Newspaper Page Text
♦ SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2007
8A
Reflections on growing another year older
I have survived another
birthday and am happy
to report that I am still
on the right side of the grass.
Don’t
scoff. At
my age,
that is
becoming
a big deal.
Getting
old is not
for sissies.
Today, I
have body
parts that
ache con-
Dick Yarbrough
Columnist
yarb24oo@bellsouth.net
stantly that I wasn’t even
aware I possessed a few years
ago.
There are some defi
nite advantages to old age.
Political correctness is
about as important to me
as warts on a boar hog. I
'Fuzzy math' spreads to a nationwide epidemic
Do you know what
math curriculum
your child is being
taught? Are you worried that
yourthird
grader
hasn’t
learned
simple
multi
plication
yet? Have
you been
befuddled
by educa
tional jar
gon such
jSh
iiii
Michelle Malkin
Columnist
malkin@comcast.net
as “spiraling,” which is used
to explain why your kid keeps
bringing home the same
insipid busywork of cutting,
gluing and drawing? And are
you alarmed by teachers who
emphasize “self-confidence”
over proficiency while their
students fall further and fur
ther behind? Join the club.
Across the country, from
New York City to Seattle, par
ents are wising up to math
fads like “Everyday Math.”
Sounds harmless enough,
right? It’s cleverly marketed
as a “University of Chicago”
program. Impressive! Right?
But then you start to sense
HOOPER
From page §A
explain why they behave as
they do, describing effective
processes and methodology.
Mentors are usually gifted
in the areas of teaching, giv
ing, or encouragement.
Instead of being a potential
mentor, you may be think
ing, “Hey, I want a mentor!”
I will share some character
istics of a successful mentee
next week.
Dennis Hooper is a cer
tified leadership develop
ment coach, helping lead
ers of organizations build
future leaders. Contact
Dennis at 478-988-0237 or
dhooper2@juno.com.
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don’t and won’t hyphenate
any class of people who are
American citizens. You are
either an American or you
are not. And there is no place
in my lexicon for the term
“undocumented workers.”
The reason these workers
are “undocumented” is that
they are “illegal” (as in “pro
hibited by law”). As a matter
of principle, I refuse to learn
to speak Spanish in order to
do business in my country,
even though truth in adver
tising compels me to admit
that I once made an “A” in
high school Spanish. The
same truth requires me to
tell you that I got that grade
because the future Woman
Who Shares My Name did
my homework for me. I don’t
think I ever got around to
telling her “gracias” for her
something’s not adding up
when your kid starts second
grade and comes home with
the same kindergarten-level
addition and subtraction
problems - for the second
year in a row.
And then your child keeps
telling you that the teacher
isn’t really teaching any
thing, just handing out use
less worksheets - some of
which make no sense to par
ents with business degrees,
medical degrees and Ph.D.s
specializing in econometric
analysis.
And then you notice that
it’s the University of Chicago
education department, not
the mathematics department,
that is behind this nonsense.
And then you Google
“Everyday Math” and dis
cover that countless moms
and dads just like you - and a
few brave teachers with their
heads screwed on straight
- have had similarly horri
fying experiences. Like the
Illinois mom who found these
“math” problems in the fifth
grade “Everyday Math” text
book:
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unselfish act on my behalf.
What a gilipollas I was!
Old age gives one a better
perspective on life. Today, it
is less about wealth and sta
tus and more about enjoying
the simple things in life. I
get goose bumps every time I
see the sunrise at St. Simons
Island. Chocolate tastes bet
ter. So does sweet tea. I get
weepy-eyed every time I hear
the late great Ray Charles
sing “Georgia on My Mind' ”
and wonder what streak of
good fortune put me here in
the Great State of Georgia
and not in some dippy place
like Vermont, where every
body talks funny if they
talk at all.
Alas, old age tends to make
one less tolerant. I don’t like
broccoli and will only eat it
under the direst of circum
A. If math were a color,
it would be -, because -.
B. If it were a food, it
would be -, because -.
C. If it were weather, it
would be -, because -.
And then you realize your
child has become a victim
of “Fuzzy Math,” the “New
New Math,” the dumbed
down, politically correct,
euphemism-filled edu-folly
corrupting both public and
private schools nationwide.
And then you feel like the
subject of Edvard Munch’s
“The Scream” as you take
on the seemingly futile task
of waking up other parents
and fighting the edu-cracy
to restore a rigorous curric
ulum in your child’s class
room. New York City teacher
Matthew Clavel described his
frustration with “Everyday
Math” in a 2003 article for
City Journal:
“The curriculum’s failure
was undeniable: Not one of
my students knew his or her
times tables, and few had
mastered even the most basic
operations; knowledge of
multiplication and division
OPINION
stances like the threat
of having it shoved up my
nose by my esposa amorosa.
I don’t like dogs that bark
and people who yell. I don’t
like scumbags who burn the
American flag just because
it is not against the law nor
the media that glorify them.
I don’t like self-important
actors who assume we plebe
ians give a rat’s fanny about
their left-leaning political
views, and I am beginning
to have a hard time lik
ing lawyers who try with a
straight face to convince us
that the Brian Nichols case
is all about the fairness of
the American justice system.
Both groups need to join the
real world.
My major complaint about
growing older is that market
ing people in this country
was abysmal.... what would
you do, if you discovered that
none of your fourth-graders
could correctly tell you the
answer to four times eight?”
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 lam
basted the math program for
failing to prepare students
for college. It’s an impor
tant 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
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don’t care a jot or tittle about
older Americans. They seem
to cater to those simpletons
with nose studs and belly
rings who can’t utter a simple
sentence without “you know”
in it. Marketers haven’t fig
ured out yet that a lot of we
old folks have a fair amount
of expendable income and a
lot of time in which to decide
how and where to spend it.
And I sure won’t spend mine
in any store where the over
head music is louder than a
Boeing 747 during takeoff.
Despite my assorted aches
and pains and gripes, I am
grateful to have been granted
one more year on this earth.
When I am gone which
I hope isn’t anytime soon
I want my obituary to
highlight the fact that I was
president of the University
educational guinea pigs. And
teachers and math profes
sionals who haven’t drunk
the p.c. Kool-Aid are expos
ing 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 inter
est 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 under
standing.’ Those words, how
ever, hide the truth. Students
today are not expected to
master basic addition, sub
traction 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 differ
ent to educators.”
Members of the West
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of Georgia National Alumni
Association and was named
the university’s outstand
ing alumnus one year. That
might get me a leg up on
qualifying for heaven since it
is a theological fact that God
is a Georgia Bulldog. After
all, what other school can you
name that has been blessed
with two Rhodes scholars
the same number as Harvard
and Princeton and the
state football championship
all in the same year?
You knew I was going to
sneak that in, didn’t you?
Some things never change.
Even in old age. Woofl Woofl
You can reach
Dick Yarbrough at
yarb24oo@bellsouth.net, P.O.
Box 726373, Atlanta, Georgia
31139, or Web site: www.dick
yarbrough.com.
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 warn
ing children not to ingest
poisonous substances. Do not
swallow!
Michelle Malkin is author of
Unhinged: Exposing Liberals
Gone Wild. Her e-mail address
is malkinblog@gmail.com.
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