Re: Don't Call It "Algebra"; Call It Something Warm And Fuzzy

In article <ZZOdnahBhIvexOvVnZ2dnUVZ_oLinZ2d@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>, Donna Metler
says...
>
>
>"Pubkeybreaker" <pubkeybreaker@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
>news:20e2a46d-92aa-40ba-a42a-3143bc0d936e@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>On Jul 10, 12:31 pm, Barbara <mom_2_...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>> On Jul 10, 9:41 am, hru...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 (Herman Rubin) wrote:
>>
>>
>
>> Of course, the answer is not to re-name the subject. Rather, the
>> answer is to show the students that algebra isn't that difficult.
>>
>
>My general suspicion is that the phenomenon isn't unique to 'algebra'.
>I suspect that the students afraid of 'algebra' are also afraid of
>'physics', 'chemistry', 'literature'... etc.   They are afraid of
>any subject that requires that they <gasp!>  might have to study
>in order to learn.  Too many are simply intellectually LAZY.
>---
>
>What I find humorous is that I was in a teaching store the other day, and

>saw a series of books starting at 1st grade, labeled "Algebra" (which
looked 
>to me like reasonable extention activities for a child who had a good
grasp 
>on basic operations, but nothing that hasn't been taught in math cl*****
at 
>that age level, at least to the higher groups, for decades). So,
apparently 
>the word Algebra is considered too scary for high school kids to have on
a 
>book, but not for a 6 yr old!

This kinda reminds me of the town of Ossining, New York.  

It's the site of Sing Sing prison.  Ossining used to be called "Sing
Sing",
hence the prison name, so Ossining changed their name to be more like the
original Indian name.

A decade or so ago, Sing Sing was renamed the "Ossining Correctional
Institution".

Heh.

This renaming thing is majorly dumb.  Only a non-mathematical (i.e. -
verbally
inclined) person woudl have thought of it.

Banty