I hate ALL the children... Part II

This one isn't the children's fault, though. It's the Grown-ups responsible for teaching them.

The latest disaster? An abomination known as Project-Based Algebra.

So, I was tutoring Elizabeth the other day, a gigly 18-year-old erstwhile homeschooler. (Was that a correct usage of erstwhile? One must wonder). She shows me the questions in her book. A parabola has been drawn three times, in part a, part b, part c of the first problem. The SAME parabola, mind you. In the first picture, there are no numbers on the graph. In the second picture, the x- and y-intercepts are labeled. In the third picture, we are on a grid with labels, so that any specific point's coordinates can be determined.

The instructions? Find out as much as you can about the equation of the parabola, such as intercepts, concavity, and the values of a, b, and c. [I think there was something else, too, but I've forgotten.] Elizabeth had no idea what to do. So, I did with her what I always do: "Let's flip back and see what this section explained to you." So we flip back and discover what I always fear: THERE REALLY ARE NO EXPLANATIONS OF ANYTHING!! You see, the whole philosophy behind this stuff is that students are meant to Discover things on their own. Now, as a tutor, that puts me in somewhat of a quandary; for I have been told oftentime, it's not my job to TEACH the student material, only to reinforce and clarify what they've already learned.

But she hasn't learned anything yet!?!

I try to stick to specifics. They said something about "concavity," right? Surely they MUST have mentioned something about that in the book. It's not in the section we're on now, so I suggest using the index to find it. One little problem: the book is not numbered with consecutive pages that begin at the Beginning (1) and end at the End (598); rather, each "Module" (=chapter?) has its own numbering system (beginning at 1), index, and answer key.

Why? WHY???

Have you ever tried to FIND anything in a book like this? A LOT of flipping is involved. Instead of saying I'm on page 258 and just turning to page 258, you have to say "I'm on page 5, Module 11" and patiently flip your way to Module 11 first. If the index says concavity is on page 34, you have to make sure you're on the RIGHT page 34 and haven't overshot the proper section.

VERY ANNOYING.

So, Elizabeth is not particularly gifted at math, and the whole thing of determining a, b, and c was somewhat beyond her. In hindsight I probably should have asked if she had any class notes, to see if her Teacher had managed to impart any Knowledge during class, but I guess I still tenaciously cling to the idea that a Book should contain Knowledge sufficient to do the Problems it asks.

Am I asking too much here?

Anyway, you, Gentle Reader, have plowed patiently through my complaints long enough. It's time for the punch line.

After whirling into Sharon's office in a fit of wrath and despair and unloading my burdens on her, she administratively Soothed me and sent me back out into the World. But I was not soothed. Indeed, I decided it was time for a little Arts and Crafts therapy.

I stole the scissors from the secretary's desk and got some blank paper, cut out a Paper Doll, wrote, "Students who cheat," "Administrators who don't care," and "Project-based math," on it, and-- you guessed it-- had a little too much fun with some very sharp push pins for awhile. Better yet, Sharon's helpful suggestion had been that we edit the Student Contract to contain something more specific about cheating, so I pinned the doll to the back of a Student Contract and showed it to Sharon.

"HERE, do you think THIS would get through to them?!?!?"

Nate is worried they'll let me go before summer.