Letters to the Editor
-
Have you ever tried to teach math to teenagers?
I have. It's my job. And it is very very hard.
I have tried just about anything you can imagine to get teenagers to try to understand math. It doesn't matter what the method is, as long as it works.
I have even used the calculations employed to market and distribute illegal drugs to try and catch the interest of students. I wrote and perform a rap for the quadratic formula. You do whatever it takes. Especially now that state legislators are beginning to require success on standardized math tests in order to graduate from high school.
If McKellar has found a method that works to engage students with math, she has done a good thing. Worrying about whether it is a sexist method is missing the point completely. The point is getting children to study math.