If you went to elementary and high school before 1989, you probably learned math the traditional way: you relied on your teacher and a math book to present algorithms, that is, methods or operations, that you had to learn by rote, solving sets of problems one after the other until the algorithms became automatic operations for you. The math courses seemed to work very well, but innovators never rest; there is always a proposal to do something better, more effectively, than it was done in the past. Teaching math was to be no exception. In 1989 a set of standards for the teaching of pre-algebra math was issued in the United States by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics that changed the way math would be taught, superseding the old way of doing it. This new method would dispense with memorization of algorithms and, instead, emphasize the use of calculators, mathematical concepts, and creative visualizations. Not everyone agreed on the efficacy of this new method. Many opposed and still oppose this new method, or relatively new method. Since the issue is one of education, we can focus on the results of each method and consider which has produced the most competent generation of mathematicians.
We are not talking of mathematicians who teach at universities or sit in scientific research labs, but the millions of ordinary people who must use math in much of their day to day activity. Yes, we are talking about the ability of ordinary people who have should have learned math in elementary school and high school, who use math to decide how many gallons of gas they can purchase for the dollars in their wallets, the amount of food they can get for their buck, who have to figure out how many cups they can get out of a bottle of bleach, how many hours it will take to get from their homes to a vacation spots, how many hours it will take to reach their destination on train or plane. We talking about the mathematical skills everyone in the modern world requires in order to be able to function in society at all. We're talking about basic, pre-algebra math skills that every modern, civilized human must learn. Because math skills are essential to modern life, the importance of teaching these skills effectively is critical and an issue that all citizens should be concerned with.
The battle is between the traditionalist who maintain that the old way of teaching pre-algebra math was the most effective, and the reformed teachers who maintain the new method does the job better. That is the real question, after all, which method does the job, which method renders individuals with the skills they need to function in our society. If the new method is more effective, we should expect to see more of our populace competent in math than in the past.
In the March, 2010, issue of Scientific America, in their article on Numbers War, the writer clearly states the current results of teaching pre-algebra math using the reformed approach. Quoting Professor Gay Martin, the critical point is made: Our 15-year-olds cannot use math to address simple real-life situations. In the same article, the author declares that the U.S. is showing declining scores. Now, while there may be other explanations for these failures, we cannot ignore the most salient difference between the time when the U.S. had the highest scores and its ranking today, and that difference is reformed math.
Whether you are for or against reformed math, as a parent you cannot afford to be indifferent to the way we teach pre-algebra math to our children. Take a stand while the U.S. is still a player in the world. Let us hope a history of the decline of the U.S. is not written that attributes ineffective teaching math as a cause.
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