Re(2): Re(2): tensions of democratic math

From: Martin Owen (mowen@rem.bangor.ac.uk)
Date: Wed Oct 17 2001 - 02:02:53 PDT


xmca@weber.ucsd.edu writes:
>In a message dated 10/16/2001 3:57:56 AM Central Daylight Time,
>mowen@rem.bangor.ac.uk writes:
>
>
>> and otherwise I would never be able to
>> teach the geography. I have never been a cartographer nor a town
>planner.
>>
>
>Martin,
>
>Maybe you should collaborate with a local town planner and have your
>students
>do a project with them that results in a public object for all to view.
>
>Just a thought,
>eric
Perhaps I was a little obtuse. To expect all teaching and learning to flow
from active practitioners in a field is utopian but the logistics are
problematic, which is why we have a role for people called teachers. They
are not perfect mathematicians, geographers, historians, scientists,
linguists or social scientists but many are good teachers.

In the UK it is quite socially acceptable to be math-phobic (in the sense
of school math). Apparently erudite people can say in public "I was never
good at maths" in the way they would never say about history or literature
(" I can't draw" is also quite acceptable). I suspect teachers are no
different from the rest of the population. In England (but not Wales ,
Scotalnd and Northern Ireland) there are currently prescribed tests in
literacy, mathematics and IT skills before a teacher qualification is
awarded.

A big part of my daytime job is taking professionals from other domains
and training them as teachers. They learn that teaching is an acquired
ability fairly soon, but they also learn that there is something to be
acquired as well. It is not enough to be a geographer either, and the fact
that the word for teach and learn in Welsh is the same word begins to
reveal its meaning.

I appologise for intruding on the Crisis debate, which I am enjoying as an
eaves' dropper
Martin Owen
Labordy Dysgu- Learning Lab
Prifysgol Cymru Bangor- University of Wales, Bangor

"How do you explain school to a higher intelligence?"



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