"Jochen F. Rick" wrote:
> 
> This is possibly the worst article I've ever read on education. The
> problem is not that there isn't a grain of truth to it, but rather that
> its conclusions only loosely follow from the observations.
> 
> One of the posters to the discussion is upset that after having learning
> IT in school that his kid can't install Eudora. I'm so glad that people
> can agree that math with its logic and elegance is important, while
> the important part of computing is being able to install software. The
> computer revolution clearly hasn't reached these people yet.
> 
> Let me give you another perspective on "Americans" who supposedly can't
> compete in math: mine. In high school, I was involved in mathematics
> competition, etc. I even placed second at a national math competition.
> Now, I get a B in computational theory. Why? The writer of the article
> would probably claim that I don't have the necessary appreciation for
> mathematics, since I went to an American school. Unfortunately, that is
> not the case at all. It simply pains me to do computational theory,
> because I don't see it as useful. I don't care about graphs. I don't care
> about infinite tapes. The reason I took the class is because it is a
> requirement. That's it. IMNSHO, that I am unmotivated by things I see as
> useless is a positive thing. That I can even judge that for me these
> things are useless is a positive thing.
> 
> I hope that the point of school isn't to make you appreciate useless
> and tedious things. Math is fun. Math is useful. Math is challenging, but
> that also makes it fun. Math is not learning the multiplication tables.
> Math is learning about negative numbers, learning about fractions,
> algebra, geometry, economics, etc. These things are so cool, because you
> see them in life. You may have to learn the multiplication tables in
> order to be able to use multiplication, but it is multiplication that is
> important and NOT learning the multiplication table.
> 
> Computing environments like Logo, Boxer, and Squeak do not make math fun;
> they make it accessible. Accessible math is fun. I agree that goofy
> characters that help sugarcoat the multiplication tables are fairly
> naive, but that is hardly an argument against all educational software.
> 
> Peace and Luck!
> 
> Je77

I have to agree with you. I noticed the article since SqC is involved in 
a project in Kansas City, which the article states:

Kansas City wasted US$2 billion over the last 15
years, making local schools into a culturally rich but
brain-dead experience. Politicians and philosophers
seem to be baffled as to how this could be.

Karl
> 
> On Thu, May 24, 2001 at 08:34:38AM +0200, Karl Ramberg wrote:
> > I read this at www.osopinion.com: Tech Toys Won't Save America's Schools
> > http://www.osopinion.com/perl/story/9964.html
> > Karl