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From: jimh@welch.jhu.edu (Jim Hofmann)
Newsgroups: comp.edu,sci.math,sci.misc,ut.general,uw.general,uw.math.grad,york.general
Subject: Re: Subtle Math Questions
Message-ID: <1991Apr23.124929.2180@welch.jhu.edu>
Date: 23 Apr 91 12:49:29 GMT
References: <1991Apr21.142443.2736@contact.uucp> <1991Apr21.194019.352@ms.uky.edu> <1991Apr22.221923.2370@groucho>
Reply-To: jimh@welchlab.welch.jhu.edu (Jim Hofmann)
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Organization: Welch Medical Library, Baltimore
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In article <1991Apr22.221923.2370@groucho> foster@ted.cs.uidaho.edu writes:
>Normally, this posting would have been a private response.  But I have a VERY
>GOOD reason for proposing that we ALL see such a list of questions.
>
>Math education in this country is very poor.  In part, this is because
>teachers at lower levels are either not good at math or do not pursue
>math very deeply.  I do not mean this perjoratively.  They have little 
>incentive to be good at math.
>
>I conclude that it is up to US, we favored few, to tell the students what math
>is and why it's interesting.  YES, I am proposing we volunteer some time in 
>the local schools.  
>
>One great way to do a one-class talk on math is to ask some little questions
>which should bug the heck out of a student who really wants to master math.
>Then have a discussion about the problem.  The "Subtle Math Questions"
>would be great to use in this way.
>
>Note that even the most ardent of us are probably only going to donate a day or
>two every now and then.  So we can't expect to actually TEACH much.  But we
>can teach the student to ask critical questions and, more importantly, to 
>discuss and think about the answers.
>
>James

Excellent Idea!  Career day is a good time to start or fine a school with a 
math fair.  At the fair, you'll see where their interest lies and build off
that.  

Added thought, tutoring.  Have undergrads do some one-on-one tutoring.  If thereis one area that all teachers agree with is the lack of individual help to
the students who really need it.  The undergrads will benifit in 2 ways.  They
will find out how much they do know and they will see what it is like on the 
other side as a teacher.  The students will benifit from the help.  Sometimes
it only takes a sentence or two and you can save the students hours of          frustration.  Another benifit for the student is varitity.  The see the same
math teach ALL year.  With a program like tutoring, they will see different
views of math and hopefully see someone that likes math.

I must defend the math teachers that are out there now.  TRUE, there are gym \
and art teachers in math class rooms, but there a some excellent math talent
in the system.  Unfortunetly, its not only the pay the keeps talent away.
Professionalism is missing.  Think about it.  Hall duty, bus duty, caf. duty,
bathroom duty, ect......

Jim