|
What's Math Got to Do with It?: Helping Children Learn to Love Their Least Favorite Subject--and Why It's Important for America |  | Author: Jo Boaler
Publisher: Viking Adult
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $9.79
as of 9/7/2010 04:00 MDT details
You Save: $15.16 (61%)
New (23) Used (13) from $9.79
Seller: doray1949
Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 158894
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 288
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.1
ISBN: 0670019526
Dewey Decimal Number: 510.71
EAN: 9780670019526
ASIN: 0670019526
Publication Date: July 17, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Features:
| • | ISBN13: 9780670019526 | | • | Condition: New | | • | Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed |
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
| |
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
An alarming look at whats wrong with math education in the United States, and what we can do to change it
The United States is rapidly falling behind the rest of the developed world in terms of math education, and the future of our economy depends on the quality of teaching that our children receive today. A recent assessment of mathematics performance around the world ranked the U.S. twenty-eighth out of forty countries in the study. When the level of spending on education was taken into account, we sank to the very bottom of the list. According to Jo Boaler, a professor of mathematics education at Stanford University, statistics like these are all too commonwe have reached the point of crisis, and a new course of action is crucial.
In this straightforward and inspiring book, Boaler outlines the nature of the math crisis by following the progress of students in middle and high schools over a number of years, observing which teaching methods are exciting students and getting results. Based on her research, she presents concrete solutions that will help reverse the trend, including classroom approaches, essential strategies for students, advice for parents on how to help children enjoy mathematics, and ways to work with teachers in schools. Whats Math Got To Do With It? is an indispensable book for all parents and educators and anyone concerned about the mathematical and scientific future of our society.
|
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 16
 Must-read July 26, 2008
Elizabeth B.
9 out of 12 found this review helpful
This book, believe it or not, is a page-turner! As someone who works with children, I read with fascination Dr. Boaler's description of exactly what I have seen among my students, my own children, and even my friends: how math in school has alienated so many of us from its true nature and its usefulness in the real world. The first half of the book identifies problems and why they are urgent, and the last half shows some things we we can do about it. It also has a lot of references so that when I talk to parents I have some back-up. I am so glad I read it and think it is a must-read for parents and teachers.
Fixing the American Math Challenge March 13, 2010
Frank D. Lock (Gainesville, GA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Jo Boaler is the Marie Curie Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Sussex in England, and has written an enjoyable and important book about mathematics education in our public schools. For the last seven years of my high school teaching career I employed "modeling" strategies to teach both chemistry and physics. In the workshop preparing me to employ the strategies, I had an astounding revelation about the relationship between physics and math. As I read pages 125 - 126 in Boaler's book I had a similar revelation about a math technique used by every algebra student. I found a great deal of joy in that revelation and I found both joy and dismay throughout the book.
In the chapter titled "What's Going Wrong in Classrooms," Boaler cites the importance of effective teachers in school success, and indicates that "Good teachers can make mathematics exciting even with a dreary textbook." She describes our silent math classrooms where students feel "disempowered and disenfranchised." She identifies the heart of the problem, writing "Over time, schoolchildren realize that when you enter Mathland you leave your common sense at the door."
Boaler opens chapter nine with a statement that I found to be true during my thirty-five years as a science teacher; "I'm a big supporter of public education, but it is hard to get away from the fact that math teaching across America is of low quality." The chapter concludes with details about numerous books and web sites that have information that can be used immediately. In concluding, Boaler writes "Mathematicians will tell you that the subject they care so much about is a living, connected and beautiful subject. This book is about giving all children, not only an elite few, the same important insights.
I feel very fortunate to have read this book and I am motivated to work to implement the ideas and strategies Jo Boaler advocates. Every person concerned with STEM education issues should read this book.
Mathematics doesn't have to be evil! Something Every Math Teacher should read. December 2, 2009
Enna Isilee
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I'm currently majoring in Mathematics Education, and I think this is a MUST read for all math teachers and future math teachers. While it's true that this book can be a little TOO fluffy when it comes to the actual teaching of math, I think that's necessary to balance the "Math is memorization" mantra that's been forced into all of our brains by public schooling. AMENDED 7-9-10: Oh. I guess I should be more clear. I don't think that public schooling is TRYING to force the mantra upon us. I just think that the way kids are currently synthesizing the lessons is by assuming that memorization is the easiest, just like a commentator said. A slight change in teaching styles could possibly eliminate this problem.
If teachers tried even a little to emulate this book, I think we could see an entire generation that doesn't abhor mathematics.
Extremely Valuable!! August 10, 2008
Nina Sudnick (Ohio, USA)
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
I agree with the reviewers above...this is a page-turner! I highly recommend this book to anyone who has been searching for the ways and means to help our children truly learn mathematics. I am a middle school math educator in the process of expanding my problem-centered mathematics classroom and I found Dr. Jo Boaler's book extremely valuable. It includes thorough explanations, based on years of research, of the value of problem-centered instruction and instructional concepts to help ALL children learn mathematics. Portions of the book are written for educators and other portions for parents but I found the entire book useful for me as an educator. I will be implementing many of her ideas in my own classroom. If you are interested in how our children truly learn mathematics and how you can help them understand math more deeply I encourage to add this book to your collection.
Important book August 11, 2008
Julie Gainsburg (California)
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
No need to repeat the reviews above; I agree with them all. As a university professor of mathematics education who has grave concerns about the state of mathematics education in the US, I was thrilled to see this book. "What's Math..." covers a lot of ground, painting the math-education landscape, exposing the ugliness of the Math Wars, offering pictures of promising teaching practices, and suggesting ways educators and parents can take action. Yet Dr. Boaler does this all in one short book that is easy and entertaining to read and highly accessible to educators and non-educators alike. I believe two key audiences for this book are parents and school administrators, who both have considerable power over how and what mathematics is taught in schools and who could benefit from the big-picture view this book provides. My sincere hope is that this book finds its way to both audiences.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 16
|
|
|
CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME. | |
