Comments on: OPINION: Algebra matters, so let’s stop attacking it and work together to make it clearer and more accessible https://hechingerreport.org/opinion-algebra-matters-so-lets-stop-attacking-it-and-work-together-to-make-it-clearer-and-more-accessible/ Covering Innovation & Inequality in Education Sun, 04 Jun 2023 10:42:00 +0000 hourly 1 By: John Fox https://hechingerreport.org/opinion-algebra-matters-so-lets-stop-attacking-it-and-work-together-to-make-it-clearer-and-more-accessible/comment-page-1/#comment-48632 Sun, 04 Jun 2023 10:42:00 +0000 https://hechingerreport.org/?p=93225#comment-48632 People often only struggle with subjects due to poor instruction. I remember when my son was struggling with parabolas. When I explained that knowing which area was greater or less than the equation would show if a cannon ball would go over a tree, he got it immediately. When I had a class with a history teacher that taught the why’s of history instead of the dates, places, and names, my understanding increased and my appreciation for history improved.

It’s not the subject that baffles the student, it’s the instructor.

]]> By: Dawne Simmons https://hechingerreport.org/opinion-algebra-matters-so-lets-stop-attacking-it-and-work-together-to-make-it-clearer-and-more-accessible/comment-page-1/#comment-48578 Fri, 02 Jun 2023 15:57:56 +0000 https://hechingerreport.org/?p=93225#comment-48578 Articles like this one are almost always penned by math instructors or those who have a natural inclination for the subject. If most people struggle with anything (math, weight loss, singing in tune, etc), it is not the people who are deficient or lazy. Perhaps, attention should be placed on the issue under discussion. And those who struggle with Algebra may have had difficulty with arithmetic long before they encountered “solve for x.” My problem was fractions: if 3 is more than 2, then why is 1/3 less than 1/2? A good friend’s problem was subtraction and division. If multiplication is addition on steroids, then why isn’t division like enhanced subtraction? Both of us eventually learned to work with fractions, multiplication, and division, even though Algebra continues to bedevil us. And yes, our challenges with arithmetic and subsequent iterations of numeracy influenced our career choices.
If you insist on pushing Algebra to everyone, then town hall meetings with math-focused folks won’t be the way to go. Use math-phobic folks to think more creatively about selling Algebra to the masses; after all, it is a sales job. Perhaps public service announcements or catchy jingles will help. There’s a reason the old TV program “School House Rock” still rocks, even though the math part of the show was less compelling than other subjects covered. If you truly want to show the drama and beauty of Algebra, turn up the music, put some lipstick and a wig on that pig, and let’s see it dance.

]]> By: Corey Minyard https://hechingerreport.org/opinion-algebra-matters-so-lets-stop-attacking-it-and-work-together-to-make-it-clearer-and-more-accessible/comment-page-1/#comment-48342 Thu, 25 May 2023 21:46:33 +0000 https://hechingerreport.org/?p=93225#comment-48342 My son liked math until junior high where he had terrible teachers. Then he hated it. When he got to college, I told him that math is the closest thing we have to magic in the real world. That seems to have changed everything. He enjoyed calculus and did ok in math through college.

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