Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

♦ 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. H ' J k Gardener 4 ■L*. WE HAVE! _*» IT jegasgl? P/f? TREES!! , •- X.n/ 1'» in» ' ,<£ - v | >: . . . L 620 Cett. Courtney Hodges Blud. waM 1 Mon-Sot B:3oam-s:3opm • 478-937-1230 « 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: v PERRY yj r TAEKWONDO 5-WEEK TAEKWONDO v Course with Gift Wrapped f j Uniform 569.00 / THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS GIFT! j liillfl 229 Wes Park Drive $ !| I (Behind Robins Federal Credit Union)^ 3yj|sjp i 478-987-8874 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 ® < £ ComSoutli Neighbors Serving Neighbors PI RIO CUSTOMERS: 1357-I)Sam Numißhd. • Perry, CA 31069 J\ rrv Customers: 2SS.|-/|OOi • Lnadilla And Pinehursi (.uslomers: (>27-300:2 WWVTCOMSOITH.NET • QUESTIOTNS@COMSOLTH.NET *V», I, ■<,«rs „,«sl 5,./„ 9 MT.u. «iT.TK. :.i Ihrtt mm.ih fn-« <*n<..>li u- *blol (mik» eu«..HK.%»*v«<.»(Hiring<h> ikro: «mn!i).r«.o)<«.».Kwl « f«.i N<»« iictimik r* mus.«* .4,0,, >«k r*» <» ..|fr*b ... 0«* fa* *.. .<* .he I*u a. ..I Uk-t M2M rumble ofcr vpbn... w» «<*»x * tuaicd lie■fc.|. IK*. uJK-r 31.2007. ami il.i- .ura.it ->lk. Kill ee|».n- ■>.: IKv ii.lkt .il. 2(h). (-tola . 1* ai|«.»wl. (iHbStM.i. re* rxMln righ. i-jo<|H ... <b-ir at* *j.)>luoiHnif.>r smite. S..m. arvi-ts ik.i av.iifciWiriii*tlanr»> 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 FIRST 3 MONTHS FREE WIRELESS HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL 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. ConjSoutb now offers unlimited, nationwide M2M wireless service with the I>est coverage in die entire nation, including middle Georgia. Sign up now (or our most popular plan with 450 anytimc/3000 night weekend minutes and the first 3 months arc free, plus unlimited M2\l (sll9.97savings) -then only $39.99 per month * Our new unlimited M2M allows you to talk with millions of other wireless customers natk>nw ide. 56671