The state of Math education (is terrible). Mathematics with Edward Frenkel

Edward Frenkel - mathematics superstar and acclaimed author of the book "Love and Math". Edward Frenkel is a professor of mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley, which he joined in 1997 after being on the faculty at Harvard University. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society, and the winner of the Hermann Weyl Prize in mathematical physics. Frenkel’s research is on the interface of mathematics and quantum physics, with an emphasis on the Langlands Program, which he describes as a Grand Unified Theory of mathematics. He has authored three books and over 90 scholarly articles in academic journals, and he has lectured on his work around the world.
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[@ziziroberts8041]

That's for sure. The No Child Left Behind Act is not about education. It's about training a minimum wage work force. Politicians hold stock in major educational publishing companies. It's a beautiful piece of racism and socio-economic discrimination.

[@xavierkreiss8394]

I was never shown the 'masterpîeces' but even if I had, it would probably have left me baffled. In primary school, up to the age of 10 or thereabouts I learnt basic calculation / arithmetic. I don't remember anything that followed (secondary school) because I didn't understand what was going on. SInce then I have had a career in which I have not needed any maths. I know that maths is a powerful tool, and I know several friends who love the subject. Dr Frenkel says pupils should; be shown more than just ordinary maths. They should be shown the wonders of maths. But since I don't understand maths in the first place, I feel that those "wonders" would be lost on me. Unless all that's called for is basic arithmetic.

[@PatrickCraig-lh5is]

It sounds to me like you were let down by your secondary maths instructors. That's certainly not any fault of yours. Your experience, to me, is just another testament to the ridiculousness of trying to label K-12 education a "profession." When (here in the U.S., anyway) getting summers off means more than providing a quality learning experience to students, we can continue to expect reports of "I didn't understand what was going on." (Of course, weeding out all of the incompetents guarantees the total collapse of the system, and the U.S. education system is "just too big to fail.")

[@xavierkreiss8394]

@@PatrickCraig-lh5is Thank you for taking the trouble to reply. My secondary school experience was roughly from 1962 to 1969, years during which I hated maths. I didn't understand the lessons so I got very bored, and collected bad grades. Private tuition helped just a bit. The teachers I had may have been partly responsible, I'll never know. But if that is the case, why did my classmates manage well enough? We had the same teachers, after all. I was eventually put in a "literary" stream, and in the end to everyone's great relief, I took a Baccalauréat (I'm French) with no maths at all, which allowed me to get into Uni. I now think of the thousands of youngsters who are still forced to attend classes in maths that they hate. Now things have become a little easier though, with certain "streams" having no maths at all in the last two years. But to many people, talk of the "beauty" of maths sounds like a (bad) joke. Beauty, they say, is in the eyes of the beholder. Indeed. This is not a judgement or a cricicism of maths. Merely my experience, which i share with many others (I know a few personally!). Thank you again.

[@PatrickCraig-lh5is]

@@xavierkreiss8394 I used to support the "beauty of maths" angle, but now I see it's going to take a lot more than that to fix the problems of maths education. One proposal I am researching is Conrad Wolfram's "Computer-based Maths" program, though sadly that might end up just being a disguised advertisement for Mathematica...

[@xavierkreiss8394]

@@PatrickCraig-lh5is Thanks for your answer. On the beauty angle: as they say, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Secondly, if you want to convince someone that something looks beautiful, it might be difficult anyhow. But if you're both in a pitch dark room it's impossible. To me, that's it: first, maths is NOT beautiful. It isn't ugly either, it's just.... maths. Some people may think it's beautiful, but that's their opinion. And the "dark room": I've often heard people (friends, people in video clips etc ) try to talk about that "beauty" of maths, they usually give examples, and they're surprised to learn that I don't understand what they're talking about. I'm in the dark. In the past I've met several people who feel the same way as I do.

[@lemonlimsa]

@@xavierkreiss8394 You would be surprised how big of a difference good and bad teachers make in maths. And yes, one teacher who's bad at teaching me, can be good at teaching someone else. I've been struggling with maths my whole life from childhood to adulthood. Had to go meet psychologist to find what was the issue. Never found out why i've been struggling since it was back in the days when there wasn't today's technology. Can't do mental arithmetic till this day. Always have to use calculator. I don't trust my counting abilities, but you know what? I've had during my studying time two excellent math teachers who made me understand math problems that i had to solve during my studies. I actually learned math on their lessons/lectures and found enjoyment in it. I got good grades in high level maths in a test when i put in also effort to it. Nevertheless, I still wouldn't go for a job that demands good mathematical skills since it's still a struggle, but it can be awesome to overcome something you're not good at. 😄