Posted on 04/23/2010 12:22:15 PM PDT by BruceDeitrickPrice
What follows is just a short review of a book nobody would think of reading, a paperback published in 1964 to help parents understand New Math. But if you've been wondering how our Education Establishment has managed to sabotage math skills in this country, this review will be helpful:----------------
"New Math was one of the silliest, most pretentious, and finally most unsuccessful educational gimmicks ever devised; and this book perfectly captures the idiocy of it all. In fairness, the authors were trying to do a good job but their mission is to explain the preposterous.
Prefatory copy in this book "For Teachers and Parents of Elementary School Children" brags: "Rudimentary ideas of geometric shapes are currently being introduced in kindergarten. Children in elementary school are being taught integers, coordinates, rational numbers -- bodies of knowledge formerly reserved for junior high or high school."
According to Wikipedia, "Other topics introduced in the New Math include modular arithmetic, algebraic inequalities, matrices, symbolic logic, Boolean algebra and abstract algebra."
On page 13 the authors boast, "The language and ideas of sets are begun in kindergarten and carried through all further study of mathematics as a unifying thread."
A few pages later we learn that "Principles of numeration cannot be developed effectively if confusion exists regarding the terms `number' and `numeral.' They are not synonymous. A number is a concept, an abstraction. A numeral is a symbol, a name for a number."
Another lovely quote notes: "Geometry is not presented in its classic form in the elementary grades. The child is merely given a working introduction to the study of points, lines, and shapes and their relationships. More formal work begins in the fourth grade."
Every page bristles with charts, graphs and columns of numbers that would try the understanding of the typical college freshman. And you must deal with prose such as: "Addition is an operation on two addends to produce a result called the sum. Subtraction is an operation for finding an unknown addend if the sum and one addend are known."
There are pages in this book that remind me of a college course I took (and barely passed) on symbolic logic. The authors are eager to tell us how to count on base seven, base six, base three, and base four.
Charlotte Iserbyt in her wonderful book "The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America" relates an anecdote about a math teacher who was inadvertently invited to a meeting of progressive educators trying to devise a curriculum to keep children from mastering math. The working title for this abomination was Modern Math. This meeting was all the way back in 1928! So it's clear that New Math was in development for a long time.
The reason this book is important to me is that I believe that just as Modern Math was a precursor to New Math, so was New Math itself a precursor to everything we now call Reform Math. The educators went back into their laboratories and devised more subtle variations of this flop, which they introduced to the public in the 1980s. I believe the sophistry remains the same up to the present: stir in advanced concepts with simple concepts so that children never master even basic arithmetic.
You can just imagine these crazy old progressives around a table in the faculty lounge laughing like hyenas as they craft such points as: "To compare rational numbers named by fractions whose numerators are 1, look at the denominators. The greater the number represented by the denominator, the smaller the rational number."
----------------------------------
That's the entire Amazon review. For more on this topic, Google "36: The Assault on Math."
“When I read this, I can’t figure out (no pun intended) whether the problem is Math or English. “
The problem is the obsfication of Math by the “liberal” application of English in Math Text Books.
The three letters are J, O and BS. People say BS to Biden so often that he thinks it is a single letter.
>> A few pages later we learn that “Principles of numeration cannot be developed effectively if confusion exists regarding the terms `number’ and `numeral.’ They are not synonymous. A number is a concept, an abstraction. A numeral is a symbol, a name for a number.”
Wow. I remember that from the mid 1970s. There was an obsession with the difference between the numerals and numbers, which really wasn’t appropriate for 2nd and 3rd graders. Similary, there was waaaaay too much set theory which we spent weeks on, which could be cranked out in a couple of days in high school but little kids just aren’t ready for it. <<
It reminds me of English class, so much time was spent overanalysing the sentance structure and not enough actually writing and learning new words, that all anyone could write were gramatically correct but confusing sounding sentances with simple minded words in them.
Scream ! Rotflmao
There are 10 kinds of people: Those who understand binary and those who don’t.
No, there was “new math” as early as 1961, but most pupils never understood it in the least. Instead, they quit doing essential computation.
Very true.
And I believe that the term for that is "innumerate."
Regards,
That which you communicate is genuinely meticulous howbeit the cogency is reduced by a circuitous exposition.
I think we've already established that my 'cyphering skills are not adequate.
“That which you communicate is genuinely meticulous howbeit the cogency is reduced by a circuitous exposition. “
That last sentence make me thinkin’ meat in me head go BOOM.
smater
???
And man, the round about language he used to make a point. I understand the terms. I understand the definitions of the terms. But even then, they aren't always efficiently used in a sentence to drive the point home.
I think the author is really confusing the basic arithmetics with math. Being able to arithmetic in your head and on paper is nice, but mathematical abstractions are a completely separate thing I think. My dad has a PhD in physics and his ability to count change is suspect.
Teaching kids through having them try to solve the problem themselves is not wrong. Even proving basic theorems in euclidean geometry by yourself is great to develop analytical skills and many kids can do it at 12 or even younger. Biggest problem I see is actually kids not being challenged enough.
“On page 13 the authors boast, “The language and ideas of sets are begun in kindergarten and carried through all further study of mathematics as a unifying thread.””
I don't see what's wrong with this in principle. All of these are deeply important and fundamental concepts in math and science (except modular arithemetic, which I don't recognize). Perhaps elementary school is too early. But I homeschool. And my son understands condititional probabilities and algebraic inequalities in 4th grade. The amount of time between 1st and 6th grade for math allows for MUCH more material beyond addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and fractions.
What is wrong with teaching set theory? It's straightforward and very important.
None of these subject matters introduce subjective, no wrong answer, type concepts. There is always a right answer and a wrong answer when you OR two boolean numbers. There is a right answer when you union two sets.
That said, there is a huge difference between the idea and the implementation of the idea. Obviously, the education establishment goofed up badly in implementing these ideas.
NONE of our kids have mastered phonics. Some do not know even the basic letter sounds. Many do not know the sounds for common phonic combinations such as “ing”, “str”, “th” etc. There parents can not help them with this because Spanish is far more straight forward in its spelling an pronunciation that Spanish. If the Anglo kids in the county are learning phonics it because their parents are knowingly or unknowingly teaching phonics in the home, or paying for expensive tutoring.
Arithmetic is a DISGRACE! None of the kids know their math facts for addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. None know any algorithm for addition and subtraction. None are able to carry the value of 10 from the ten's column to the one’s column.
A few weeks ago, I tutored a twelve year old with her fraction homework. She had been assigned about 40 problems of adding and subtraction mixed fractions.
**She did not know what the numerator and denominator represented.
** She added and subtracted with her fingers.
** To multiply and divide she drew little dots on the page to group.
** She did not know any algorithm for either multiplication or division.
** She did not know any of the addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division math facts.
In other words, her so-called “professional” teacher sent her home with homework that was IMPOSSIBLE for her to do. This is EDUCATIONAL MALPRACTICE AND CHILD ABUSE! It is no different than taking a beginner skier to the top of the mountain and pushing them off a double black diamond trail!
Why would a “professional” teacher mistreat a child in this way????
The tension on the faces of these children is plain to see. Every day is a day of failure in school. Every evening is a exercise in frustration. And...They get pressure from their parents who wrongly believe that American schools use similar methods that they ( the parents) enjoyed in their Third World primitive ( but effective) schools! The parents are utterly befuddled that their children are doing so poorly.
I am CONVINCED that the government schools in my county are nothing but education abuse factories. If any Anglo child is learning it is because his parents are AFTERSCHOOLING!!! Any learning a child picks up it entirely due to his parents efforts in teaching the basics and his own hard work IN THE HOME!!!
In the past, when a child who did not speak English entered school, he repeated the year. This gave the child a chance to learn English and then the following year he was able to proceed and move forward again with his education. Now, those who can not speak English are put in the grade that corresponds to their age. This **guarantees** that the child will NOT be able to keep up with the class, and it is very likely that he will NEVER catch up! Is this dumb or what?
Finally...This girl that I tutored was given 40 problems as homework. That would have been my homeschooling children's assignment for the ENTIRE DAY! Essentially what our schooled children are doing is going to school all day, and then being asked to do HOMESCHOOLING again in the evening! If a child has to do as much homework as my homeschoolers did all day, then what point is there in sending a kid to school???
( not proof read)
“Maybe I’m missing something but, if [c]hildren in elementary school are being taught integers, coordinates, rational numbers how exactly does this equate to “dumbing down” and no wrong answers? These are actually more advance mathematical concepts. One of the problems I notice with the general population is they fail to comprehend these abstract concepts. Even if you could add, subtract and multiply like a human calculator, you would still be mathematically illiterate.”
My reaction too. I don’t understand how teaching this is a bad thing. If it’s a substitute for being able to add, subtract etc, then its a problem. But elementary school kids are perfectly capable of understanding these ideas if they are presented right. Give me a second grader, a spinner, and three pennies and I can teach them simple probability.
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
“Finally...This girl that I tutored was given 40 problems as homework. That would have been my homeschooling children’s assignment for the ENTIRE DAY! Essentially what our schooled children are doing is going to school all day, and then being asked to do HOMESCHOOLING again in the evening! If a child has to do as much homework as my homeschoolers did all day, then what point is there in sending a kid to school???”
Yup. The teachers keep the fun stuff for themselves and send long division home for the parents to teach.
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.