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Show 4 THE MONDAY, SUN AUGUST 21, 2000 Opinion Why students By Dr. Andrew Bfrnstein Sun NeWS Services thetlixiesunCh Man, Get a life cant add or subtract hotmail.com Imagine that your child comes home from school one day and announces that in his math course there are no textbooks, no right answers. no teaching'-anInstead, students form groups to construct their own math "strategies." They add fractions by folding paper strips, without ever learning how to convert to common denominators. They measure angles not with protractors hut by means of bent straws. They are not taught to multiply or divide; rather, they are told to rely on calculators. Your child further tells you that even the idea that a math problem has an objectively right answer has now been discarded. On tests, students receive high grades if they "wrestle diligently" with the problems, even if their answers are wrong. Most parents would be horrified at such "dumbing down" of math instruction. Yet this is what constitutes the new math education in our public schools today. The new math guidelines explicitly disparage rigorous "paper and pencil computation" as an outdated attempt to find correct answers. Students are encouraged to "explore and conjecture," to "guess and check"--rathe- r than to use strict rules of multiplication or division to figure out the answers precisely. Not surprisingly, many parents claim that children are now confused. Tutoring services report an epidemic of students coming to them to learn arithmetic. Professional mathematicians are alarmed over declining U.S. math scores and point out that students in European and Asian countries where they still teach basic math content tend to score significantly higher than Americans on standardized tests. One recent test in mathematics literacy showed American high school seniors ranking 18lh out of 21 nations. The new math is sadly similar to the "look-say- " method widely used in the attempt to teach reading. In that method, children are not taught to sound out a word phonetically. Rather, they look at its shape and guess its identity by means of the surrounding context. So if a sentence states, "The dog ate from his bowl," and the student guesses "dish" instead of "bowl," the student is praised for making a d "good guess." Similarly, the new math neither teaches nor permits the student to perform answer is wrong, he is taught neither the correct answer nor a proper method of understanding it. Rather, he is praised for devising a "viable" mathematical strategy. Students will be complimented for collecting thirteen piles of thirteen objects (more or less) in an attempt to answer the if they arrive at problem of 13x1 an answer other than 169. Since the students don't learn the multiplication tables, they are lost when working with large numbers. Given these "educational" methods, it is clear why many American students never learn to read, write or understand arithmetic. But there is a still more tragic result. The student's cognitive capacity has been stunted. Unable to deal with words or with numbers having no means of knowing, but only of guessing the child loses confidence in his mind. He loses confidence in his ability to deal rationally with reality. Unable to think, he is not qualified for college, for a demanding career or even counter. to make change at a check-ou- t With his mind crippled, the abysmally low he experiences is inevitable. Rage, violence and widespread drug use are anticipatable consequences. Today's educators are creating individuals who cannot think independently. They cannot question authority. They can only mindlessly obey. They can only melt into groups and subordinate themselves to the consensus. They are ripe for political indoctrination. The chilling truth is that this assault on our children's minds is characteristic of a totalitarian state, not a free society. Parents don't realize it, but this method of teaching has consequences far beyond mathematics. The solution to this disaster is for the schools to emphasize that there are right and wrong answers and to teach the student the precise means of arriving at them. Students need to be taught that there are objective methods for acquiring knowledge, in math as in all other fields. Learning this will enable students to gain genuine confidence in their cognitive abilities. Our educators must recognize that they are entrusted with the sacred responsibility of training the mind. If they understand, and discharge, that responsibility, our high school graduates will be easily able to master mathematics but even more important, they will be able to think. Courtesy of the Ayn Rand Institute Wow, the clubs will have set up. On Saturday, the First Chance Dance will be held in the Gardner Center Ballroom. This will give students their first chance to meet their soul mate at DSC. The dance starts at 9 p.m. and will go until midnight. Note: Don't forget the Midnight Movie on Friday Night at Cinema 6 sponsored by The Dixie Sun. The show will be broadcast on a screen that is placed on the Fine Arts Center. On Friday, the different clubs at Dixie State will vie for new members as they hold an extravaganza. Not only will students have a chance to join a club, but they will enjoy the different activities that Editor-in-Chi- st vincent77hotmail.com About right now, Im sure you all want get to hear one of those involved speeches about as much as you roommate. want to live with a Boring, I know. So I'll keep it brief. Failing to get involved is about as misguided as those people who dont take Astronomy because they dont believe in all that horoscope nonsense. So if you're thinking about just wasting out this academic year, accumulating dust bunnies while your GPA falls faster than a s toy rocket; I say, man, get involved! Then you can be as cool as I am. Okay, Im not cool (I watched once that earned me a lifetime ban from being cool). But at least it will, one, give you a break from the books . Dixie offers not just an excellent chance to gain a solid academic start in college, but you can learn solid social skills by joining clubs or Executive Council committees. I guarantee it will make your life at Dixie much more enjoyable. The Exec. Council works hard to make life a little more fun for all of us. They could certainly use your help in making their activities happen. Or you can come write for The Sun. As you can tell, I need the help. long-winde- Yanni-lovin- g fourth-grader- DIXIE STATE COLLEGE OF UTAH g rigorous calculation. He must work with his classmates to devise techniques that from page 2 Vincent By Stephen will help them guess at the answer. If the Support your campus Bookstore where your money goes to support your campus & fellow students and you. DIXIE STATE COLLEGE OF UTAH Textbooks Clothing Office Supplies Electronics Gardner Student Center 2nd Floor (435) 652-764- 4 Computer Software Art Supplies School Spirit Merchandise Mon-Th- ur 7:45 Friday 7:45 am-60- am-5:0- Closed Saturday 0 & 0 pm pm Sunday |