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No, they won't. Kids struggled with math back before calculators were invented. They couldn't get the fundamentals, beyond grade school.
What "kids" are you referring to? Because have stood in line being persons >60 years old in supermarkets who could "make change" in their heads while the check-out kid/person (usually <25) cannot get the correct answer even with a calculator.
Fact of the matter is math education in this country started going down hill because of arguments like yours. Instead of teaching math and its basic principles the way it had been done for ages (with much rote memorization) we now have all this "feel good" math where nothing matters as long as the correct answer is reached. That is all very well but using calculators and various fuzzy methods of doing math fails to reinforce how our minds work with numbers. If children aren't made to learn know times tables, long division, working with decimals and fractions and so forth in grade school higher math will be a struggle.
Each level of math builds upon the previous. Once you understand how things work working with numbers (doing math) becomes quite easy. It explains why retired nurses who are 80 years or older can crank out answers to medical dosage orders while 20 somethings need a calculator.
We now have two, three or more generations of precious snowflakes who have "A" grades in math from primary and high school, but cannot handle college 100 level math. So they are sent to remedial classes where they have plenty of company.
Many US high school students cannot solve math problems from Asian primary schools.
Depends where in Asia.
Ever notice how China chooses to allow only three regions to represent the entire country?
Did you know that China excludes about 17% of the student population in major cities from continuing their education and therefore engaging in testing and do so because of legacy caste systems?
Imagine how different the US would compare if only the three top states participated in comparisons and they excluded some minorities, just because.
Imagine a country with out any national expectations for education. The top students in one district are not equal to the top students in another district within the same state, let alone across states.
Common Core standards were designed to better prepare students to compete internationally with a common expectation. HOW and WHAT is left to the states and districts within, to decide. It will take at least a generation to see improvement. Sadly, it seems the US will likely abandon Common Core because it exposes state and district vulnerabilities.
Little Johnny used to read well. He was taught to memorize key facts and use those facts to answer test questions, not the same thing as understanding what he read. Suddenly, with Common Core, little Johnny is struggling. Well he used to do well, so the problem is Common Core, eh. Never mind Johnny does not understand what he reads.
It's no surprise that about 50% of those who attend college do not finish. They tend to blame it on the cost of education, as opposed to not being able to keep up. It's no surprise that some who finish college are unable to obtain well paying jobs because they chose majors with little to no opportunities for employment.
It's no surprise that about 50% of those who attend college do not finish. They tend to blame it on the cost of education, as opposed to not being able to keep up. It's no surprise that some who finish college are unable to obtain well paying jobs because they chose majors with little to no opportunities for employment.
That number has remained unchanged for decades going back to well before the current "College For All" push. What has changed is the number of high school graduates going to college, from 20% fifty years ago to just under 66% today.
Retired nurses can "crank out" dosages because that's what they did for their job for 40 years. They also basically just have a lookup table in their head. If you ask them how many mg of tramadol to give to a 2000 lb elephant they won't be able to give you the answer, even if they just gave a 200 pound guy 100mg.
What "kids" are you referring to? Because have stood in line being persons >60 years old in supermarkets who could "make change" in their heads while the check-out kid/person (usually <25) cannot get the correct answer even with a calculator.
Fact of the matter is math education in this country started going down hill because of arguments like yours. Instead of teaching math and its basic principles the way it had been done for ages (with much rote memorization) we now have all this "feel good" math where nothing matters as long as the correct answer is reached. That is all very well but using calculators and various fuzzy methods of doing math fails to reinforce how our minds work with numbers. If children aren't made to learn know times tables, long division, working with decimals and fractions and so forth in grade school higher math will be a struggle.
Each level of math builds upon the previous. Once you understand how things work working with numbers (doing math) becomes quite easy. It explains why retired nurses who are 80 years or older can crank out answers to medical dosage orders while 20 somethings need a calculator.
We now have two, three or more generations of precious snowflakes who have "A" grades in math from primary and high school, but cannot handle college 100 level math. So they are sent to remedial classes where they have plenty of company.
Notice that I said people weren't able to understand math beyond the gradeschool level. Making change in your head is a grade school function. Math education didn't "start" going downhill recently. It's never worked past that basic level. People have always struggled with higher math: algebra and beyond. I don't know any 20-somethings who can't do elementary math.
Notice that I said people weren't able to understand math beyond the gradeschool level. Making change in your head is a grade school function. Math education didn't "start" going downhill recently. It's never worked past that basic level. People have always struggled with higher math: algebra and beyond. I don't know any 20-somethings who can't do elementary math.
I believe that part of this is developmental. I struggled with math in high school passing with D's. I kept taking math because I kind of liked it but it was a challenge. I didn't think I was any good at school and didn't go to college right away. When I started college at 25 they sent me back to algebra, which was a cake walk where it had been very hard before. Something changed from the time I was in high school until I entered college that had nothing to do with what I was taught. My brain worked differently (I did have a stroke at 19 but I doubt that is responsible for the difference here). I remember younger students telling me to wait until I got to calculus. THAT is where I fell in love with math. Math that you were expected to understand that made sense on a real world level. To me it was an endless supply of puzzles to solve. One of my profs used to kick me out of the room before going over some of the more difficult problems telling me "You need to figure this out on your own".
I cringe when I see younger and younger students pushed into classes like algebra and geometry. I doubt they're learning all they could because I suspect they're not developmentally ready for those math classes.
Math these days is all about getting the right answer, not HOW to get the right answer. What do teachers expect giving kids math books without the answers in the back? By doing this the kids learn the WRONG way of solving the problems because they can't check their work then have to un-learn it and re-learn the right way.
Math education didn't "start" going downhill recently. It's never worked past that basic level. People have always struggled with higher math: algebra and beyond.
They have? Not sure I agree with this. (And I don't think of algebra as higher level math.)
Is it possible that Singapore education works because the students are primarily middle class Chinese and Indian?
Is it possible that we are reproducing/importing more kids from dumber stock?
Is it possible that 'rotten schools' have 'rotten students' rather than 'rotten teachers'?
You may say that I'm a dreamer, but am I the only one?
Last edited by Greymatter46; 04-30-2016 at 04:07 PM..
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