Barbara <mom_2_one@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>On Jul 10, 9:41 am, hru...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(Herman Rubin) wrote:
>> In article <486f7172.10114...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
>> Way Back Jack <Rela...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>>
>> >COMMENT: Yeah, that's the ticket, call it "Yomomma," or "Slam Dunk."
>> >That should create interest in the dumbed-down set.
>> >___________
>> >Would name change help algebra students?
>> >Posted by Dave Murray | The Grand Rapids Press July 03, 2008 11:09AM
>> >As Shakespeare wrote, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
>> >But would Algebra 2 be as difficult if it were called something else?
>> >State Sen. Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland, recently told a gathering of Kent
>> >County school board members that he believes more students would pass
>> >the upper-level math course if it were called something less scary.
>> >His theory is that students have convinced themselves that algebra is
>> >too difficult and that they throw in the towel before giving it a
>> >chance.
>>
>> Students have not convinced themselves of this; teachers
>> who do not understand algebra, and this includes most
>> algebra teachers and an even higher pro****tion of elementary
>> school teachers, think it is difficult.
>>
>Well, whenever you post this, I ask for some peer-reviewed or other
>reliable studies sup****ting your claims that most math teachers in the
>United States do not understand basic mathematical concepts such as
>basic high school-level algebra (other than the fact that your
>repeated statements that this is so).
Herman doesn't consider "basic high school-level algebra" to include
the "basic mathematical concepts" that he is talking about, which are
theoretical and abstract. He thinks that "basic high school-level
algebra" is mostly plug and chug recipes for solving problems, and
rote memorization of terminology, and he considers neither of these to
be real "mathematics".
>> The following includes essentially all of algebra, except
>> for technical terms not used at the high school level:
>>
>> A variable is a tem****ary name for something,
>> which must maintain its meaning in a given context.
>>
>> The same operation performed on equal entities
>> yields equal results.
>>
>I respectfully disagree. For whatever reason, the term *algebra* has
>taken on some mythical status as something extremely difficult and
>fear-inducing.
The reason, as I learned from raising two kids who got that attitude,
is that *algebra* IS extremely difficult and fear-inducing.
All other subjects (except the more mathematical sciences) use the
normal English language, where words have fuzzy meanings that can be
gleaned from context, and there is some overlap with the methodology
that they use in solving non-academic problems.
Mathematical language is first and foremost *precise*. Misspell a
word and people will understand you. Fail to remember a word in most
subjects, and you can talk around the word and show that you
understand. But in mathematics, every step must be followed
rigorously, and the most minor error means that you are totally and
irrecoverably wrong, unless you notice the error and start over or
backtrack. Nothing else in a kid's life works like that. Life allows
for some amount of sloppiness. Mathematics does not. Teachers don't
know how to teach this (if they realize that this is the essential
difference) and kids see it as "difficult" and ultimately not
kid-like.
>Yet without referring to it as *algebra* per se, the
>aforementioned concepts are introduced in most math curriculums in the
>4th or 5th grade (5th grade at One's school, which uses a truly awful
>math curriculum). Discussion at lunch -- One's friend: *your school
>is so far behind ours! WE'RE learning algebra!* One *We're not even
>close to algebra. We're learning about variables.*
>
>Of course, the answer is not to re-name the subject. Rather, the
>answer is to show the students that algebra isn't that difficult.
You can't show what isn't true. Mathematics is difficult unless one
first learns to appreciate precision and rigor. That may be why
skilled musicians tend to do well in math - part of becoming skilled
is learning that precision. But most kids don't stick with music for
the same reason - hours of practice learning to produce precisely the
sound you want isn't worth it to them.
lojbab
Bob LeChevalier - artificial linguist; genealogist
lojbab@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Lojban language www.lojban.org
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