Bill White on Rigor and Relevance in the Classroom

"Rigor and relevance" is a catch phrase in education right now, and it's one I like. When implemented well, classroom instruction includes relevant examples from students' lives, from the news, etc. Relevance is related to rigor. When students have to apply their learning to relevant scenarios, the rigor is usually there.

Bill White, Democratic candidate for Texas governor, implemented these two concepts beautifully during a recent visit to a ninth grade algebra class:

He tells them that you have to have algebra, for example, to figure out what the school dropout rate would be if it were 10 percent over time. "All you have to do is set it up to solve for X," he says. "This is a practical skill!"

White talks about using algebra to figure out what a homeowner would have to pay in interest if the interest rate goes up. "Solve for X," he says. "See what I'm saying?"

He thinks of one other example, one close to his oil-and-gas heart. "I'm talking about finding oil deposits in the center of the earth," he says. "Unless you have some level of algebra skills, I can tell you that you cannot find oil and gas. I didn't know this when I got in the business."

White tells them about bouncing sound waves off rocks deep underground and measuring how long it takes for the echo to return as a way of determining where the oil might be. "I didn't know this," he says. "It's cool."

It was, indeed, cool, and interesting, at least to those of us in the room whose math experience is seriously lacking.

What a startling contrast to the guy he's running against, incumbent Rick Perry, who gets an F on education every time he opens his mouth.

Can we get Bill White to run around to Texas high schools and do Math TAKS prep lessons? All high school juniors will be taking their Exit Math TAKS on April 28th. They have to pass that, along with Exit TAKS tests in ELA, Science and Social Studies in order to graduate. Bill White, we need you!