There is an odd familiarity about the “new” Wake County mathematics curriculum for elementary and middle school grades (The News & Observer of Raleigh 12/10/03). That nagging feeling comes from the fact that we have seen this before, and in pop culture, no less.
“Professor” Harold Hill, lovable con artist of the 1962 classic Music Man, would be proud. And so would Dolores Umbridge (for those of more recent vintage) of Harry Potter fame. In both of these stories, teachers who cannot or will not teach their students needed skills instead urge them to conceptualize — think about and appreciate — the skills they aren’t learning and practicing.
Wake County’s new math program is just such a “think system,” as Professor Hill dubbed his method of learning to play a band instrument. At Fuller Elementary School, second-grade math students “barely put pencil to paper,” during class, according to the N&O. Instead of adding or subtracting, students are asked to imagine different ways to arrive at a particular number. Wake County school officials are urging all elementary and middle schools in the county to adopt this approach. Rather than practicing math problems, it will have kids musing about how math relates to their “real life,” urging “hands-on” experience, and participating in “group work.” That group product is as likely to be a disaster as Hill’s band ensemble, since few kids will have the skills to make a decent contribution.
Perhaps this is really a math appreciation program for those who haven’t yet mastered the elements of math. In this incarnation of “new math,” teachers aren’t going to force kids to practice repetitive skills. Instead, Wake is soft-pedaling the subject with a “math is our friend” face. We can think about this math, instead of doing a lot of scary and boring calculations. Even better, almost everyone can succeed in the fuzzy math format.
Unlike art appreciation, where even those who cannot “do” art can participate and enjoy it on some level, math requires doing. If children don’t acquire skills, and practice to perfect them, they are more likely to wind up frustrated with school and life options than to be fascinated by esoteric mathematical elements in their environment. To foster abstract thinking, elegant theorizing, and creative imagining in math, arm kids with skills. Otherwise, they will wind up in need of private tutoring and remedial lessons after school.
That’s exactly the remedy that author J.K. Rowling has Harry Potter and friends use to learn defensive spells in “Order of the Phoenix.” Harry and his friends hold illegal self-taught practice sessions after hours. Their classroom teacher, Professor Umbridge, is furious when she learns of their subversive behavior. As it turns out, of course, their very survival depends upon practicing and perfecting those skills.
In the Music Man, Professor Hill’s think system, though a fraud, is a brilliant public relations coup. The musical results of Hill’s “think system” are finally unveiled in the public square — a cacophony of blats and squeaks that rivals a braking steam engine. River City parents, however, are dazzled by the vision of their darlings in snappy uniforms, honking away on sparkling new instruments. The audience knows instantly that this band is never going anywhere near Macy’s or the Super Bowl.
Spoofs of bad educational practices are great fun in book and film, of course, but miseducation conveys serious consequences upon real-life children. Other countries are training their students to be scientific leaders. Do we really need to promote a feel-good approach in math that panders to education fads, instead of teaching kids actual math skills? This approach will come at a high price later on. American students, already mediocre by standards of the Third International Math and Science Studies tests (1995 and 1999), are becoming less competitive among their international peers. Foreign-trained students in areas such as mathematics, statistics, and engineering are in high demand by U.S. firms, and for good reason. Too few U.S. students are taking the rigorous training that many foreign students are required to complete. As a result, U.S. students are less competitive, even for positions within U.S. firms.
Before rushing headlong into this questionable trend, Wake County parents might consider whether they will be trying to “catch their children up” in a few years time by hiring a tutor, or by drilling skills at home. New York City school officials rejected the very same “fuzzy math” programs Wake County is pursuing. Closer to home, it’s worth noting that students in Charlotte-Mecklenburg recently led the nation in math on the fourth- and eighth-grade Trial Urban District version of the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Apparently, they do put pencil to paper in Charlotte.