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Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Michelle Malkin :: Townhall.com Columnist
Fuzzy Math: A Nationwide Epidemic
by Michelle Malkin
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But don't give up and don't give in. While New York City remains wedded to "Everyday Math" (which became the mandated standard in 2003), the state of Texas just voted before Thanksgiving to drop the University of Chicago textbooks for third-graders. School board members lambasted the math program for failing to prepare students for college. It's an important salvo in the math wars because Texas is one of the biggest markets for school textbooks. As Texas goes, so goes the nation.

Meanwhile, grass-roots groups such as Mathematically Correct (mathematicallycorrect.com) and Where's The Math? (wheresthemath.com) are alerting parents to how their children are being used as educational guinea pigs. And teachers and math professionals who haven't drunk the p.c. Kool-Aid are exposing the ruse. Nick Diaz, a Maryland educator, wrote a letter to his local paper:

"As a former math teacher in Frederick County Public Schools, I have a strong interest in the recent discussion of the problems with the math curriculum in our state and county. . . . The proponents of fuzzy math claim that the new approach provides a 'deep conceptual understanding.' Those words, however, hide the truth. Students today are not expected to master basic addition, subtraction and multiplication. These fundamental skills are necessary for a truly deep understanding of math, but fuzzy math advocates are masters at using vocabulary that sounds good to parents, but means something different to educators."

Members of the West Puget Sound Chapter of the Washington Society of Professional Engineers also stepped forward in their community:

"For 35 years, we have been subjected to a failed experiment, 'new math.' Mathematics depends on individual problem-solving ability to arrive at the correct answer. Math does not lend itself to 'fuzzy' answers. The solution is to recognize the failure of the Constructivist Curriculum as it relates to mathematics and science, eliminate it and return to the hard core basics using texts like the Singapore Math."

If Fuzzy Math were a color, it would be neon green like those Mr. Yuk labels warning children not to ingest poisonous substances. Do not swallow!

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About The Author

Michelle Malkin makes news and waves with a unique combination of investigative journalism and incisive commentary. She is the author of Unhinged: Exposing Liberals Gone Wild .

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(232 comments so Far)
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Reply # 1
Date: Dec 11, 2007 - 11:37 AM EST
Every Day Math Disaster
If "Every Day Math" were weather, it would be a tornado, because it SUCKS!! I have worked with "at risk" middle schoolers for a number of years and their lack of math skills is appalling. Not only do they not know how to multiply and divide, but they don't know simple liquid and solid measurement. Bring back math the way it should be, before these kids are the ones calculating our tax returns!
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Reply # 2
Date: Dec 6, 2007 - 10:28 AM EST
Our schools are like prisons
My sister teaches in public school that is more than 90% hispanic. Students are not allowed to have lockers, since the school found too many drugs and weapons hidden in them.

They are also not issued textbooks since too many were lost or damaged.

In my sister's first year of teaching, more than half of her students were earning legitimately failing grades mainly due to a refusal to do any work -- the administration told her that it was not allowed to 'fail' more than a certain percentage of students, forcing her to arbitrarily pass a number of failing students.

Apparently, it is just too hard to teach real responsibility and accountability. Therefore, the schools have decided to require less of both.
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