OK I understand that was a joke (or comedy?), but - sometimes jokes are not funny.
I do have small children, too small to go to school but that will come soon. And I am afraid of it - not because I don't beleive they will handle it or I won't be able to keep up - but because the school will spoil them, make them hate learning.

This approach (new math, but it's also reading and writing etc. - there is too much experimenting in the schools and too little continuity) is absolutely violating the step-by-step method absolutely needed to teach everybody and everything.

I believe pupils don't need to be told absolutely everything and as deeply as possible, on the given matter - rather, they need a quick-n-dirty overview ("besides +-*/ there are other operations too, and if you encounter them, ask for more explanation"). They might need ready-made solutions to typical problems (see subtraction). And a place/person to ask and get answers. And when they master it - OK let's move on, explain, why is this algorithm for subtraction working - but that will take a couple of years more.

And - here comes the '51-relation - this might also apply here. I am thinking about it when a newbie is sent to study the "bible". There is a tutorial here, but it is quite lengthy, too. No two-page rough guide. No howto quickstart. Maybe the SBC is an opportunity for creating a more gradual approach?


And now we have OT^4... weekend approaching, and it's very hot here...

Jan Waclawek