Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Fuzzy Math

Michelle Malkin writes about a new teaching fad, the "Everyday Math" curricula, which she labels "fuzzy math."

I must admit, after reading the FAQs from the "Everyday Math" homepage at the University of Chicago's Education Department, it does look like a dubious, and confusing technique. Especially the "Alternative Algorithm" section. See if you can make sense of it.

As Michelle noted, there has been a backlash against "Everyday Math" by parents who wonder why their kids have the same homework over consecutive years, or asinine exercises like this:

"A. If math were a color, it would be –, because –.
B. If it were a food, it would be –, because –.
C. If it were weather, it would be –, because –."

Texas recently subtracted the "Everyday Math" textbook for third graders.

Only ran a quick search but I didn't see whether this textbook is used in Alexandria.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I eventually figured out what they were trying to do in the alternative algorithm section. Boy, it does seem to unnecessarily complicate matters. Fuzzy, indeed.