Two brilliant (yes, I will use that word) women who frequently post on this blog – Catherine Johnson and Carolyn Johnston – have combined forces on a new blog of their own – Kitchen Table Math. Actually, it’s a ‘bliki’ (blog/wiki) designed to help parents overcome deficiencies in the math education of their children. This is the kind of thing the Internet does best and their blog/bliki, call it what you will, is elegantly done. I will be consulting it often for the sake of my daughter Madeleine. Catherine J. informs me they will be joining Pajamas Media and I can’t tell you how pleased we are to have them.
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12 Comments
1. chuck:It’s a nice site. I hope they can gather a good group of commenters to go with it. And I really like that fish up in the corner.
May 24, 2005 - 9:42 am 2. Catherine:Roger!
Thank you!
Now I just have to figure out how to work my own site . . .
If I can just add something about that: Carolyn & I need ‘usability’ feedback, so if any of you cares to let us know what the kinks and bugs are, that would be great.
We haven’t gotten too far in thinking about the ‘Wiki’ part of the ‘Bliki,’ but our first thought is that parents & teacher & students will be able to create and polish math lessons, or math explanations, or math metaphors & analogies we can use to teach kids math —-
We’re hoping to tap into the The Wisdom of the Crowd.
We were also interested in people’s comments yesterday about whether you can use the blogosphere to challenge the “MSE,” as I think someone called it.
I think it’s at least possible that the information we’ll be able to post will be empowering to parents who are, as more than one commenter said, pretty powerless when it comes to the public schools.
In my own case,I was able to figure out a crisis situation in my son’s math education very rapidly thanks to grass roots ‘math wars’ web sites like Mathematically Correct, NYC HOLD — and because of the homeschooling movement as well.
So we’ll see.
May 24, 2005 - 10:08 am 3. Silicon valley Jim:We were also interested in people’s comments yesterday about whether you can use the blogosphere to challenge the “MSE,” as I think someone called it.
It might depend on what you mean by challenge. Kumon, for example, has built a pretty good business here in Silicon Valley, and, for all I know, elsewhere, by teaching students math, and doing it well. They share your belief in mastery learning, and are quite explicit about it; a student does not move on to the next subject until he has mastered the current one. Hooked on Phonics sold, and I think still sells, lots of its product in the fact of objections from the MSE (should that be MSEE, or does that sound too much like an advanced degree in electrical engineering?) that phonics doesn’t work. Parents who see their children advancing two grade levels in test scores in a matter or monghts don’t buy that.
So I think you can, if you wish, probably build a pretty good business. Whether you can change our public schools for the better is something about which I am considerably less sanguine.
Before I forge: Good luck.
May 24, 2005 - 11:55 am 4. Susan:Catherine and Carolyn,
Thank you so much for your site. I’ve just spent the last half hour mesmorized by it. I’m in the land of Trailblazers out here near Chicago. You know something is up with a curriculum when no teacher can really explain how it works. Everyday Math is big in several schools around here, also. Parents had to go to special “classes” to learn how to teach their children in that special Everyday Math way. If that doesn’t scream “red flag” I don’t what does.
The whole concept of Kumon is really quite funny if you think about it. To do math well you actually have to PRACTICE it. Who’da thunk it? Not to mention the fact that Kumon is filling some void that the schools are actually creating. So you get to pay again for your little precious to actually learn his math facts because he’s too busy with all that fun grade school critical thinking and data collecting.
I’ll be sending your site to everyone I know who has kids in school. Thanks again!
May 24, 2005 - 12:29 pm 5. WichitaGirl:Roger,
thanks for the sendoff!
Chuck:
I will tell Ben that you like his fish, he will be very happy.
Silicon Valley Jim:
By coincidence, the most recent post I put up on the site is on mastery learning — part of a series of posts about the few high-quality research findings in the area of math education. I hope you’ll have a look and help kick off a discussion!
Susan:
I am thrilled to read your post and I hope you’ll come hang out with us and help us build a community!!!
Carolyn
May 24, 2005 - 12:38 pm 6. Knucklehead:I’d like to echo the welcome, well-done, and Thank You from above. Like Susan I will be passing your URL to everyone I know who has children in school.
May 24, 2005 - 12:39 pm 7. Wallace:It looks like a wonderful resource. But where were they in 1961 when I was a mathematically challenged youth living in the shadow of an older brother who was doing calculus at age 12!!
May 24, 2005 - 12:48 pm 8. Terrye:Catherine and Carolyn:
Your site is so interesting it makes me wish I had a kid in school.
My oldenst niece has always had such problems with math. but I can not imagine my brother going to a website like this. In fact I could have used it myself a few decades ago.
But I am sure there will be many people who do.
good luck.
May 24, 2005 - 1:05 pm 9. chuck:Carolyn/Catherine,
Instructions for editing the wiki would be helpful: markup, examples, etc. Also, is there any special provision for simple algebraic formulas, diagrams, etc.? I suspect that I am running ahead here.
May 24, 2005 - 1:07 pm 10. WichitaGirl:Chuck:
there will be provisions for mathematical markup. This was one of the main reasons I chose this software instead of standard blog software. But first I need to debug the perl script that it will use… funny, I keep putting that off.
There are formatting instructions in the help sidebar — I guess I’ll have to make that easier to find.
Thanks for the feedback!
May 24, 2005 - 1:14 pm 11. erp:It looks to be fascinating. I just happened to receive this email from a friend.
Teaching Math In 1955:
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100.
His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit?
Teaching Math In 1965:
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100.
His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?
Teaching Math In 1975:
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100.
His cost of production is $80. Did he make a profit?
Teaching Math In 1985:
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100.
His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.
Teaching Math In 1995:
A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. He does this so he can make a profit of $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the birds
and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes? (There are no wrong answers.)
Teaching Math In 2005:
There are no right answers.
May 24, 2005 - 2:53 pm 12. promoguy:Where were you in the late fifties when Mrs Crow was beating my knuckles up because I couldn’t get algebra & geometry. Spent my summers having to retake both and usually even ended up with the same ‘d’. Who cares what the area of an triangle is, I don’t.
Sheesh I hated math
May 24, 2005 - 7:40 pm