Two minus three equals negative fun!
There has been a great deal of hue and cry over Richard Cohen's recent Washington Post column eviscerating the universal requirement of algebra. Eduwonk has compiled some of the better responses, so I don't need to rehash their arguments. Personally, I do believe that math is an important requirement because it contains analytical and logical skills which are broadly applicable. However, I think Cohen brings up a valid point which is being drowned out by his iconoclasm: Within the overarching universe of "mathematics," what we choose to teach our students is often useless.
This relates back to my previous point asking what we want all of our students to be able to do when they exit the system. I think it's reasonable to assert that one of the things we want them to be able to do is understand and apply logical, rational thought. Moreover, there are specifics pieces of math that do come up in day-to-day interactions. Aside from basic arithmetic, our society is awash in statistics, probability, fractions and percentages, to say nothing of economics. These are all part of the math curriculum in varying degrees, but we also bombard our students with logarithms, derivates, integrals and the quadratic equation.
Let me put it this way: If what we're truly trying to get at is mathematical thinking, why not use mathematical topics that don't make students want to take a drill bit to their temple? I'm not suggesting that statistics and economics are going to cause students to start jumping for joy when it's time for math class, but at least you can make an honest case for their applicability (and I do think there's far more potential for intrinsic interest). Nor am I suggesting that the other, more academic topics shouldn't be available for anyone who wants to take them, simply that we should pick and choose carefully what we're teaching in the required courses.
This goes beyond simply math -- covalent bonds in chemistry, the Calvin Cycle in biology, memorizing the dates and names of battles in history... our curricula are swimming in topics which have marginal connection to the real world, yet there are ready replacements which still achieve the same ultimate goal. Especially when one in two high schoolers can't see the usefulness of what they're learning, it's worth reexamining the foundations of what we're teaching.
It's not that most of algebra is useless, as Cohen would have it. It's that most of what we choose to teach is useless.
This relates back to my previous point asking what we want all of our students to be able to do when they exit the system. I think it's reasonable to assert that one of the things we want them to be able to do is understand and apply logical, rational thought. Moreover, there are specifics pieces of math that do come up in day-to-day interactions. Aside from basic arithmetic, our society is awash in statistics, probability, fractions and percentages, to say nothing of economics. These are all part of the math curriculum in varying degrees, but we also bombard our students with logarithms, derivates, integrals and the quadratic equation.
Let me put it this way: If what we're truly trying to get at is mathematical thinking, why not use mathematical topics that don't make students want to take a drill bit to their temple? I'm not suggesting that statistics and economics are going to cause students to start jumping for joy when it's time for math class, but at least you can make an honest case for their applicability (and I do think there's far more potential for intrinsic interest). Nor am I suggesting that the other, more academic topics shouldn't be available for anyone who wants to take them, simply that we should pick and choose carefully what we're teaching in the required courses.
This goes beyond simply math -- covalent bonds in chemistry, the Calvin Cycle in biology, memorizing the dates and names of battles in history... our curricula are swimming in topics which have marginal connection to the real world, yet there are ready replacements which still achieve the same ultimate goal. Especially when one in two high schoolers can't see the usefulness of what they're learning, it's worth reexamining the foundations of what we're teaching.
It's not that most of algebra is useless, as Cohen would have it. It's that most of what we choose to teach is useless.
This entry was posted
on Monday, February 20, 2006 at 2:40 PM.
|
