THE public may be yearning for a return to the basics in public schools, but trend-setting administrators can’t get enough of innovations that are self-esteem-intensive and academically forgiving. Today’s lesson concerns California’s latest math curriculum, the new new math, where memorization is out, and creativity and fun rule the day.
The philosophy behind new new math can be found in an early statement issued by the Instructional Resources Evaluation Panel (IREP), the panel responsible for choosing which math textbooks should be eligible for special state funding: “Early memorization of number facts is seen as a hindrance rather than a help in developing mathematical understanding.” (Readers from other states be forewarned: the texts California buys soon sweep the nation.)
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