Doesn't it though? I answer your post because Shane needs to hear this. But very easy to do on a spreadsheet. These kids will go through life with computers in their pockets. Early man had to count on his fingers and toes. Advanced humans had to memorize much and do math that is simple to write down with pencils and paper. Future humans will perform calculations on pocket and pad computers wirelessly linked to giant computers. They will do it by giving algebraic instructions to software. They will have no more need to utilize traditional mathematic notation than they will need their toes to count on. They will need to know how to express math in formulae. They need to know how to utilize parallel processes. That being said, of course we teach a young child to count on his fingers, then we teach older kids the rudiments of math and some multiplication tables before moving on to algebra, geometry and calculus. Tiga is right. But we must get on with ways of moving them up the ladder more quickly and that includes new ways to do old problems because it helps them get to a higher level of understanding earlier. Memorization never helped us to learn, it only aided us to get by with the technology we had. We can no longer waste too much time on memorization in school, just as it is a waste of time to teach too much script writing. Just as soon as they learn the basics, they must move on to learning how to reason. This notion is why the Chinese and 28 other countries score better than American students in math. Why fear innovation? It's not the 19th century anymore. I see more and more Indian and Chinese students filling up the graduate student rolls in the sciences and then they go on to earning the professor jobs, too. More and more Americans students are intimidated by math or way behind and FAR too many simply hate it.
Yeah I've always found you pretty fair & balanced. Cept when it comes to politics, that is. I'm not disagreeing about Chinese kids being ahead of ours; however, I have always heard that we are comparing ALL of our kids -special needs included- while they are only testing the ones continuing on after 8th grade. Have no idea if that is true or not. I know some countries are very competitive when it comes to higher education (as in high school and up) but not sure if they really make a cut after 8th grade. Louisiana (and many other states too) do offer "career diplomas". We also now offer an 8T ("T" is for transitional) class for 8th graders not cutting it but back-dooring them into HS.
Not sure why I have never looked this up on the net but figured I'd see what a quick search would turn up and it's true. http://sitemaker.umich.edu/vanschaack.356/synopsis_of_public_schools_in_china
Many countries make students earn their way to higher grades and more intellectual training. If you fall behind you go into a group with people who get a slower curriculum and no right to go on to high school or college unless you go back and earn it. No social promotions. But the fast movers get moved up quickly and are tiered by performance so that students are competing with their peers. The US is increasingly tied to an educational system geared towards the lowest common denominator, to the detriment of producing top-performing students. It's guaranteed to produce average students.
