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Re: Ability grouping (was:Re: Affective learning in mathematics; What is math?)
Posted:
Dec 24, 1996 5:26 PM
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In article <59nk1c$dmn@nntp.interaccess.com>,
Philip Cain <philcain@orelle.com> wrote:
>scott@math.csuohio.edu (Brian M. Scott) wrote:
>>In article <59ii6u$q18@nntp.interaccess.com>, philcain@orelle.com says...
>>[snip]
>>>Brian,
>>>What is your view of the purpose of elementary education?
>>I take its primary purpose to be the development of the intellect,
>>with all that that entails. One can argue over the extent of that
>>brief, and I'm not terribly fussy about the details; but I do insist
>>that the first concern of education is the *mind*.
>A threoretical question, then. If the mind is the centerpiece,
>doesn't it stand to reason that an elementary teacher should want to
>know all there is to know about the development of the brain?
Not really. Knowing about the biology of the development of the
brain may help a little, or it may not. If the teacher takes the
attitude that all brains develop at the same rate, it will hurt
many.
But even if one knows how the brain develops, it develops by the
acquisition of knowledge and ability. If the teacher does not
understand the material to be taught, nothing else is going to
make much of a difference.
If the teacher understands the material, even without knowing the
biology, the results are more likely to be good.
--
This address is for information only. I do not claim that these views
are those of the Statistics Department or of Purdue University.
Herman Rubin, Dept. of Statistics, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette IN47907-1399
hrubin@stat.purdue.edu Phone: (317)494-6054 FAX: (317)494-0558
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