Marjorie,would it endanger your pension if this statement came out?

I agree with you about the professors,about everything and about textbook publishers.Their erroneous pedagogies play havoc with entire generations.

Now for my pet interest,did you feel there was a deterioration in literacy during your career?

Ms Gann’s comments about teaching arithmetic procedures are almost certainly correct.  Her recommendations might improve ‘numeracy’ standings, but they still miss the beauty of mathematics.  Let me share the following from Keith Devlin’s excellent book “Introduction to Mathematical Thinking”.

For all the time schools devote to the teaching of mathematics, very little (if any) is spent trying to convey just what the subject is about. Instead, the focus is on learning and applying various procedures to solve math problems. That’s a bit like explaining soccer by saying it is executing a series of maneuvers to get the ball into the goal. Both accurately describe various key features, but they miss the what and the why of the big picture.

Given the demands of the curriculum, I can understand how this happens, but I think it is a mistake. Particularly in today’s world, a general understanding of the nature, extent, power, and limitations of mathematics is valuable to any citizen. Over the years, I’ve met many people who graduated with degrees in such mathematically rich subjects as engineering, physics, computer science, and even mathematics itself, who have told me that they went through their entire school and college-level education without ever gaining a good overview of what constitutes modern mathematics. Only later in life do they sometimes catch a glimpse of the true nature of the subject and come to appreciate its pervasive role in modern life.

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I believe any middle-school student can follow the footsteps of the early Greek mathematicians.  Even the work of 16th and 17th century mathematicians grappling with gambling odds, the movement of the planets, and the behavior of fluids is accessible.  But we need teachers who understand - and love - mathematics. 

Typical response from the educators in the teachers’ faculties - ““The whole idea of rolling these things back to a time when everyone learned these basic facts didn’t exist,” said Mr. Mason. Previous methods that have focused on memorization and rote performance are “strategies we know never worked,” and left some students struggling.” Perhaps the professors in the education faculties are getting bonus pay by putting out the false narratives/myths, to ensure that only 20 to 25 % of the student population are capable of entering the STEM fields? 

Or otherwise how to explain the blank looks of the education professors claiming expertise in mathematics on the dismal outcomes of students who lack not only the basic math skills, but are drowning in a sea of inefficient math methods/strategies that does not lead to learning standard algorithms.

However, in the United States - it sure looks like the new Common Core initiative will only embedded the reform math in the name of deeper conceptual understanding. “Sadly for the children, reform math is now seeing a resurgence, due to the federal imposition of the Common Core initiatives.”
http://betrayed-whyeducationisfailing.blogspot.ca/2012/10/in-defense-of-long-division-pro-reform.html

The changes made in the new Common Core math, will only lead to many students without a direct pathway to high school calculus. “The district has adopted a new sequence that leaves more than 80 percent of eighth-graders without a direct path to a high school calculus course. Only 18 percent will be enrolled in algebra 1, compared with 60 percent to 65 percent in previous years,...”
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/north/2013/08/14/reading-new-math-curriculum-runs-into-protests/pGcNh0mavGxkHiJuFoSKaO/story.html?s_campaign=sm_tw

A typical outcome for many students and bitter disappointments - “The New Westminster resident had applied to the Douglas College psychiatric nursing program right after high school seven years ago but wasn’t accepted because her math marks were too low.

However, after years of feeling trapped in low-paying restaurant jobs and understimulating care-aid positions, she discovered a program at Simon Fraser University specifically tailored to help aboriginal high school grads and mature students get into post-secondary health sciences studies.”
- See more at: http://www.burnabynow.com/news/sfu-aboriginal-program-launches-dream-1.584801#sthash.ZyuC2BVN.dpuf

Just imagine, what the Canadian society would be like if students had the math skills and grades as they exit out of grade 12? I can, and Malcolm Gladwell can imagine it as well. “This is crazy, because as Gladwell points out, a science and math degree is the “most valuable commodity any graduate can have in today’s economy.”
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/malcolm-gladwell-if-you-want-a-science-or-math-degree-do-not-go-to-harvard-2013-9#ixzz2fLGwOV2W

Nor would Canada be importing foreign workers, based on the reason there is a shortage of skilled workers in Canada. In another American high school, it was determined that - ” The students couldn’t write coherent sentences.”  http://www.theatlantic.com/debates/education/page/2  - Its a sad state of affairs, when students do not have a solid foundation in the 3 Rs.

Over at Kitchen Table Math, the blog was born out of another horrible math curriculum call Math Trailblazers.
http://kitchentablemath.blogspot.ca/2013/09/hello-and-how-math-trailblazers-saved.html

Of course in the Canadian K to 12 schools,  Mad Minutes would be banned. Not acceptable, because its too much like drills according to the educator profs of the teachers’ faculties. As would learning the beauty of math - the neat little patterns of numbers that keeps not only Mother Nature in good order, but actually for humans. This one is for Tom, who worries about students’ abilities to appreciate the deeper meaning about numbers. Fibonacci and the Fibonacci sequence 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55,89,144…......

The only requirement is the ability to count, and from there the world of golden means, golden ratios, prime numbers and so much more.

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/blogs/watch-the-beautiful-visualization-of-the-numbers-of-nature

Hurricane Sandy??  http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/climate-weather/blogs/finding-the-fibonacci-sequence-in-hurricane-sandy

Nature’s number - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKzcDZswj5A

I supposed in the schemes of patterns - the public education stakeholders simply do not want students to have a solid foundation in math. Struggling students are so much profitable for the education stakeholders and their future pocketbooks.

Another problem of text book-The science books used in the classroom today provide a lot of facts, but they don’t help children grasp the most basic concepts about the world we live in.

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