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From: ljdickey@watmath.waterloo.edu (L.J.Dickey)
Subject: Re: Subtle Math Questions
Message-ID: <1991May1.192513.11714@watmath.waterloo.edu>
Organization: University of Waterloo
References: <2731@ttardis.UUCP> <1991Apr24.142835.26475@mccc.edu>
Date: Wed, 1 May 1991 19:25:13 GMT
Lines: 27

In article <1991Apr24.142835.26475@mccc.edu> pjh@mccc.edu (Pete Holsberg) writes:

>I think you'll find that the majority of primary and secondary school
>math teachers do not get their math education from a college's math
>department in "regular" math courses but either from a regular college's
>math department's special math courses for wannabes, OR from the math
>departments of teachers colleges!!  :-(  In either case, the students
>are not expected to learn much math at all.  (My ex-wife is now a HS
>math teacher and her education matches the "ed major" model implied above.)

Fortunately, there are a few nice exceptions to these models, and
students at Waterloo are some of them.  Here, students in the Faculty
of Mathematics who are enrolled in our Teaching Option alternate study
terms and work terms.  During their eight study terms they work on
their undergraduate degree in Mathematics, and during their work terms
the do supervised teaching.  At the end of their five year programme,
they have earned a degree called Bachelor of Mathematics, Honours, and
the right to attend a one term course at the nearby teacher's college
where they get their teaching credentials.

This is a far cry from special courses for wannabes.

-- 
Prof L.J. Dickey, Faculty of Mathematics, U of Waterloo, Canada N2L 3G1
	Internet:	ljdickey@watmath.waterloo.edu
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