The Math Disconnect
November 24, 2009 
10 Comments
Back in elementary school there was a program for the “gifted and talented” math students called Enrichment. We were given the opportunity to proudly tell our teachers, in front of the entire class, “Excuse me, it’s 2:15. I have to go to Enrichment now.” There, we worked on logic matrices or converting the standard, base 10 number system into base 4 or base 2 – miles ahead of our counterparts struggling to find the best way to remember that 7 times 6 equals 42.
As I have moved up through the ranks, following a path of accelerated math classes, I no longer find the same connection, the same satisfaction after completing a puzzling problem. This is due, in part, to a confusing curriculum structure, one that often doubles back on itself with contradictions. Many concepts cemented into our brains as young students are completely dismantled or proved unnecessary in later years of study.
The concept of angles measured in degrees is a perfect example. From the lessons about telling time, students learn that the two hands of the clock can form different angles. As we began to learn the first mathematical concepts behind shapes, degrees were introduced: 360 degrees is a circle, a full rotation. Degrees became natural to us; a right angle is 90 degrees. And then, everything changed. In pre-calculus we were introduced to an entirely new concept, radians, that serves the same purpose. We were told that we should throw degrees out the window and that from now on radians were the standard, required for any competent math student. Why spend so much time on degrees if, in the long run, they have limited applicability? Yes, learning degrees is important. Yes, they are easier to comprehend for younger students. But I’d rather have faced the challenge of learning radians at an earlier age and had years of practice, rather than find one of the fundamental concepts I thought I had mastered thrown out the window later in my math career.
This confusion is often accompanied by a sense of unpreparedness. It is no secret that the United States is severely lagging behind foreign countries in terms of math and science standardized test scores, so I’m sure I’m not the only American student who feels this way. Over the years, I’ve had plenty of good teachers. Links between topics must not have been finalized, or maybe they were simply forgotten. Something has caused the disconnect between the expectations of teachers and the capabilities (or willingness) or students.
The government believes that this reason is a lack of positive social acknowledgement of the topic. The new White House campaign to promote science and math education, called Educate to Innovate, focuses not on deficiencies within the classroom, but outside of it. In support of the program, Discovery Communications is donating two hours of airtime on the science channel to commercial-free programming aimed at students. Additionally, various math and science societies are promising to provide volunteers to aid classroom instruction. Even the popular children’s TV show Sesame Street is among those jumping on board to stress the significance of math and science to America’s youth. Proponents of the program state that Educate to Innovate is a much broader initiative than ever attempted before. Their hope is that through changing perceptions about studying math, interest will rise in tandem with test scores.
Critics have a different idea. According to Kenneth Chang of the New York Times, many “educational experts said the initiatives did little to address some of the core issues: improving the quality of teachers and the curriculum.” Mark S. Schneider, a vice president at the American Institutes for Research offered the following statement, “I think a lot of this is good, but it is missing more than half of what needs to be done.”
And with that sentiment I agree wholeheartedly. While social perception is important, school will always be school, which equates to, for millions of American kids, the painful, dreary nine months of the year that isn’t summer vacation. Just like the majority of the educational deficiencies facing our nation, this problem can be most effectively addressed from the roots up. If students aren’t allowed to use a calculator in AP Calculus (an excruciating revelation for my classmates and me) then the dependency on calculators should be discouraged from a younger age. If radians are going to become the center of a year of study, they should be at the very least introduced earlier. Coordination and foresight is necessary if we, as Americans, want our students’ education to progress forward. The concepts are the same whether learned in the United States or abroad, but the approach tends to differ – and ours needs to change.
Maybe then math won’t be such a burden, as it has become for me. Maybe then calculus would not appear to me as a potpourri of concepts I learned (or should have learned) at some point, the connections never fully made, but rather as the logical next step in the progression of my mathematical education. Maybe then I wouldn’t have to overhear my teacher say to a former student that getting my class to understand calculus is (he chuckled, shook his head, and then sighed) a struggle.
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I agree with the general theme of this article about the disconnect between students and the topics being taught in schoool. I beleive part of the problem may stem from the instant gratification that is expected from kids who grew up with iPods, cable TV and microwave ovens. They don’t seem to have developed the “things take time” approach to life and so they are quickly bored in a class that doesn’t provide short term goals. Perhaps it would help to break “science” class into a short block on chemistry that fed into a lesson on biology which would go to a physics lesson. This change in topics would maintain the student’s interest AND would lay out a path showing how the lesson builds upon what was learned last week.
I think that the curriculum places way to much emphasis on memorization,review,and regurgitation of material. This method is very ineffective. I would fail a biology, physics, or geometry final if i took one tomorrow. The reason why we have taken algebra 3 times is because rather than learning how to think deductively, we have mostly just memorized material for tests and quizzes. Instead of having short term knowledge of specific subjects, it would be much more beneficial to actually learn how to think. Its a waste of my time to learn biology or Spanish if I won’t remember anything about them two weeks after i graduate.
No.
I always say I’m “pretty bad” at math. No one believes it, but then, when you compare me to my parents, I look like a sore loser. Despite not having actively done math for more than two decades, they can still easily help me out with my quite advanced math homework. But where did their aptitude for math come from? Not from “engaging classwork”. I hardly doubt that there was any such idea in their classrooms back in China, and I still doubt that there is an idea for that today. Yet their middle school kids can still do math better than I can, and so can the kids in South Korea, Japan, and India, none of which have particularly “relevant” curriculums.
If people want to become better at math, then they need to stop saying “Oh, I’m just naturally bad at it” and study. (Although I’m not such a great example of doing that myself…) Yes, the curriculum needs to be changed, but the lack of so-called relevancy is hardly the problem.
But if these skills are so irrelevant in real life, why do we care that we do well in math tests anyways?
National math test scores continue to be disappointing. This poor trend persists in spite of new texts, standardized tests with attached implied threats, or laptops in the class. At some point, maybe we should admit that math, as it is taught currently and in the recent past, seems irrelevant to a large percentage of grade school kids.
Why blame a sixth grade student or teacher trapped by meaningless lessons? Teachers are frustrated. Students check out.
The missing element is reality. Instead of insisting that students learn another sixteen formulae, we need to involve them in tangible life projects. And the task must be interesting.
Project-oriented math engages kids. It is fun. They have a reason to learn the math they may have ignored in the standard lecture format of a class room.
Alan Cook
info@thenumberyard.com
http://www.thenumberyard.com
Bridging that disconnect through social means is the major aim of the Educate to Innovate program and hopefully the revamped in-class atmospheres it could create will engage students. However, I do believe that poor curriculum structure was a major factor in alienating kids from the subject, along with media influence and other reasons. These combined to create a generational apathy towards math and your point is very valid – why blame teachers?
I didn’t set out to blame teachers at all; they do not have control over the curriculum and have to do their best to engage and create a successful learning atmosphere in a situation plagued with obstacles.
My viewpoint stems from the fact that I used to be a very engaged math student and as I progressed through school, I was not met with a curriculum that kept me actively involved and looking forward learning more of the subject.
Project-oriented math related to tangible life situations would have been a great experience for me. Kids always ask, “When am I ever going to use this?” Structuring lessons in a way that emphasizes their applicability to real life situations is an excellent idea and I’m sure I would have a completely different opinion if I was exposed to a such a curriculum.
Thank you for your comment!
Très bien fait Ben. Bravo!
I can so relate to this topic. There is such a disconnect between me and maths that I’ve developed an attitude that actually costs me points in that class.
Everybody needs a scapegoat, and I don’t want to be “that guy,” always complaining but so far, my math experience with teachers has been unsatisfactory at best. It began in 8th grade, when my teacher left for maternity leave right about this time of year. Till the end of the school year, substitutes came in and out, characters with interesting stories at best. In fact one of them even tried to teach us physics, much to our amusement. My Algebra II teacher was sacked for not keeping with the school’s standards apparently. And this year, I don’t even want to talk about it.
My lack of motivation had me taking the other kind of “enrichment” in my early middle-school years.
Concepts I get,though motivation I certainly lack. Don’t get me wrong (math is relatively easy), but the lack of continuity, and unnecessary redundancy as pointed out by Justin so greatly contributes to the aforesaid disconnect that it’s hard to fathom. No longer do I crave the satisfaction that comes with problem solving. It’s led to my distaste of the subject, maths being replaced by Histories and other humanities.
I even doubled up a year ago with the hope that I could achieve something. Besides the boost to where I should be, nothing much came out of that other than a teacher whose college-outlook so invades the class atmosphere that personal responsibility is left to the student…entirely
In a scientifically-leaning world, it would (and it is) prove and seem indispensable a serious interest in aspects of the field, the money-making potential irresistible (esp. in this economy.)
My mom’s professional advice (she’s a Human Resource person), conflicts with mine: she tells me to “keep going” insofar as maths is concerned. Every time I hear that I shake my head and go back to doing my U.S./Euro outlines or something like that.
I definitely agree. But I doubt that the curriculum will ever change drastically, mainly because the current one has “basically gotten the job done” for so long.
But if math classes were ever changed to have more continuity, it would be awfully nice, and certainly beneficial to students.
To your point Sadie, I do agree but I think that the consistently low test scores for American math students evidence that the current curriculum is no longer sufficient to “get the job done” with respect to a global standard. Now it depends on whether or not the people with the power to change it want to push the United States out of this substandard level of performance, but for them, that might just be too much work.
Great article. Mr. Maurtizen, my 8th grade pre-algebra teacher was great. In that class we covered so much material compared to other schools. My SAT tutor is a high school math teacher and she was stunned by the amount I learned in 8th grade. But it seems like 9th grade Algebra 1 was practically the same content, and thus far in Algebra 2 most of the content is the same. I don’t know why honors Algebra courses need to be virtually repeated 3 times. Granted, the reinforcement of key algebra concepts with added difficulty takes place, and is important, but at a point it’s redundant.
To readers:
What is your opinion? Do you feel disconnected in math or science particularly or in other subjects as well and why? Please post your thoughts.