Meet the New Common Core

sylvan8798
Thu, 18 Jun 2015 14:45:34 +0000

koshkas:

Math helped and helps our understanding of universe and is derived from stories but they don’t study history of math in school - they barely have time to cover fractions and equations.
Subjects in school (and in college and people’s different specializations at work) are separated for a reason. While they do intersect (especially in higher level courses), kids need to know their basic facts and master basic skills first before they can combine them and apply to each other.

While I agree that students need to master basic skills, one of the problems with the separation of subjects is that they often don’t see how any of this is relevant to them or to what interests them. “When will I ever have to factor a polynomial?” they say derisively. So they have no motivation to do more than get through the next exam. What julliet is talking about isn’t the history of math, it’s the deeper meaning, if you will.