|
|
Re: Adding Fractions
Posted:
Jun 18, 1997 5:27 PM
|
|
I propose that we all chip in and buy domenico rosa a time machine so he
can go back to this golden era when everything was perfect and all work was
done in a neat fashion even though no one had any idea of what they were
doing and when they made a mistake they couldn't recognize it because even
though their steps were very neat maybe they really weren't the right steps
but then who would know because we don't need to know only do these steps
very neatly and god forbid that we use trial-and-error because then even if
we did in fact get a correct answer and were able to recognize it was
correct it was all a waste of time because we forgot to write down all
those steps in a neat fashion but then again maybe once I figure out the
answer I could go back and write down some neat and orderly steps that end
up giving that right answer and so I could get credit for what I already
knew but the steps really are the point aren't they especially if they are
particularly neat because that's what mathematics is all about ask anyone
it's about neat and orderly steps. Thank you for your kind attention I just
had to get that out no time for punctuation. Gary
At 16:37 -0400 6/18/97, domenico rosa wrote:
>Tad Watanabe wrote:
>>
>> I wonder if you were concerned about (or interested in) understanding how
>> to add fractions of how to get correct answers.
>>
>
>When I attended the no-frills public schools in Everett, Massachusetts, we
>were supposed to write down, in a neat fashion, all the steps and all the
>calculations that we used in obtaining answers. Simply writing down the
>correct answer was absolutely unacceptable.
>
>Today, one of the "problem-solving strategies" that is promoted widely and
>is very popular with many students is guess-and-check. This used to be
>called trial-and-error and was also unacceptable.
>
>This type of flimflam is an outgrowth of the idiotic, time-constrained,
>multiple-choice tests that have mushroomed during the past 30 years. In
>West Hartford, Connecticut, these tests are being used mindlessly by
>pseudo-educators to identify students for the so-called gifted-and-talented
>programs in elementary schools and for the so-called honors courses that
>start in middle schools.
>
>In a previous posting, I mentioned Enoch Haga's book, "Before the Apple
>Drops", which provides an interesting expose of the demise of the U.S.
>public school system.
>
>Dom Rosa
|
|
