Time Magazine features an essay on “the math wars” by writer Claudia Wallis, who argues that the right formula for teaching mathematics has been found, but that politics are getting in the way. She says the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has devised some basic, but sensible methods for teaching math to American students who are faltering in comparison with their peers in places like Singapore. But she worries that the new methods will be incorrectly interpreted and result in boring math drills and could contribute to students’ aversions to math.
A version of this news article first appeared in the Around the Web blog.