Re: pointers?


Jerry Avins wrote:
Jean-François Michaud wrote:
John Doty wrote:

Jean-François Michaud wrote:


[snip]



It's "deja vu all over again". In the US we had a crazy educational
theory called the "New Math" that was supposed to improve students'
understanding by starting them out with abstract "fundamentals". It was
a disaster, producing a generation of students who often found division
impossible without a calculator. The problem is that only in
mathematicians' fantasies does understanding of math procede from the
abstract to the concrete: in real life mathematical understanding
involves learning from concrete behavior and then modeling it with
abstractions.


This stems from a misunderstanding of how intelligence works. It is sad
to see that the very people on who we rely to teach our kids don't
understand very fundamental concepts of paramount importance
themselves. It is quite silly to magically expect young minds to grasp
complex invariants when the basic ones haven't yet sunken in the
cortex.

I think this misrepresents what really happened: it wasn't the teachers
who created this mess, it was politicians and mathematicians.


I'm sorry if I didn't separate the concepts further, I wrote the
message a little bit in a hurry this morning.

Teachers have the DUTY to teach what is right, not what they are being
told to teach.

Irreparable damage was done to individuals because of the incompetence
of many and the non-will to do what is right as opposed to what is
commanded. This is actually an ongoing process and it a very sad thing
to watch.

The job of teaching is the most important job there is and it HAS to be
done right. For the sake of individuals. The consequences of not doing
this are absolutely out of proportion and of tremendously far reaching
importance.


After the launch of Sputnik, there was a bit of panic in the US, and
part of it involved education. There was a belief that American kids
were falling behind in math and science, so there was a national push to
improve teaching standards that included getting scientists and
mathematicians involved in curriculum development. The result for math
was based in formalist ideology rather than real world practice.
Teachers understood this, but were commanded to teach it anyway.


None of those teachers deserve to teach.

Come down off your high horse. Teachers have rent to pay and children to
feed. Who benefits if they get themselves fired for not following the
curriculum? Certainly not the students they can no longer teach.

Many have a tendency to take things lightly and this is exactly what
causes part of the problem. The second half of the problem is not
knowing what's important and why.

I see that you feel that having an active role in wrecking the life of
children justifies getting a paycheck and keeping a job. Good for you.

Or maybe you don't realise the extend of the damage this causes.

In the end, our thoughts are all we have to deal with the world around
us. If tools for thought are not taught appropriately early then the
quality of life drops significantly. The consequences of this are
subtle in structure and ongoing throughout the life of individuals.
Individuals to whom harm has been done can hardly tell the difference
given the obvious impossibility in comparing what their life would have
been if things had been done properly. They will most probably not
protest.

Jean-Francois Michaud

.

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