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Is it not possible that students need both? In the same way that students were offered home-ec and shop in previous generations, to learn the real-world applic
by jhardcastle 11y ago
Is it not possible that students need both?
In the same way that students were offered home-ec and shop in previous generations, to learn the real-world applications of their "cerebral" subjects, are we not teaching programming today as the real world application of mathematics?
Eigenvectors, great. But what can I do with them? Now, software that uses those eigenvectors to control the motions of a robot, that's something kids can get excited about, and can turn into a career (not to suggest pure math can't lead to careers, but the combination of the two opens up more careers).
- rz2k 11y agoWhile I appreciate not everyone is the same, I am not fond of the idea that young students are always more interested in practical applications than they are intellectually curious. Making things blow up, or controlling something with a few lines of code is fun and exciting, but so is discovering something that previously seemed hidden about how the universe works at a fundamental level. For a lot of students math is exciting because they feel that they are imagining how reality itself is working, and even how reality might have functioned if some seemingly arbitrary rules had been decided differently. I don't mean to say that practical applications are not inspiring, rather that the good intentions are misguided when they imply that very young students aren't capable of abstract thought or ever motivated by purely intellectual subjects. Becoming an engaging teacher of theory may not even be attainable to as many people as who are able to encourage a student through a practical demonstration, but that is different from children not being receptive to both.