At our recent faculty meeting we were informed that the say we teach math is going through another transformation under the Common Core Curriculum (CCC).
We were supposed to have a video sent out by the district but they could not find it. Instead we had a confusing power-point presentation. It seemed a bit vague but that is a key method of the elites as they dumb down our children. The old, time tested, progression of Algebra, Geometry and Algebra II will not longer be followed. Now the classes will be labeled Math I, Math II and so forth. The different aspects of math will be mixed together and taught in a different progression. A lot of the abstract concepts that young minds are not ready for will be presented in the earlier years of education.
Okay. In principle I don’t have any trouble with finding a new and better way to teach math. The issue for me is that educators don’t have a good track record on finding new and better ways to do anything. Does “whole language” mean anything to you? Remember the “new” math? These were previous new insights. The new ways of doing things have required dumbing down of text books and falling test scores for years. Why do I have a hard time believing this will be better.
What it does is stir the pot so the non-initiated cannot compare new with old. It develops new jargon and changes the meaning of old terms. It takes words you thought you understood and makes them have different meaning. It makes you compare apples with oranges. We won’t know the results until we find ourselves in competition with other nations in designing the technology of the future. Then it will be too late.
I have always wondered why we need to constantly be rewriting math text books. It seems to me that algebra is algebra. I have found that even though I have not had a math class since high school I can still teach algebra and geometry if I start at the beginning of the book. I know the subject but I don’t know the latest jargon. Most of us find ourselves in the middle of the book wondering what is wrong with us.
If you can vote to end the changes going on in public education then do so. If not, maybe you can afford private school or will invest the time in home school.
homo unius libri
Mathematical principles never change, but then neither does God, and people keep trying to redefine Him.
ReplyDeleteThat is a good point. I wonder how much correlation there is between the people trying o redo both.
DeleteGrace and peace.