Practice Makes for Better Math Performance and Math Literacy as a Civil Right
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!”
