Wednesday, March 11, 2009

PhD Mathematician's view of middle school math.. Michael Stiber @ UW Bothell

http://www.wheresthemath.com/blog/2009/02/04/michael-stiber-comments/

I cannot emphasize this point enough: if a student has not been prepared to succeed in calculus by high school graduation time, it is much less likely that he or she will be able to have some of the most rewarding careers.

Why are students having trouble in calculus? The biggest reason is a lack of facility with algebra, and by this I mean the ability to solve algebraic equations by symbolic manipulation. Let me describe what children are taught instead.

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