Monday, June 1, 2009

Here is my conundrum: lots of folks bemoan their math education, claiming it was boring or rote that they were often confused, and were left with little passion to pursue mathematics further.  Yet many default to those same methods, even when presented with more engaging options.
Why? Any thoughts?
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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 2, 2009 at 8:56 PM

    I think that many parents were so traumatized by their own math experiences that they have low expectations for their children. How many teachers have heard parents say "I was never very good at math." Consequently they hope for "just the facts" for their children because they are not sure their children will be able to grasp the concepts and they are also uncertain about what role they could play in this new type of learning. This is exactly why teachers need to maintain high expectations in spite of others' resistance.

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  2. janetJune 6, 2009 at 10:15 AM

    I see a definite lack of conceptual understanding among the teachers, even the ones with math degrees. Many of them easily learned the math through procedures and understand it at this superficial level but can't explain the concept behind it. They are the ones who should sign up for the CaMSP training but their pride/ego prevents them. They shy away from attempts at learning new information and instead, simply teach to the future math teachers and leave everyone else behind.

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