Math Education: An Inconvenient Truth

munki037 Says:

Apr 11, 2012 - yeha... thats not a logical way to do math.. takes too long... and whats the point?Good thing I am not a kid in school anymore... otherwise i would hate my life.

integralmath Says:

Apr 20, 2012 - In the future, give 'watching a video for comprehension' a try; it makes one quite a bit less idiotic. Quite clearly @ 6:40(ish) in, she says that these other methods are wonderful 'teaching tools'. In other words, one uses many different methods to explain the abstract notion of how multiplication works, and then one presents an algorithm that is used for efficient resolution of problems. It is unwise to derive a solution from the fundamental theorem of arithmetic for every problem, forever.

maynardr6 Says:

Apr 20, 2012 - a few things 1) I use this technique they're calling reasoning all the time. If you do it enough, it easy, and you don't need paper. In the real world, I'd be hard pressed to even locate paper in my house, and I never have a pen. What I do have is a phone, computer, laptop, and calculators all over the place. I do math all the time. It's probably been a decade since I didn't do it in my head or on a calculator because the standard algorithm is pretty crappy for doing math in your head.

6771Randy Says:

Apr 20, 2012 - Thanks for the presentation!Excuse me while I go kick my dog out of frustration(Just Kidding)!Learning basic math helps me to do more complicated math in my head using common sense.

dezdichado1 Says:

Apr 21, 2012 - There are way too many idiots teaching mathematics in the public education system. They all want to "innovate" something. They think that "making math fun" means to put in idiotic and strictly unrelated pictures, photographs in math texts. Institutionalized infantilism is rampant in general in the public education system. I saw "get readyy Zumbini" pictures there, not a single challenging problem...I recommend instead Richard Rusczyk's textbooks, excellent books written by a math genius

MWMATHNESS Says:

Apr 21, 2012 - The fundamental challenge in teaching elementary mathematics in North America originatesfrom the fact that elementary school teachers are not subject specialists. Many of them, if not most, are dedicated in teaching their students; however that dedication is not supported with a solid knowledge of mathematics. Naturally, they are the product of the system hence they are not fully aware that things could be done differently. A mastery of fundamentals is the key to success in any discipline.

blubudubbel Says:

Apr 22, 2012 - In Germany, students are taught these basic algorithms for 4 years in the elementary - right before they choose which secondary school they want to attend afterwards (there are three types in Germany, they differ in their respective graduation). But, although the students choose other paths of education, every one is/should be able to do common maths and I think this is a very important thing to learn. Besides, German children are also taught to use these other ways, but only for MENTAL solving.

Chewbacca1978 Says:

Apr 22, 2012 - These Public Schools are setting our children to FAIL.Or Dumbing Down.

Boostaholic Says:

Apr 23, 2012 - khan academy

x89codered89x Says:

May 3, 2012 - It's obvious that math reformation has good intentions. Who wouldn't want to make sure that their child is learning the best and most important mathematics to ensure a bright academic future (whether it contain heavy mathematics or not). The reasoning through problems is great; Richard Feynman would probably ensorse this approach! However, elementary school mathematics has to be made practical for kids to care, and we must teach them algorithms so that they have them in their back pocket later!

lukechalloner Says:

May 10, 2012 - I must admit those books are a bit of a joke. And I tend to do all my calculations on paper or in my head by breaking the sums down into their individual parts. I find this works fairly well and quickly for multiplication but it is extremely slow when doing division, since then I have found long division to be a more suitable approach for division. In addition, I try to do as many calculations as possible in my head, or mentally avoiding the use of a calculator wherever possible. :)

Michael Howell Says:

May 11, 2012 - I have a video titled "Calculus for 6th Graders" that dramatically simplifies the proofs behind "derivatives" and "integrals" — giving students a much more profound appreciation for the geometry behind the math.It is a disgrace just how much educators willfully fog the subjects that students are supposed to master. Textbooks need to be tested by students at least as much as students need tests. My senior-level courses in math rank among some of the most poorly taught.

Shadow642761 Says:

May 12, 2012 - Sometimes we put a zero here..???? We always put a zero there!!!!!

Matt O'Neill Says:

May 12, 2012 - "Math Education: An Inconvenient Truth" presents a strawman argument and then knocks it down. By presenting the math information in a way that is confusing to individuals not familiar with the processes & not honestly addressing what the alternative math teaching styles are attempting to accomplish, is disengenuous. This is an advocacy video and should be viewed as such. For anyone interested in a more nuanced & honest discussion of this issues should watch james black's video.

Ana1106 Says:

May 17, 2012 - My daughter is bringing home Everyday Math and I thought oh how neat you learn everyday math right? Now I realize that the multiplication lattice they use is based on Chinese math. huh? My niece cannot do it and is confused. I taught her the way I learned in school and she did got it in one night. Now I realize why kids don't know math. Wow. I taught my male cousin a quicker way to add signed numbers and his teacher said he HAD to use a 3 step convoluted method she taught him in school. smh

XRadicalXRedX Says:

May 20, 2012 - I can honestly say what I just watched is appalling. By the way, memorizing the multiplication tables and knowing how to find the lowest common denominator using primes (2,3,5,7,11,..) are the keys arithmetic. Unbelievable, they are using distribution laws to alter the algorithms. The reason they are teaching inferior methods is they want your child to fail. The government knows what material and methods to use. I can guarantee in the private schools the proper methods are being taught.

besheba Says:

May 20, 2012 - Thank you, thank you, thank you for being willing to say it! :) Good luck to you and please don't give up on math just because you had the sad misfortune to be poisoned by this asinine program. You can do it! I hope my kids will eventually be able to as well.

smconley23 Says:

May 23, 2012 - Did you actually flip through a bunch of pages involving maps, distances, graphs, and population data, and say, "Where's the math?" That's hilarious.

TrisJash619 Says:

May 24, 2012 - Bitch Please ! We hate Maths !M.A.T.H.S - Mental Admited Teachers harrasing Students !

flexibartr Says:

May 27, 2012 - Believe me folks. I know better what math is than she does. I got a Phd in Math and philosophy of math an I am actually a math teacher. The reasoning method is the right one. You learn to split a problem into some problems od known sort. And this very method is expandable to all kinds of problems, not just math, but literally all kinds of problems from any science or any kind of interaction with world and people. This is math for real life. A tricky graphic solution how to multiply is not.

flexibartr Says:

May 27, 2012 - Thanks a lot. You are so right, man. There is a youtube video where you can see a german 1st grade class in the seventies. They peform getting the concept of a number by abstraction like Gottlob Frege taught. Just put "Neue Mathematik" into the Youtube search bar. But sadly this was long ago.

flexibartr Says:

May 27, 2012 - Pleaseput "Neue Mathematik" into the search bar. In the seventies and early eighties german children learned to think in terms of sets and mappings and propositional functions. I was one of them. Later we were taught traditonal modern math too and used the set theory fluently. But the mapping operations and the propositional funtions were somehow forgotten. When studying mathematics, after I discoverd that I could use the very same mental operations.as in elementary school again, it became easy.

flexibartr Says:

May 27, 2012 - Thanks. It seems to me that one kind of comments here is done by mathematicians.

flexibartr Says:

May 27, 2012 - Thanks for the term "mathematical fast food". I've been looking for an analogy quite a while and this is the one. By the way I am a german math teacher and I have to teach this fast food stuff while my heart and soul want to do galois theory.

flexibartr Says:

May 27, 2012 - Thanks for some straight words. You are not alone here.