Reply to Interesting Article about Math in the World Today.

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[quote=pettifogger][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The article is pretty spot on. This is probably the largest root cause:

[quote]One likely reason: U.S. high schools teach math differently than other countries. [b]Classes here often focus on formulas and procedures rather than teaching students to think creatively about solving complex problems involving all sorts of mathematics[/b], experts said.[/quote]
I highly doubt the above will change anytime soon. Most teachers and parents do not even know what mathematics is, they think it is procedural and rote and it's all about calculations. In fact the exact opposite is true. Math is about imagination, creativity, problem solving and proof (i.e the art of explanation). In general our culture does not support thinking deeply and creatively about things, it instead opts for acceleration coupled with a superficial understanding (certainly in math class, if not in school in general). As a teacher, I can find and pose numerous examples of elementary problems (i.e given/shown to elementary students and only requiring the most basic tools) to many high school students and they would have a very hard time solving them, or not be able to at all. This proves that problem solving in our math classes is almost nonexistent, which is corroborated by the abysmal average SAT scores nationwide.

Oh, and the "geometry sandwich" is absolutely real:

[quote]Most American high schools teach algebra I in ninth grade, geometry in 10th grade and algebra II in 11th grade – something Boaler calls “the geometry sandwich. Other countries teach three straight years of integrated math – I, II and III — in which concepts of algebra, geometry, probability, statistics and data science are taught together, allowing students to take deep dives into complex problems.”[/quote]

The lack of understanding of geometry (by both students and teachers) is so bad that it was hilariously featured in a chapter from a famous problem solving book a couple of years back called "Geometry for Americans" :

https://imgur.com/a/76qSUlh[/quote]

Although MCPS still calls the sequence Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra2 it actually is integrated math and should be renamed--there are algebra topics all three years, there are geometry topics all three years. Plenty of other districts actually have renamed the classes.  Plenty of other school districts, e.g. California, have renamed the classes.  Now, the topics covered in MCPS are more cursory compared to what was covered in algebra/geometry a generation ago, but students are hitting the classes younger--the target is 80% in Algebra 1 by 8th grade.

There's plenty wrong with math education in the US but the article sounds out of date.[/quote]

There is definitely no geometry being done in algebra classes, that is a myth.[/quote]

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