Sunday, July 8, 2012
common core math
oh my.
let's take a breath and read descartes - no?
let's take a breath - and realize - we're missing the core.. it's not math topics - it's common sense..
the math that matters most - is mathematical thinking - which is natural to a curious mind.. a curious mind... set free.
compulsion is ruining us..
let's notice that.. no?
why are we measuring people, esp our children by test scores (timms, pisa) about math.
6:20 - that most matters to later math performance - do we really want that?
fluency (speed and accuracy? really - not when we decide what to be fluent in, plenty of research on this, who's picking the ones that matter most - that's what matters),
understanding (so again - looking at hong kong - because they are high performing at math - and why is that our standard of measure again? for topics in math - ie: rationalizing a denominator - something maybe 10%of the people in the world will ever use/need)
application (a funny way - math app - you have capacity to know when and how to solve, hmm.. so let's flip that.. let's let curiosity drive need - and focus on - do you know what to do when you don't know what to do - rather than - let's make sure you know this laundry list of math topics - then find out who you are and what you need)
if we want people to become indispensable - to put the 10,000 hours in, to have grit, it's got to be per choice, not per compulsion
at end - he says....so we ask you - and the standards require - that students have this dual capacity around what matters most...
who decides what matters most - that's a big question.. let's start there..
hmm...