Social discussion of CS in K-12

["Reese, George Clifford" <reese AT illinois.edu>]

This one is really making the rounds quickly. As did Hacker’s NYTimes editorial of a few years ago.

Peter Braunfeld, who I’m told is cited in Hacker’s book (I’m getting a copy), did a talk on Hacker’s editorial a couple years ago for us at MSTE.

https://goo.gl/oSA147

 

My own opinion is that a thoughtful reconsideration of the entire high school mathematics sequence is required.
Algebra, Statistics, and Computer Science/Discrete Mathematics makes much more sense for most students than the current sequence which is mostly a preparation for calculus that few people need to be productive, mathematically literate citizens.

 

George

 

From: ctrl-shift-bounces AT lists.mste.illinois.edu [mailto:ctrl-shift-bounces AT lists.mste.illinois.edu] On Behalf Of Charles Schultz
Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2016 8:08 AM
To: ctrl-shift AT lists.mste.illinois.edu
Subject: [Ctrl-Shift] Looking for a professional opinion: "Down with Algebra II"

 

Good morning,

 

I am hoping to solicit professional opinions from practioners, educators and researchers. Having climbed (and struggled) through 4 years of college math classes that I have never ever used at all, what are the pros and cons of replacing the theory-heavy math classes with something a bit more practical, with an eye towards training democratic (lower case 'd') citizens?

 

re: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/education/2016/03/algebra_ii_has_to_go.single.html

 

The author of the article, Dana Goldstein, is speaking mostly about Andrew Hacker's "The Math Myth", but also balances it out with a couple other opinions/theories as well. The ideas put forth by Ms. Goldstein resonated with my own experiences, so I am seeking other perspectives.

 

--

Charles Schultz