I had assumed it was a portal to mathematical thinking, and that for some
folks, that was actually fun and compelling. For an even smaller subset of
folks, it is actually useful for doing more sophisticated mathematics.
Since the introduction of the current standards, I've been intrigued by the
NCTM concept of mathematical thinking, something that is within range for
us all. (I've just seen the film PI and wonder if that's what NCTM had in
mind. ha.) I'm not exactly sure what it is, but I *do* try to get my
students to consider the powerful symbolic uses of mathematical concept
tools such as the coordinate system, which can be used to represent ideas
in discussions of non overtly-mathematical relationships and systems.
I think the point has been well made that school math is a well-guarded
gateway to other things as well. And this is my segue to consider a piece
of Tim's posting (below)
I think that school math is not decontextualized, but other-contextualized.
I'm not meaning to play semantic games here, but think that there is a
context school provides for math. I'm not sure what it is but it is
probably something similar to school contexts for doing reading and
"history." What if math, reading, science, social studies, and even PE, are
not really subjects in school, but rather fodder for doing schooling, and
doing schooling were in fact the point of school. The people who get that,
and get good at doing schooling end up in graduate school. Hmmmm.
>This is not to say that the way that we currently teach things like
>trigometry and calculus is optimal. Having students do endless drill work
>on de-contextualized problems and memorizing formulas only to forget them
>immediately after testing seems pretty useless. Maybe if we engaged
>students in things like designing roof trusses in school, they would have
>an easier time seeing learning trig as an empowering skill. ---Tim