Dr Hacker / Dr Tanton Debate: May 10, 2016

On the evening of May 10th, 2016, Dr. Andrew Hacker (author of The MATH MYTH AND OTHER STEM DELUSIONS, The New Press, 2016) and I met at the National Museum of Mathematics to debate the current state of high-school mathematics education and its profound effects on our nation’s next generations.

During the debate he asked a thought-provoking question. Here is a personal response to that question.

Question Response
APPENDIX

• ON-LINE SHORT COURSES!

  QUADRATICS, Permutations and Combinations, EXPLODING DOTS, and more!

  Written for educators - and their students too! - this website, slowly growing, takes all the content Tanton has developed in his books, videos, and workshops, and organizes it into short, self-contained, and complete, curriculum units proving that mathematics, at all points of the school curriculum, can be joyous, fresh, innovative, rich, deep-thinking, and devoid of any rote doing! Let's teach generations of students to be self-reliant thinkers, willing to flail and to use their common sense to "nut their way" through challenges, to assess and judge results, and to adjust actions to find success. (Great life skills!)

  CHECK OUT: www.gdaymath.com

• Books

  • Thinking Mathematics! (TEN VOLUMES)
  • Solve This: Mathematical Activities for Students and Clubs
  • Encyclopedia of Mathematics
  • Geometry I & II

• Get in touch

  Email: tanton.math@gmail.com