The next South Jersey session scheduled is Oct. 20 at Logan Elementary School in Swedesboro. But project coordinator Jennifer Lomench said she expects several more before that since new sessions are being added frequently. Its board of directors consist of people in government, education and private industry. It aims to ready parents for a new era of math instruction. Gone are the days when students memorized a set of facts and repeated them at test time before promptly forgetting them.
Schools now stress critical thinking, group learning and oral and written presentations.
Rather than ask for a simple answer, teachers now will be asking how students gathered their data and how they can support the answer they derived. The answer in not a number. Only five people attended her program Monday night, although it had been advertised in local newspapers and the church bulletin. Lomench said sessions during the school year are better attended. Still, those parents who came left somewhat overwhelmed but very enthusiastic.