Category Archives: math

Comments on Zearn’s “Myth of the Math Kid”

https://time.com/7008332/math-kid-myth-essay/ I really find these kinds of articles tiresome, because the accusations or “myths” as expressed by Shalinee Sharma, are assumptions made by people who are generalizing about all math teaching in order to peddle their programs. The first myth … Continue reading

Posted in Curriculum & Instruction, Education journalism, Joye Walker, K-12, math, Mathematics, STEM | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mississippi: Progress Commanding Attention or Outright Miracle?

Due to comments from others about Mississippi, I thought it would be useful to post a short message with some of the data I have been looking at recently that tells me while Mississippi’s educational improvements are not in the … Continue reading

Posted in Curriculum & Instruction, Education journalism, K-12, math, Mathematics, Richard Innes, US Education Department | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Iowa Academic Standards Hold Teachers Hostage

By Joye Walker I retired more than a year ago, giving me many months to process the discomfort I felt in my last few years of teaching. It was a difficult time for many reasons, but one big reason stands … Continue reading

Posted in Common Core, Curriculum & Instruction, Joye Walker, K-12, math, Mathematics, STEM | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The absolute worst “real world” problem I have ever encountered

by Joye Walker It was in the UCSMP Algebra 2 book and I encountered it during my first year of teaching. Here was the opening linear programming example. *** Stuart Dent decided to investigate one of his typical meals, fried … Continue reading

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Do We Still Need Public Schools?

Sandra Stotsky, April 2022 Do we still want a chief policy maker in in the Department of Education with little classroom teaching experience beyond grade 5 who has never administered a middle or high school? No particular ethnicity or race … Continue reading

Posted in College prep, Curriculum & Instruction, Education Reform, K-12, math, reading, Sandra Stotsky | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Stanford Professor Jo Boaler’s Math Revolution and War Against Algebra 2

Recently, Stanford GSE professor Jo Boaler, the foremost champion for reform math, has scaled up her campaign to displace algebra 2 with “data science” in American high schools: https://www.salon.com/2020/09/26/teaching-data-science-instead-of-calculus-high-schools-math-debate/?fbclid=IwAR2_EUTcMIrSEK2Y2HffJchGn4EKZ7IQOK4ePvGxttvl407m2Oo8Ut8nj7Q. For decades, Stanford University has lent its prestigious fame to help … Continue reading

Posted in constructivism, Curriculum & Instruction, K-12, math, Mathematics | 2 Comments

Breaking the Spell of Math Reformists

by Ling Huang, Palo Alto, California In “My Childhood Schooling In The Soviet Union Was Better Than My Kids’ In U.S. Public Schools Today,” https://thefederalist.com/2019/08/27/childhood-schooling-in-soviet-union-better-than-u-s-public-schools-today/  Katya Sedgwick wrote, “Math was the dissident’s favorite in the Soviet Union. It was believed that … Continue reading

Posted in constructivism, Curriculum & Instruction, K-12, math, Mathematics | 1 Comment

Romanian officials’ nonchalant reaction to 2018 PISA results

Juan A. Martinez Constanta, Romania Two Romanian officials have reacted publicly to the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results. They appear to be unfazed by the results. This is atypical for persons responsible for national education quality. Their … Continue reading

Posted in International Tests, Juan A. Martinez, K-12, math, OECD, reading, Testing/Assessment | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Wayne Bishop’s observations on the Aspen Ideas Festival session, “Is Math Important?”

Editors’ Note: David Leonhardt is Washington Bureau Chief for the New York Times, won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on economic issues, and majored in applied mathematics as an undergraduate at Yale. Mr. Leonhardt chaired the panel, “Deep Dive: … Continue reading

Posted in Education Fraud, K-12, math, Mathematics, Wayne Bishop | Leave a comment

David Coleman in Charge

Wayne Bishop recently made me aware of the unfortunately completely one-sided discussion of US mathematics education at the recent Aspen Ideas Festival. David Leonhardt is Washington Bureau Chief for the New York Times, won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting … Continue reading

Posted in College prep, Common Core, Education policy, K-12, math, Mathematics, Richard P. Phelps, Testing/Assessment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Wayne Bishop’s Response to Ratner and Wu (Wall Street Journal)

Making Math Education Even Worse, by Marina Ratner, http://online.wsj.com/articles/marina-ratner-making-math-education-even-worse-1407283282 ———————————————— Dear Hung-Hsi, It pains me to write but in spite of all of your precollegiate mathematics education knowledge and contributions, Prof. Ratner got it right and you “missed the boat” … Continue reading

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