriculum, if you can't keep up, don't worry the institution will still cash your check.

Only in education could you get away with this, blaming the customers (actually failing customers who try).  They have their expectation completely set by their K-12 experience.  Except in HS they somehow got through.  I know many non traditional students studying tens of hours per week in their quest to become non-STEM people.  They face their math fears dead on, as the course sprints forward.  The courses demanding that the skill of distribution learned last week, be mastered to the point to use with equations this week and next week lines.

In 6-12 grade math those subjects and their expected mastery are spread out over years versus weeks.  Yet we teach math the same way at tech schools and colleges as was done in 6-12 grade where the remedial student failed to get mastery but now we expect different results.  Really?   I know a 12 year old more easily learns than a 42 year old (I am reminded about that every day my son and I try to remember a new skill).

Our society needs educated people to maintain our leadership in the world.  We need to be constantly educating our people.   But we need an educational system that works!  Only in education would we say we have a 50% failure rate and believe the answer is more of the same, more courses, more instructors, more repeating!  And when the non-traditional student fights through their 2 remedial courses and 1 course for credit math (usually thinking D for Degree), are they better math students?  Will they apply those skills in the world?  Or did they simply memorize enough to get through.....  What is the purpose?

While some students do just need remedial math as it sits (looks like about 50%).  The rest need something different.  The courses need to meet more, cover less material and push them to success.  I realize I am adding a course, hours and staff; it would take 3 remedial courses versus 2, because the same material must be learned.  Courses need to meet 6 hours per week versus 3 hours.  Less lecture, more guided learning, set lab hours with tutors at a 1 to 8 ratio, we must help students to understand the math.  It is a radical suggestion, but we have a horrific problem, 50% failure.

Yet tech schools and colleges expand, under the disguise of providing opportunity, encouraging students to come back and learn today's skills, they'll help....   Right now they just cash the check....

Setting the table. High Expectations, High Returns

Students are just like me.  They (typically) will do what is expected, the minimum expected.  Let me explain through an example from my life.

My example at home is my wife and I have a fairly clear set of chores that we each "own."  But when I am really busy with school some of those things slide to my wife, mainly setting the table for dinner.   I am suppose to set & clear the table, but sometimes I "let her" cause I am grading quizzes or whatever (and she is super supportive).  And these busy times usually run in 2 day sprints, so I won't set for 2 days -- then even though I know I should set the table for supper for some reason I don't.  My wife then has learned to ask.  Cause I am a space-case?  No!  Because I quickly adjust to my new expectation -- I really appreciate the help she gives when I need it , but I quickly revert to the minimum I can "get away with."  (And I really appreciate when she asks me to set the table once I am through my busy spot).    Students are exactly the same....

I can talk about why math and understanding is important, but that does not drive many students at all.  But the consequences of not learning the material is what keeps the average student going, translation they want to pass.  They will learn whatever the minimum needed to survive, to get their minimum grade overall (whatever they set for themselves).  So as long as they want to pass they will work only hard enough to meet their minimum letter grade (not try-ers require different things, their learning cannot be about a grade, their consequences need to intrude on what they want).

So I have to remind students to "set the table" often -- to learn the material, I never talk about grades - my favorite saying about grades is that they take care of themselves.  Thus my courses must require knowledge and application of that knowledge so that every student who passes actually knows the math.  Meaning a D student must have enough knowledge to be ready for the next class without a lot of remediation.  I believe too often math teachers don't get their C and D students ready for the next course in math sequences.  Heck, if 40% of incoming Freshmen in most UWs need remedial math (9th grade Algebra), and they had to take Alg 1, Geometry & Alg 2 to get into any UW; how could we say that our D, C or even B students really understand the material.  I am really proud of my results at Juda the last 2 years.  Any student that has received a D- or better has not been remedial at college the last 3 years.  (Confession: During my first 3 years I had students who earned Cs and Ds but could not really do the math.) 

The above statistic is why I often remind my students and myself that they want to have me be their toughest math teacher.  And since I work for them (their future-selfs, I work for the student when they are 28) I don't let them get away without the knowledge.  By doing that I don't have to care about grades, cause grades prove little.  It proves knowledge at a time, it may show the ability to plan but not too much.  But often it only shows the students who best "play the game of school."  I have had many A students that I would not have wanted in my machine shops prior to teaching but plenty of D and C students I wanted (I miss ya - Tim).

Effort is more important than the ability to "play school."  Drive to learn is more important than grades.  Understanding more important than speed.  I use these thoughts every day, I remind myself to make sure the students understand math, I encourage, I push, I dry tears and then encourage some more, but I do give grades without skills.  I remind myself that once they leave Juda I am no longer there - so I must follow my cliche "Be less helpful" during quizzes/tests (which means I offer no help on assessments - I always say "Don't worry come in before/after school we will review and work through so you understand so you can do on the next one.")

So as I sit here on an early Sunday morning planning my week of courses I remind myself::
Make the students set the table....