Re: [Mid] A lesson in Algorism

In a message dated 6/11/99 4:12:26 PM Central Daylight Time,
DukeAndrew@aol.com writes:

<< Sounds like we had different math courses. Mine was in 1960, but some
 things may have changed, whether they should have or not. >>

High school math has definitely changed. They "revised" the general
quadratic solution so badly at my daughter's school that I ended up teaching
her calculus. The teacher looked at what she was doing, and made her promise
not to teach anyone else how to do it the easy way. You know the instruction
is messed up when differential calculus is easier than sophomore algebra!

This may touch on the other thread going right now, about taking children out
of school. Educators don't trust what the parents might teach the kids if
the teacher isn't there to tell them the one, right way (patent pending).
For example, my parents taught me phonics, when the current theory in the
schools was for word recognition (or some such nonsense). Never mind that I
could read well above grade level, it was the wrong way.

I have to admit it probably didn't make my reading teacher's life any easier,
since I still have to work at not telling people when I think they're being
even stupider than God made them. I doubt the idea of such restraint so much
as crossed my mind at age eight.

Can you imagine what a seventh grader who understands the concept of primary
sources could do to a junior high history class?

Cecilia not a teacher, thank God
From: Cecilie701@aol.com
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Received on Sun Jun 13 09:25:35 1999