Posted by Racer on February 2, 2006, at 20:29:51
In reply to Re: FRUSTRATION -- or 'Would you say that to a man, posted by AuntieMel on February 2, 2006, at 13:29:41
>>And the high schools don't seem to be prepping kids right for higher math at all. I tutored for a while and was amazed at how many people (these are college kids) who couldn't even work fractions.
That, I'm very sorry to say, does not surprise me in the least.
I went to school in the 70s (man, I'm OLD!), and even back then, the math instruction was terrible. I entered college entirely unprepared -- although I'd worked out how fractions worked while cooking. ;-) Not only that, when I tried to get help with the math, the suggestion was made that I had brain damage from a head injury which prevented me from learning it! Uh, could be the teacher just, you know, ain't competent? Nope, because others in the class learned it, so it must be me. (They actually started out by labelling me a trouble maker for trying to get help. Disruptive.) Took until I was in college -- and had a great teacher -- that I learned math. He was a great teacher, too. I was very fortunate.
Poor teaching, and it seems like there's another problem, too, because I have noticed that kids I've been around don't seem to have the same sense of having to work at all these days. That attitude might have something to do with it, too.
poster:Racer
thread:605327
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20060124/msgs/605607.html