Senor Parrot's Perch

Two news articles bring out similar emphases: That math proficiency requires constant use and practice, that problem solving is the key to math understanding, that math must be seen as important and engaging.

The first article from a New York Time Blog is about an online startup that provides Indian math tutors to American students and the second is about an event held in a Mall to demonstrate Math to kids and their parents.

Why is this important? Math is the language of Science. Who leads in Science will lead the world in technology and economic welfare, growth, and standards of living.

Elsewhere, in the Mansfield News Journal, we see reported that basic math capabilities are a civil right. This article, “Tonights’ speaker sees ‘Algebra’ as civil rights extension” notes civil rights leader Robert Moses’ efforts to improve math literacy for minorities.

Moses sees The Algebra Project as pulling at perhaps the most important thread of these early commitments — beating the drum for opportunity and improving the quality and culture of learning around education in general and math education in particular.

A quality public education, Moses argues, would give quantitative literacy the same importance as reading and writing literacy have been given.

I say “Amen, brother!”

As I was perusing stories around the internet I found in the Baltimore Sun a report that the perennial teacher shortage was easing. Apparently this always occurs at a downturn in the economy.

All is not well, however. The article states that there are still significant shortages of teachers

of special education, math, chemistry, physics and foreign language teachers. The state has designated those as shortage areas in its report released Friday.

Colleges and public schools have been working hard recently to produce more math and science teachers, said John Smeallie, acting deputy superintendent of the Maryland State Department of Education. Wiseman said College Park produced about 25 math and science teachers last year; that is expected to nearly double this year.

Still, two years ago, College Park produced one physics teacher and last year only two.

Wiseman noted that science teachers must complete all of the courses in their major as well as a full set of education courses. “That is a lot of work to do,” she said, given they will earn significantly less than their peers who go work in a lab or do research.

This is bad news. As the number of engineers and science grads increases in our major competitors for the future, India and China, our basic educational infrastructure is falling behind in its ability to provide a substantial science based curriculum to our children. We will undoubtedly lose our technical edge as a result.

I’m wondering more and more if the strategy that works for home schoolers would also work for in-school schooled (is that the opposite of home schooled!?) students. That is, that they have to learn it at home and within volunteer groups of students with similar interests.