kitchen table math, the sequel: More media coverage concerning fuzzy math

Sunday, June 10, 2007

More media coverage concerning fuzzy math

This article appears today in The Bergen Record, concerning fuzzy math instruction in Ridgewood, New Jersey.

Read the article.
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That delicate balance was on display last week in Matthew Connelly's third-grade classroom at Travell School in Ridgewood, which uses TERC Investigations materials

Yeah. I don't see a delicate balance in that last project.

The writer appears to be leaning towards reform math based on some of her statements.

And it is unsettling to many parents, who memorized multiplication tables and slogged through arithmetic worksheets when they were in school.

That line drives me nuts and it appears in almost every article about reform math. Those poor simplistic parents clinging to their old-fashioned ways.

June 10, 2007 at 6:17 AM
Anonymous said...

Why does memorization get such a bad name? When you enter the workplace in any technical field, you'd better have a good working memory because memorization is the first key to survival.

I know this from nine years of experience as a computer engineer. That's because products under development are incredibly complex and spread across several departments of experts. There's no way to find instant understanding. And nobody is going to take the time out of their busy schedules to give it to you if you're new.

Instead, each co-worker blurts out what they know, and you'd better memorize all those words and terminology right away or you will NEVER reach understanding in the long run.

And it stays that way throughout your career. Information changes so fast that you have no choice but to memorize everything you hear. Then you syntesize it all in your sleep.

Educrats are woefully slim on understanding the workplace of tomorrow. They're too theoretical and idealistic.

When it comes to math education, they'd better go back to the drawing board, and quick.

June 10, 2007 at 7:26 AM

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