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Topic:
outer space
Replies:
1
Last Post:
Jul 9, 1995 12:57 PM
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Re: outer space
Posted:
Jul 9, 1995 12:57 PM
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On Sun, 9 Jul 1995 DoctorCHEK@aol.com wrote:
> [[[[[[[[> >"Anything worth doing is worth doing badly" > > > > Once again, the point of this expression is not that one should do things > badly. It is that it is better to try and fail than to not try until > conditions are perfect.]]]]]]]] > > > To which I (once again) must respond that if we launch the space shuttle > prior to conditions being optimal, we may watch the entire space program blow > up. > Harv Becker > Mathematics instruction is not an exact science. No one gets killed by an error in pedagogy. And the space program was launched on far more tenuous grounds than the NCTM reforms. The miracle is that we lost as few astronauts as we did. The Challenger explosion occurred in spite of caution; the primary causes were corruption/shoddy quality control and over-confidence based on past success. And if we'd waited for optimal conditions, we might never have gotten anything off the ground. Life is a judgment call and involves constant risk taking. If you're arguing that the NCTM reforms are ill-founded and hastily implemented, let's hear some evidence. Otherwise, my point stands: we'll NEVER be in optimal position to implement change - at least not to the satisfaction of the most conservative among us.
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Michael Paul Goldenberg University of Michigan 310 E. Cross St. 4001 School of Education Ypsilanti, MI 48198 Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1259 (313) 482-9585 (313) 747-2244 email: mikegold@umich.edu
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