Comments on: "Reform Math" Leaves Some Perplexed

New Curriculum Has Some Parents So Concerned, They're Taking Matters Into Their Own Hands

[ullamike]

This is nonsense created by math education faculty with no appreciation of what real mathematicians do. There is no royal road to mathematics; the dues must be paid. However, at the same time, students should be given hard, interesting problems with simple statements, and they should be challenged to work those problems out totally by themselves. For example, "If there are 14 people in a room, how many handshakes must take place if everyone has shaken all the others hands?" Give a formula for n people. Argue that your formula is correct. 11 year-old work.

[kaiyo4u]

When I'm bidding a job and they want a ball park figure, I tell them it's a guestimation... Sounds like the new math... I wouldn't do a job based on my guestimation, nor would I expect my customer to either. The bid is done with rock solid math done the tried and true way with pencil and paper. The figures are at the least double checked before a proposal is sent and contract is signed.

[guest173]

you have to learn the exact math, if people rely on estimates for everything, the math is only going to get even harder, and this kind of guessing math is way to prone to errors. Are the teachers purposely encouraging laziness and dumbness? This guessing is not the way to learn math, math is work, but all studying is, and being accurate in the details often makes a big difference.

[glaciersurf]

I know this new way seems disturbing to most parents; mostly because this is so drastically different. The ideas of reform math is to teach why we do multiplication and why we do division. As a university student, most students can do the math but have no understanding of why they do the calculations that they do. In order to solve problems we haven't answered yet that understanding needs to be there. That is the point of reform math.

[incog-nito]

Maybe they should call it "flunkie math" instead.

[poeticreator]

woops, sorry, about the repeats

[poeticreator]

On the Lincoln Memorial:

%u201CIf a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be%u201D

[poeticreator]

On the Lincoln Memorial:

%u201CIf a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be%u201D

[poeticreator]

On the Lincoln Memorial:

%u201CIf a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be%u201D

[poeticreator]

On the Lincoln Memorial:

%u201CIf a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be%u201D

[poeticreator]

On the Lincoln Memorial:

%u201CIf a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be%u201D

[retmilspouse]

Wow I this subject was available way back in my elementary school days then I would have made all A's in math!!!! Somehow I just can't see the Nuns at my school going for this type of math.

[justfacts2]

Ever wonder why kids and teenagers today cannot add, subtract, multiply, divide, do fractions, or count back change? THIS IS THE REASON! All of these so-called "A" students that graduate from high school, that have been taught this math, have to take remedial math when they get into college because colleges believe in the tried and true traditional math. And if you ever wonder why so many other countries are surpassing us, you don't have to look any further than this article. This has to be one of the dumbest ideas ever created. No wonder people homeschool their kids or send them to a private school.

[barbaraf4]

"I certainly wouldn't want to cross a bridge or fly on a plane designed by someone who did the math and came 'reasonably close'."
Posted by omega39 at 09:04 PM : May 26, 2007

I agree. I have always thought that math was an exact science. Everything from medicine to engineering require exact calculations. If this is the norm, then NASA will need to look elsewhere for scientists and engineers for future generations.

[hypnotoad72]

"%u201CWe're preparing kids now for jobs that we don't even know are going to exist, and we can't be teaching them the same mathematics that we did years and years ago, we really have to prepare them for the workforce that they'll be headed to,%u201D says Dillard. "

Well if they're not going to exist thanks to offshoring or computer automation, isn't it not cost effective to teach it? What happened to standardization, planning for the future, and so on?

Regardless of new methods, the old methods lay down the groundwork for all math - and I'm sorry some children don't want to learn it. We'll always need people to collect the garbage... even if the kid was the world's foremost genius at it, the job would still be offshored anyway.

BTW: 10-7=3. If a kid can't understand something so blasted fundamental, there's a fundamental problem going on. And it's not about rote memorization, it's about applying a formula. Those instructional tables are useful only to a certain degree.

I use my multiplication tables every day in some form or another. I am so glad I memorized them in grammar school. It saves me a great deal of time. Also, I'm not a slave to a calculator. I think it is a mistake not to learn them!

[sharncedar]

On the other hand, wouldn't it be nice to have a budget that was reasonably close to balanced (or in surplus as any prudent country would do). Wouldn't be nice to have a war that was reasonably close to victory. Wouldn't it be nice if we had a democracy in which we were reasonably close to having elections based on substance instead of money.

Reasonably close would be really, really improved for our government, maybe that's why they are teaching this stuff.

[lochlan-2009]

How much more evidence do you need American sheeple? They are dumbing you down.

WAKE UP!!!!!

[pixelslinger]

I see it now.... the WTC Memorial - architected to be reasonably close to structurally sound.

How about those new smart missiles? Guaranteed to hit reasonably close to what you were aiming at!

[omega39-2009]

I certainly wouldn't want to cross a bridge or fly on a plane designed by someone who did the math and came "reasonably close".