(July 23, 2014 at 2:08 pm)Whateverist the White Wrote: True confessions: I teach this stuff. I enjoy the subject. I like people .. including young ones. I've always said I like teaching math because it is the easiest subject in which to reach clarity and test for validity. I've even said I am covertly teaching critical thinking. But I sometimes wonder about the level of specificity of what is taught.
That's where my question comes from. Teaching middle school I'm charged with teaching kids what seems to many of them very complex and esoteric. So, for me, I sometimes wonder .. am I making everyone practice piano 2 hours a day just so those few who go on to become virtuosos will have received a proper start?
I was just looking at youtube videos of people complaining about the common core. (I start teaching that in a month so my jury is out.) Then I came to this TED talk in which someone with my job asks and offers an answer to my question. Thoughts?
http://youtu.be/xyowJZxrtbg
If math can't be used, it's useless.
Luckily, math is just about the most usable subject out there. It's your job to show kids that math can unlock secrets that they care about.
