In some cases, change is good, but how good is changing the math curriculum? In this case some teachers and most students do not think very highly of the Springboard curriculum.
The complaints are not just from students in this school. A teacher that has gone through the whole SpringBoard curriculum, Julie Fransworth, conveys her thoughts on being against the new way of teaching math with SpringBoard.
In the article “Statement Against the SpringBoard Curriculum,” Farnsworth states ‘’After reviewing this curriculum I went away feeling depressed and had a headache… and I almost never get headaches!”
As the article goes on, Farnsworth shows what she has read from other articles having to do with SpringBoard.
One article states that in DeKalb County, GA, teachers are just reading prepackaged SpringBoard lessons to their students. Students in that school also hated it and called it ‘Springbored.’
When their school board decided to discontinue using springboard, everyone cheered.
In Hillsborough County, FL some teachers feel SpringBoard is not challenging enough for Honors students in preparing them for college.
If teachers can’t enjoy teaching the material, then what is the point? The students are not going to want to teach themselves material, and if the teachers don’t want to teach it, then it is a lose-lose situation.
What I find concerning amongst all the facts and theories about SpringBoard, is that the only websites that say SpringBoard is positive are made by the people of SpringBoard themselves. They have links in their website having teachers that are in the SpringBoard program sharing their experiences.
The DeKalb County School watch, a parent watch dog group for the DeKalb County School District in Georgia, pointed out that The College Board’s Springboard website does not list a single independent study that proves the effectiveness of Springboard.
SpringBoard claims that the whole idea of SpringBoard was made by teachers who believe in this curriculum rather than the way they taught before. If that is the case, why are there so many articles stating otherwise, and if SpringBoard is as good as it seems, how come the only people that have anything good to say about SpringBoard are the people in the organization that have made the SpringBoard education?
Overall it appears this material is unfit for any school that desires to provide a world class education. As a student myself, I want what is best for my classmates. We deserve a superior education for the time and effort we devote to school.