Matt Townsley

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  Matt commented on the article | over 2 years ago

  Simple Math

  Lockhart's commentary is a classic in math education.  I appreciated one of the snippets you highlighted, Bruce... "We learn things because they interest us now, not because they might be useful later. But this is exactly what we are asking children to do with math...Of course it can be done, but I think it ultimately does more harm than good. Much better to wait until their own natural curiosity about numbers kicks in."...but it seems to go against so much of the daily grind of public education, i.e. curriculum mapping, assessments, instructional decision making, etc. I wonder how/if we can make this big shift? Have other countries already done so?  Are there other schools making this change?  In theory I agree that we need more of these "teachable moments," but I've struggled to find ongoing models of this philosophy in our current system.  Doesn't mean it can't happen though...