[LINK] teaching mathematics

[Danny Yee]

Craig Sanders wrote:
> most students who learn maths at school have no intention of becoming
> mathematicians, but they still get taught real maths (unless they opt
> out in later years and choose whatever the current version of "vegie
> maths" is called).
 
This is unfortunately not true at all.  The bulk of high school maths
courses are just like "vegie" maths in that they teach near-rote
application of a few ideas.  Only the very top courses devote any
time to understanding proofs and abstractions of high generality.

These days, most first year mathematics courses at uni teach almost no
"real" mathematics, but are basically just service courses that teach
engineering or biology students some of the tools they'll need.

And perhaps this is the way it has to be -- we can't really pitch
school courses for the 0.0001% of the students who are going to go
on to do mathematical research!

Danny.
  ----------------------------------------------------------
  http://dannyreviews.com/ - over eight hundred book reviews
  http://danny.oz.au/ -  civil liberties, travel tales, blog
  ----------------------------------------------------------