TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Letter: Change the mode of teaching math
This is in a reference to “RI still fares poorly in math and science, survey shows”, (The Jakarta Post, Dec
Change Size
This is in a reference to “RI still fares poorly in math and science, survey shows”, (The Jakarta Post, Dec. 9).
This poor trend persists in spite of new texts, standardized tests with attached implied threats, or laptops in the class.
At some point, maybe we should admit that math, as it is taught currently and in the recent past, seems irrelevant to a large percentage of grade school kids.
Why blame a sixth grade student or teacher trapped by meaningless lessons? Teachers are frustrated. Students check out.
The missing element is reality. Instead of insisting that students learn another 16 formulae, we need to involve them in tangible life projects. And the task must be interesting.
A Trip to the Number Yard is a math book focusing on the building of a bungalow. Odd numbered chapters cover the phases of the project: lot layout, foundation, framing, all the way through until the trim out. The even numbered-chapters introduce the math needed for the next stage of building and/or review the previous lessons.
This type of project-oriented math engages kids. It is fun. They have a reason to learn the math they may have ignored in the standard lecture format of a class room.
If we really want kids to learn math and to have the lessons be
valuable, we need to change the mode of teaching. Our kids can master
the math that most adults need. We can’t continue to have class rooms
full of math drudges. Instead, we need to change our teaching tactics
with real life projects.
Alan Cook
Eureka, California
