Re: Some grave concerns to the US education

On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 02:01:15 GMT, "Fletch F. Fletch"
<notme31415@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:

>Bob LeChevalier wrote:
>> "Fletch F. Fletch" <notme31415@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>>> Bob LeChevalier wrote:
>>>> "Fletch F. Fletch" <notme31415@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>>>>> How many people do you figure are on the earth that don't know
>>>>> their times tables to say twelve, but can factor a quadratic?  I'm
>>>>> guessing it hovers around zero.
>>>>
>>>> I dunno.  My kid passed algebra this year (not easily, but he did
>>>> pass), and he doesn't know the times tables to ten solidly.  I ran
>>>> him on flashcard programs for a few years, and he could get 98% on
>>>> 100 multiplication facts in under 3 minutes 3 days straight.  But a
>>>> month after stopping the flash cards, he would be back at 50-60%
>>>> and 6-8 minutes.  Addition was only somewhat better.  We tried this
>>>> for four years with the same results and then realized he would
>>>> never really master them.  He counts on his fingers when he doesn't
>>>> have a calculator.  He'll never be a math whiz.  But algebra is
>>>> required to graduate, and he seems to have managed it. (He actually
>>>> got better grades in algebra than in middle school pre-algebra
>>>> cl*****).
>>>
>>> There goes my theory.  Of course, it may be the case that he will
>>> forget algebra quickly as well, and my theory will rise from the
>>> dead.
>>
>> Oh, I'm sure he has forgotten every bit of algebra he ever knew
>> already.  His long term retention of anything is rather spotty.  His
>> kinesthetic learning is excellent, but if it involves memorization, it
>> seldom makes the transition from short to long term memory.
>>
>> lojbab
>
>I'm still intact.
>
That can be remedied ;)

>Slainte,
>Fletch
>

--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..

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