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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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