My view: Kentucky doesn't get it when it comes to critical thinking in math
In response to article:
Kentucky: Math aid program would be expensive Should they spend money on an expensive computer program for students instead of on more traditional methods?
My View (*on their message board*)
Actually, this goes for all schools, not just the state of Kentucky.
They should spend the money on teachers and time in the classroom. Students like computers - but they view them as games, not as education tools. They will forget 'playing' the computer program much sooner than they will sitting down with a real person and finding out why the math problem is so hard for them.
This coming from a computer programmer -- programs make good visual and calculating tools and reinforcements but are not a replacement, by any means, for a real person when it comes to the fundamentals.
I am 26 years old - and learned best from a teacher who taught algebra in several different ways at once. He showed that there was more than one way of visualizing a problem - in numbers, graphics and words He then related the specific math process we were studying to previous chapters, science and business. Critical thinking skills like these are what our students need in all of their subjects - to "learn how to learn"(not how to punch keys and look at the screen to see if they got it right).
By the way - that teacher was my stepfather, an ex-Marine and truck driver. He saved me from repeating the seventh grade by looking at WHY the math wasn't sinking in - what mistakes I was making over and over - then finding a way to show me the key steps I had missed in the school teacher's explanation.
Interacting with your kids when they want to learn something will last a lifetime. Otherwise, they will simply be frustrated and feel like no one cares whether they pass or fail.
**Without my dad, I wouldn't have cared about learning math. Without math, I would have never continued on to a career in computer programming and web development.**
Kentucky: Math aid program would be expensive Should they spend money on an expensive computer program for students instead of on more traditional methods?
My View (*on their message board*)
Actually, this goes for all schools, not just the state of Kentucky.
They should spend the money on teachers and time in the classroom. Students like computers - but they view them as games, not as education tools. They will forget 'playing' the computer program much sooner than they will sitting down with a real person and finding out why the math problem is so hard for them.
This coming from a computer programmer -- programs make good visual and calculating tools and reinforcements but are not a replacement, by any means, for a real person when it comes to the fundamentals.
I am 26 years old - and learned best from a teacher who taught algebra in several different ways at once. He showed that there was more than one way of visualizing a problem - in numbers, graphics and words He then related the specific math process we were studying to previous chapters, science and business. Critical thinking skills like these are what our students need in all of their subjects - to "learn how to learn"(not how to punch keys and look at the screen to see if they got it right).
By the way - that teacher was my stepfather, an ex-Marine and truck driver. He saved me from repeating the seventh grade by looking at WHY the math wasn't sinking in - what mistakes I was making over and over - then finding a way to show me the key steps I had missed in the school teacher's explanation.
Interacting with your kids when they want to learn something will last a lifetime. Otherwise, they will simply be frustrated and feel like no one cares whether they pass or fail.
**Without my dad, I wouldn't have cared about learning math. Without math, I would have never continued on to a career in computer programming and web development.**
posted by RheLynn at 12:06 PM
1 Comments:
Hi, I follow knitowl and checked out this site of yours. Do you still design websites?
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