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White supremacy culture shows up in math classrooms when...
The focus is on getting the “right” answer.
Instead...
The concept of mathematics being purely objective is unequivocally false, and teaching it is even much less so. Upholding the idea that there are always right and wrong answers perpetuate objectivity as well as fear of open conflict.
Math IS about getting the right answer. 2 + 2 = 4. What do you tell the student who says "3." Do you say "The correct answer is 4" so that now they know or do you "Very good, all answers are equally valid if you feel that way."
If they disapprove of anything, it's certainly "fear of open conflict." They have only just enough intellectual capacity to make problems for other people around them.
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"I don't understand. But I don't care, so it works out."
(set 9 days ago)
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I read through the curriculum linked in the article that is used for the teacher training.
I can't understand what they're talking about, literally. There were NO examples of teaching this _____ is bad, teach it this way instead.
It was all big ideas, and confusing statements.
I do totally agree with the idea that students shouldn't have to show their work, unless they're consistently getting the wrong answer. There are usually MANY ways to work a math problem, and teachers tend to teach one method and require the students to show that work and use that system. But that's not racist, it's just stifling.
For example, in 2nd grade here they're teaching the concept of "get to ten". So if you have to add 8 + 4, you figure out which number is the closest to ten, and make it ten by subtracting that amount from the other number. Now, you have 10 +2, which is 12. Woe be to the student who has memorized that 8 +4 =12, he has no advantage over everyone else. Now he has to go backwards in his efficiency and create more work for himself by getting to 10. Just because they are forcing the kids to use only one method.
AND, much of math is approximation. How long does it take a 5 year old to walk a mile? How large a roast should I buy for a dinner party of 15? How far before an intersection should I place warning signs? How much time will it take a crew of 8 to frame the house?
For example, in 2nd grade here they're teaching the concept of "get to ten". So if you have to add 8 + 4, you figure out which number is the closest to ten, and make it ten by subtracting that amount from the other number. Now, you have 10 +2, which is 12. Woe be to the student who has memorized that 8 +4 =12, he has no advantage over everyone else. Now he has to go backwards in his efficiency and create more work for himself by getting to 10. Just because they are forcing the kids to use only one method
This is exactly the kind of crap that confused the hell out of my daughter. This or "regroupings" using bar graph segments or some such.
"Daddy, I don't understand what all this is."
"Sweetie, just carry the one. That's all they're trying to show you."
"Oh Well then why don't they just say 'carry the one?'"
"Good question. I don't know."
It got to the point where we had to ask her math teacher to give her credit for the right answer no matter how she got there as long as she could show how she got there. At first she refused so we had to get an IEP just to force the school to let her do math the "right" way.
I do totally agree with the idea that students shouldn't have to show their work, unless they're consistently getting the wrong answer. There are usually MANY ways to work a math problem, and teachers tend to teach one method and require the students to show that work and use that system. But that's not racist, it's just stifling.
The main reason for showing work (at least with my students) is so that if they get the wrong answer they will receive partial credit, assuming they at least did something right. If not, they just get a zero on that problem.
So isn't getting half credit for a "half-done-right" problem better than getting a goose egg and the instructor has absolutely NO idea why the student got the problem wrong, thus has absolutely NO way of helping straighten out the student's incorrect thinking on the solution process?
Your comment is like telling a car mechanic to fix an ailing car, but not allowing him/her to diagnose the problem first. It's nearly impossible to fix something when you have no idea what is wrong with it.
And "fixing" a student who is consistently doing a type of problem incorrectly (assuming it's not just a simple miscalculation) is a thought modification process. It's almost like a psychiatrist with a patient: the "doctor" has to know what the "patient" is thinking before a "diagnosis" can be made, and "treatment" administered.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bitey
This is exactly the kind of crap that confused the hell out of my daughter. This or "regroupings" using bar graph segments or some such.
"Daddy, I don't understand what all this is."
"Sweetie, just carry the one. That's all they're trying to show you."
"Oh Well then why don't they just say 'carry the one?'"
"Good question. I don't know."
It got to the point where we had to ask her math teacher to give her credit for the right answer no matter how she got there as long as she could show how she got there. At first she refused so we had to get an IEP just to force the school to let her do math the "right" way.
I run into that sort of thing quite often (as a university math instructor). I'm generally able to show them the efficient way to do the simple arithmetic (much to their relief), but it gets frustrating because I shouldn't have to. It should have been shown back in second grade. There is absolutely no reason to teach contorted "Rube Goldberg machine" math. It's a disability for students who then have to take college algebra or higher and take ten times longer to do simple computational things that they shouldn't really even have to think much about.
I can't count the number of times I've had a student say, "Why didn't they show me that in the first place?" And I have no answer that I can actually vocalize. I can't say, "Because the people making these choices are morons."
Yeah, we wouldn't want to put any emphasis in science and engineering on accuracy, would we? That would be racist.
Why did the nuclear power plant just blow up and kill a hundred thousand people? Well... little Johnny the Nuclear Engineer never was very good at getting the right answer with his math.
It seems math is the one topic that drives the lefties nuts at this point. It's one topic that no matter how hard they try to say otherwise, there IS a right and a wrong answer. That really pizzes them off because they have screwed every other intellectual endeavor up. But they can't get to math. So what do they do? Well, they just say... "Okay, let's just not worry about getting the right answer anymore. That way we can dumb it down to the level we've dumbed everything else down."
Care to explain the precise difference? What is "racist math instruction"? Calling the students names? Pointing out skin color in the classroom? What exactly? And what is "non-racist" math instruction. Tell you one thing, in math the ONLY thing that matters is getting the right answer. If you take that away, there is no point of even having a math class.
Yeah what is racist math instruction- like how would you go about teaching math in a racist way? Finding the right answer in math is the whole point, that is not racist.
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"“If a thing loves, it is infinite.”"
(set 4 days ago)
Location: Great Britain
27,185 posts, read 13,469,799 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisC
Yeah, we wouldn't want to put any emphasis in science and engineering on accuracy, would we? That would be racist.
Why did the nuclear power plant just blow up and kill a hundred thousand people? Well... little Johnny the Nuclear Engineer never was very good at getting the right answer with his math.
It seems math is the one topic that drives the lefties nuts at this point. It's one topic that no matter how hard they try to say otherwise, there IS a right and a wrong answer. That really pizzes them off because they have screwed every other intellectual endeavor up. But they can't get to math. So what do they do? Well, they just say... "Okay, let's just not worry about getting the right answer anymore. That way we can dumb it down to the level we've dumbed everything else down."
Totally Agree.
It also should be noted that Liberal Arts Colleges are few and far between outside of the US, and that most large research intensive universities usually developed as a result of industrialisation and the industry around them.
Liberal Arts Colleges are full of progressive liberals, who like to go on about being strong Wellesley women etc, indeed Hillary Clinton is a case in point.
Those type of people really get on my nerves, and also get on the nerves of a lot of ordinary peoples nerves, who didn't attend such elitist institutions.
Germany does it right, as it has a lot of apprenticeships linked to industry and higher education, and the link between business and industry is important as are STEM and business/industry related courses.
Last edited by Brave New World; 02-14-2021 at 06:34 AM..
The main reason for showing work (at least with my students) is so that if they get the wrong answer they will receive partial credit, assuming they at least did something right. If not, they just get a zero on that problem.
So isn't getting half credit for a "half-done-right" problem better than getting a goose egg and the instructor has absolutely NO idea why the student got the problem wrong, thus has absolutely NO way of helping straighten out the student's incorrect thinking on the solution process?
Your comment is like telling a car mechanic to fix an ailing car, but not allowing him/her to diagnose the problem first. It's nearly impossible to fix something when you have no idea what is wrong with it.
And "fixing" a student who is consistently doing a type of problem incorrectly (assuming it's not just a simple miscalculation) is a thought modification process. It's almost like a psychiatrist with a patient: the "doctor" has to know what the "patient" is thinking before a "diagnosis" can be made, and "treatment" administered.
I run into that sort of thing quite often (as a university math instructor). I'm generally able to show them the efficient way to do the simple arithmetic (much to their relief), but it gets frustrating because I shouldn't have to. It should have been shown back in second grade. There is absolutely no reason to teach contorted "Rube Goldberg machine" math. It's a disability for students who then have to take college algebra or higher and take ten times longer to do simple computational things that they shouldn't really even have to think much about.
I can't count the number of times I've had a student say, "Why didn't they show me that in the first place?" And I have no answer that I can actually vocalize. I can't say, "Because the people making these choices are morons."
Thank you for explaining this so beautifully. I work with kids who have IEPs fairly often. Seeing how they do the work, ie. 'show your work', is SO important.
One thing I will say about "convoluted" math, in other words, many of the Common Core methods like partial products for multiplication - is that it does sometimes help kids understand the underlying concepts behind things like 'carry the one', or 'multiply the ones column by the tens column'. That said, it needs to be taught briefly in the beginning, not taught as THE way to solve problems.
In rare cases, 'show your work' can sometimes be taken to extremes. If a kid takes something like this simple equation: -y=2x-5, and rewrites y=-2x+5 without showing they multiplied the equation by -1, they shouldn't be penalized. Yes, I have actually seen a teacher take off half a point for not showing that step.
We have seen from the left dropping math requirements from schools and colleges.
We have seen from the left ideas like grading math based on race.
We have seen from the left ideas to teach less math and more social justice.
We have seen from the left a denial of the statistics on math scores for the SAT/ACT and the real world implication in order to push a SJW message that can't be made considering the actual statistics.
Excerpt: " Those include "the focus is on getting the 'right' answer,"
Response: Opinion
Getting the right answer is not racist. Getting the right answer is progress for humanity.
This ridiculousness thinking will result in fewer racist rockets leaving
the earth's atmosphere while non racist rockets explode on the launchpad. ( Sarcasm )
Think....Deep Think.....
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