New, New, New Math

Morse's Code ^ | January 5, 2005 | Chuck Morse

[Chuckmorse]

I was visiting my brother the other day and his 9-year-old son was doing his math homework.
I took a look at the Math problems and realized that they were almost impossible to de-cipher.
My sister in law explained to me that the goal was to learn how to guess.

A few days earlier, I was attending a discussion with other parents whose children attend the school my daughter attends.
The subject of Math came up and they nodded their heads in agreement when someone made the point that the Math homework given to their children was virtually intelligible.
One parent explained that the school had a "theoretical" orientation when it came to Math and that rote learning, as opposed to abstract understanding, was unfashionable.

Arithmetic, the ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide, is, in and of itself, a way of thinking and organizing.
Numbers themselves are abstract expressions of matter and a means of measuring quantity and time.
By tampering with this most fundamental science, our education system is tampering with our children's ability to think clearly.
No wonder there is such an increase in dyslexia, ADD, and other learning disorders.

How much actual Math is taught in schools today?
What effect does the "new” Math have on the cognitive and intellectual development of our children?
I would be curious to hear feedback on this important issue.

[1FASTGLOCK45]

Thanks for your input. I will definately look into it also. :)

[jakearmitage]

Schaum's OuTlines are FANTASTIC.
it's like Cole's Notes, but for mathematics (physics).
they cut out all the useless filler like pictures and exhausingly complicated explanations.
They focus on the math itself and have hundreds of fully worked example problems, as well as 100s of practise problems with answers.
I first used one in a Modern Physics course. It cost me under 30 dollars and in about 60 pages covered the material a far more clear, concise, logical, and more espescially pedagogical manner than the 250 page text book that cost $180.
I will never buy another textbook.
I now have over a dozen ouTlines, for everything from Calculus and Statistics to Quantum Mechanics and Tensor Calculus (the math they use for General Relativity).
I spend less time on homework, less time studying, and I rarely need to go to the professor for help.
You could home school graduate level courses with these.
I am.