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I don't like this kind of claim. Even calculation of 1+1 is math. To be constructive, instead of claiming what students learnt is not math (which actually is ma
by xname 13y ago
I don't like this kind of claim. Even calculation of 1+1 is math. To be constructive, instead of claiming what students learnt is not math (which actually is math), please articulate what you think needs to be added to high school math. However, please be aware that not everyone is expected to learn calculus after high school.
- lotsofmangos 13y agoCalculation of 1+1 is arithmetic, proving that it is equal to 2 within a given logical framework, would be maths.
- DerpDerpDerp 13y agoA lot of people separate "math" (the process of reasoning about structures or relations) from "arithmetic" (the process of calculating with numbers). I think this is reasonable, as "math" is essentially just another name for "meta-arithmetic", and we draw similar boundaries between science and engineering, for example.
- baddox 13y agoI actually don't think high school math is too much of a problem. For me, my mental rejection of math education began at calculus. It was never taught to me with any semblance of mathematical formality; instead it was almost entirely rote symbolic manipulation. Of course, elementary school arithmetic is symbolic manipulation (made faster with memorization of small integer products), but between arithmetic and calculus I don't see many problems. Geometry, algebra, trigonometry, and basic statistics in secondary school didn't cause the mental rejection for me that calculus did.