TEDxManhattanBeach - John Bennett - Why Math Instruction Is Unnecessary

Talk title: Why math instruction is unnecessary

John is a teacher of math and a homeschooling parent who offers a radical-sounding proposal: that we cease to require math instruction in middle and high school. He came to this point of view over a number of years, as he attempted (and failed) to convince students that the math they were learning was beautiful, useful, or an imperative component of their future prosperity. When he stopped trying to connect math with students and simple tried to connect with the students themselves, he made a profound discovery - kids are suffering from "math anxiety." If the goal of teaching math is to teach us deductive and inductive reasoning, might games and puzzles be equally effective in developing kids' reasoning skills - and allow them to fulfill their life missions? "We want to reawaken analytical and critical thinking schools that have been anesthetized by the standard curriculum," says John.

John Bennett is a math teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area and a home-schooling father of four. An outspoken advocate of education reform, he has presented lectures and workshops throughout California. He uses logic puzzles and strategy games in the classroom (and at home) to supplement the traditional mathematics curriculum. John has written three volumes of Pentagrid Puzzles, a new puzzle form he created to challenge deductive logic and visual-spatial reasoning.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDxManhattanBeach, where x = independently organized TED event. At our TEDxManhattanBeach event, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organized.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• tedxmanhattanbeach
• tedx
• john bennett
• pentagrid puzzles

[SkimSkateHMB]

33 people need to stop hating on my 7th grade math teacher

[boothesquirrel]

@quartzy If you just read the title and ignore what he actually said, what you said sounds great. I actually watched the video and read the description though, and what you said doesn't make sense. I mean you literally repeated the reason for teaching math that he gave as if he didn't know about it, and he gave other ways to learn it.

[DanEvPro]

@winwin02 yup

it's their choice to make just as it is to decide to get a job that involves that subject.

if you decide not to study math it is your fault, you wont get into a job with math in it.

[winwin02]

So stop learning Maths at 10. Then if you decide that you weren't omnipotent and do actually want to study a numerical subject when your older, your pretty screwed. Yeah great idea.

[drizer4real]

at 6:15 , I had a biology teacher like that, he was a mr Johnson allright, striking fear and stress in 15 year old schoolkids, a psycho/big bully with the power of authority behind him, . I dropped Biology, I liked it before that, but after him, no. That guy , mr Meissen, should never been allowed to teach, I still hate him till this day.

[papermermaid]

@GoobsMineCraft

These students love it. They have a natural ability to do this math. They would love it - as I did. The reason why you are citing 'stress' is because of Math Anxiety. I have met 1st graders from Japan that were working Algebra. It isn't hard.

[GoobsMineCraft]

@papermermaid Yes, the earlier the better, but do you know how much stress on a child that would be? I had enough stress with it in 8th grade. I believe they should have it around 4th or 5th grade. But they need to learn their English and Science, learning Algebra before they reach first grade would mean nothing but math, therefore they probably won't know their alphabet or grammar.

[papermermaid]

@fcdog555

I say earlier the better. I say algebra as soon as they hit 1st grade, for mathematically inclined children. I guess I say take it a step further.

[papermermaid]

@fcdog555

I think it will. Most courses that do not focus on mathematics only go as far as some trig. Not terribly difficult. If this teaching method is adopted by colleges then even trig may not be needed.

I am an Engineering Technology student. I knew I wanted to be an aerospace before I knew what it was at the first sight of the Enterprise NCC 1701 when I was 6. I was already mathematically inclined, So are other kids. We can and HAVE introduced mathematics very early with great results.

[fcdog555]

@papermermaid I go to a college that primarily has engineering students in fact--I am not one of them though.

But do you think that taking the maths from these kids at this young age will really prepare them for college?

[papermermaid]

@fcdog555

I work with engineering students all day...the median age is around 10-11 .... The youngest I heard was 6. If you want to know the truth why don't you go to your local university and ask the engineering students. Most of the time kids don't know what they want to do is called engineering or to become a scientist. You have no idea about these children. They are remarkable.

[fcdog555]

@papermermaid You are living in a facade if you think most engineers plan to be engineers at that age.

fail again