This is Dennis DeTurck, a mathematics professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
[photo: usatoday.com]
Professor DeTurck is currently trying to push fractions out of their rightful place in math education, citing them as being “as obsolete as Roman numerals are.” Not satisfied in stopping there, he is also taking on long division, the calculation of square roots, and by-hand multiplication of long numbers.
I would like to take this opportunity to officially announce that I will be fighting these propositions with my whole being. If I had to suffer through three make-up math classes and endless amounts of frustrating nights, there is no way that the brats of today are getting off this easy. Professor, BRING IT ON.
2 responses so far ↓
bucketsofshrimp // January 31, 2008 at 1:37 pm |
yeah i didn’t really get why he wants to stop teaching fractions to kids. i think he argues that it’s better to teach fractions later after the basic math knowledge is developed or somesuch, but I mean i don’t recall thinking fractions were some kind of crazy arcane complicated thing when i learned them. it seems to fit well where it is in the curriculum. i’m also not sure what makes the decimal so much better than fractions.
OH NO I realized this is the sort of conservative, don’t fix it if it ain’t broke, honor the status quo, keep the black man down kind of thinking that i was railing against the other night. must compensate with ultra-liberalism…
To Do List:
socialize medicine
burn flag
run God over with prius
Jennifer // February 8, 2008 at 10:23 am |
I think the Professor is on the right track. We should just get rid of math altogether and install calculators into our forearms.