* * * * *
                                        
                      Basket weaving for the math teachers
                                        
> Carson said long division “was completely excised from the programs for
> quite a while until the backlash got so large that they at least had to
> make nods toward teaching it.
> 
> “In 5th grade they're still drawing pictures to solve problems in
> multiplication and division.”
> 
> Her son, who attends the public schools in New York City, was drawing
> clumps of sticks to solve multiplication problems in the 6^th grade, she
> said.
> 
> In the 7^th grade, he and his classmates were asked to find the area of a
> circle. Four weeks were devoted to the task. Traditionally, children were
> given the formula, but apparently these junior Archimedes were supposed to
> rediscover the uses of pi.
> 

Via Gene Expression [1], “View: The ideology of math education [2]”

This article was linked to by Gene Expression [3] in a long follow-up about
anti-racist math [4] (I kid you not), who also posted an entry with the
syllabus from a gradulate level multi-cultural math class [5], involving …
well … 

> The julekurv is a Norwegian Christmas basket. The Norwegians fill these
> baskets with treats and put the filled baskets on their Christmas trees for
> family and friends. You may want to make a basket for any holiday, such
> Valentine's Day, or for no special day at all. In any case, you will
> beautiful, hand-made object.
> 

“Multi-Cultural Math— Teaching the Teachers [6]”

Basket weaving.

In a gradulate level course!

As I stated last month [7], can't we just torch the educational system now?

Please?

[1] http://www.gnxp.com/MT2/archives/003450.html
[2] http://www.gnxp.com/MT2/archives/003450.html
[3] http://www.scienceblogs.com/gnxp/
[4] http://www.gnxp.com/MT2/archives/003450.html
[5] http://www.gnxp.com/MT2/archives/003499.html
[6] http://www.gnxp.com/MT2/archives/003499.html
[7] gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2006/02/19.1

Email Sean Conner at sean@conman.org

.