Here’s a headline you may have missed: a truce has been declared in the great American “Math War.”
For 20-odd years, mathematicians, parents, and teachers have been arguing over the best way to teach your children math. Well, a national panel formed by President Bush two years ago has just issued its findings, and is pushing schools to go back to the basics — memorization, multiplication tables, and less so-called “fuzzy math.”
This hour, On Point: we ask experts if it all adds up — and with their help, we do your kids’ math homework.
-Jane Clayson
Guests:
John Hechinger, education reporter for The Wall Street Journal.
Mary Eich, a former math teacher, she is the K-8 math coordinator for the Newton, Massachusetts, public schools.
Wilfried Schmid, professor of mathematics at Harvard University and a member of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel, which recently released its report.
Joseph Rosenstein, professor of mathematics at Rutgers University and director of the New Jersey Mathematics and Science Education Coalition.
