The dumbing down of math just continues. Scientific American has a report on the math wars…
Numbers Wars: School Battles Heat Up Again in the Traditional versus Reform-Math Debate
GREATER THAN OR EQUAL TO?: Debate continues on the merits of teaching equation solving, geometry proofs and other old-school approaches in math education versus reform methods, which stress visual representations and real-world applications.
The opening paragraph sums it up…
Over the past 20 years educators have fought over the best way to teach numbers to kids. Advocates of traditional math tout the practice of algorithms and teacher-centered learning, whereas reform-math proponents focus on underlying concepts and student inquiry. In the face of continued declining scores in the U.S., these so-called math wars have heated up recently with the circulation of petitions, the release of contested curriculum guidelines and, in one case, the filing of a lawsuit. At stake is the ability of American high school graduates to perform everyday math tasks and compete in a global economy.
The new math group, you’ve had your time, it’s time to step aside.
Of course there’s always the professor who complains…
In recent years a détente between the two camps formed, one that emphasized a middle ground. But if there is a truce, it is an uneasy one—new volleys from both sides continue to appear. Last October, for example, the NCTM released yet another document, “Focus in High School Mathematics: Reasoning and Sense Making,” which calls for a new approach revolving around applications. “Our 15-year-olds cannot use math to address simple real-life situations,” explains Gary Martin, a professor of math education at Auburn University and chair of the committee that wrote the document….
I agree that IS a problem. However, there’s a SIMPLE solution to that problem. Is the teacher not assigning word problems? Does the book have word problems? I bet there’s a good book already out there, why don’t you go get it instead of inventing a whole new pseudo-intellectual document. Also, if a student cannot do the mechanics, they don’t have a chance in hell of solving a “real life situation”.
I’ll give Gary Martin a real life situation. Take your 15-year-olds to a grocery store and ask them what the cost per ounce is of a particular product. I have two questions:
1. Do they have any idea how to do the problem?
2. Can they do it without their calculator?
For way way way too many Algebra students, the answer to both questions is “NO”. I’ll settle for an estimate on the division, although that opens up a whole new can of worms. Perhaps if they can work together in a group and use manipulatives they can do the problem. Damn, do they carry the manipulatives with them everywhere they go? The only issue with the proposed strategy is the ice cream in the other bag has melted.
h/t to Catherine over at Kitchen Table Math.
