Daniel J. Brahier
Department of Educational Curriculum & Instruction
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, OH 43403

DECEMBER 2001

After drafting this issue's "Musings" column, I read Ginny Usnick's President's Column and changed my mind about the theme of my article.  I decided, instead, to write a reaction to Ginny's piece and to ask for your thoughts on the matter.  Her article (on pages 1 and 3) revolves around the shortsightedness of counselors and others who convince students that mathematics courses will not be helpful in their futures.  As I related in the last issue of Intersection Points, I am in the high school classroom full-time this year, on leave from the university.  So, I have had some recent experiences that speak, in part, to Ginny's concern and extend the issue.

I am teaching 136 students in three different courses this year.  So far, two of my students have dropped my classes, and in both cases, it was against my better judgement.  "Nikki" was a sophomore student in my Honors Integrated II course.  Throughout the year, she has been very quiet, and I'm not sure that I can recall her asking more than two or three questions from August through November.  She was struggling to earn a 'C' but had never once come in for assistance with her work.  At Parent-Teacher Conferences, her mother and father asked me if I thought she was placed at the correct level, taking Honors mathematics.  I told them that I wasn't really sure, given that I was not getting 100% effort from her.  I explained that if she was giving the class her "all" and was asking me for help but still struggling, I
could conclude that the class was over her head.  But I emphasized that we needed a plan to ensure that she would ask for help and that I could see her best work as we monitored the situation.  A week later, Athletic Eligibility sheets were administered (Nikki is a swimmer), and I indicated that she had a 75%, which puts her in danger of failing.  Within 24 hours, her mother emailed me that she wanted Nikki out of the class, sent her to her counselor, and she was gone the next morning.  Should Nikki still be in my class today?  I think so, but I'll never know because her mother took the easy way out by pulling her from class instead of encouraging her to seek help.

"Beth" was a senior in my Integrated III class.  She struggled with mathematics all the way through high school, but her counselor actually encouraged her to take a fourth year this year, even though it was not required.  In the First Quarter, she was on the border of a D and an F and, like Nikki, had never come in for any extra help.  One day, she stopped in during Homeroom and asked, "What can I do to get extra credit?  I can't fail this class, or I won't be able to participate in the Crew (Rowing Team) final
regattas!"  I told Beth that she had to start by making sure that she did her homework, as almost half of her assignments were missing.  I explained that I would rather see her putting her effort into doing the daily, required work
than to use her time and energy to do extra credit.  And I reminded her that she was perfectly capable of passing but had brought the problem on herself by not doing her work.  Two days later, she dropped my class and withdrew
from taking any more mathematics in her senior year.  Her counselor later explained that her parents fully supported getting her out of her mathematics class "so that she can row in the regatta."  Beth chose to solve her athletic
eligibility problem by dropping the class in question, rather than by working harder.  She will graduate this June with three years of mathematics, rather than four, because playing sports was the priority.  And the most amazing thing to me was that her father is a physician and still didn't see the value in pushing her to take a fourth year of mathematics.

Both of these stories are true and very fresh in my mind as recent experiences.  They underscore how a lack of work ethic and an emphasis on athletics over academics can drive the decisions of our students.  But the stories also illustrate how influential parents can be in supporting "bad decisions" made by their children, in the name of athletics and avoidance of conflict.  As we know, if we do not have the support of parents of our school children, the road to reform becomes rocky and dangerous.  I have presented these situations as examples that it is not always the counselor's fault or choice for students to weaken their mathematics background, though I acknowledge that students are often poorly counseled in decision-making.  What could I have done to keep these students in the classes?  How much
influence can or should we have over guidance counselors as course-taking decisions are made?  And, on a broader scale, how do we prepare undergraduate pre-service teachers to deal with irrational thinking of parents, students, and counselors?  Please take a minute to send a short email comment to Daniel Brahier at brahier@bgnet.bgsu.edu.  Reaction comments can be included in future 'Musings' column publications in Intersection Points.