Tough Math

Georgia high schools are implementing a new math curriculum this year, which is causing a bit of a stir. Unlike the prior approach of teachers spending all their time in front of the class-room, they are starting to do more "collaborative learning", which involves students breaking into groups and working through problems together. The teacher does still spend time teaching at the front of the room, and most of the grade is based on individual work, but the collaborative part of it is new for most students and parents. And many were not happy. Last night the school held a meeting for parents of freshmen to discuss these changes, and the parents were not very happy. There seemed to be an the endless stream of complaints from disgruntled parents about how difficult the new approach was for their children.

Now I'm no education expert so I am not in a position to say which is the best approach to teaching, but I do believe a good challenge is sometimes just what we need. I don't think it's a coincidence that it was the generation that took the beaches of Normandy that also put a man on the moon.

As I think about these youth, I realize THIS is the generation which will establish a permanent colony on the moon. They will be the ones to make a manned mission to Mars possible, and, God-willing, they will be the first ones to finally celebrate a cure for cancer.

Either our children will stretch themselves to meet challenges such as those presented by this new curriculum, or they will sit back and watch CNN as Taiwan and India claim those prizes. I, for one, am willing to struggle with my daughter as we calculate how much fencing Claire needs for her oddly-shaped garden. It's worth it.