Periodically the God of Maths-Whizz receives Google email alerts about the world of maths. These tell him who is blogging, posting comments, writing news and press releases with ‘maths’ mentioned somewhere.
It has come to the attention of the God of Whizz that ‘maths’ or ‘math’ is a word too often used in anger than in scientific or mathematical description. It has become an epithet, almost.
BBC News online reported yesterday that primary school teachers are:
often scared of basic numeracy and should be required to study English and maths at A-level
…according to a report by the moderate conservative Politeia think-tank.
The report, titled ‘Teachers Matter’ focuses on entry standards for teachers. An author, David Burghes, of the University of Plymouth, said:
One of the issues that bedevils our teaching profession, and particularly my subject of mathematics, is that of the inadequate subject knowledge of teachers.
But Nansi Ellis, head of education policy at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, countered:
As well as knowing their subject, teachers need to understand the different ways children learn and develop.
Instead of hysterical reports of so-called under-educated teachers we should have a proper debate about the skills and knowledge teachers need to be good at teaching children.
The report goes on to argue that central control and management of teachers is damaging the profession, but the department for Children, Schools and Families strongly criticised the comments.
From this corner, it seems that questions about the qualifications of teachers will never go away. Commenters from both sides of the political divide will argue that life experience and teaching knowledge are more important than academic bona-fides, whilst others will argue that degree- or A-level knowledge is vital to ensure good teaching in that particular subject.
I’m inclined to hedge my bets on this one. I had excellent teachers whose passion was fuelled by their deep understanding of the subjects they taught, and I had dull teachers whose poor teaching seemed a direct result of their academic immersion.
In earlier years, I remember most the teachers who showed vigour and interest, but it was easy to spot teachers who were less confident in particular subjects. I’d like to think that the love of teaching must come first - a motivated and bright teacher can be taught fluency in a subject that isn’t her own, but a knowledgeable teacher isn’t necessarily willing to be motivated. I know that not all teachers want to tackle subjects they didn’t learn beyond GCSE - the teacher training process should identify those people and ensure they are pushed towards areas they are comfortable with.
A teacher who is dull, or even disparaging, about a subject can sometimes do more damage than good. Feel free to comment!
In case you’ve been hiding under a rock, it’s the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landings, and an opportunity to recall a tremendous feat of science, exploration and verve. The achievement has since inspired millions.
The Math-Whizz 2009 Summer Adventure is about to go live!
Log in to your Maths-Whizz account next week to get started, or visit the Maths-Whizz start page, create a free account and - if you like the look of Maths-Whizz - sign up!
The Summer adventure features the Whizz Professor, trying to escape the jungle with your help. You can access the summer adventure by clicking the postcard that lands on your Whizz Bedroom doormat. This will load the Summer Adventure experience.
You’ll need to solve math puzzles, explore mazes and be quick with the blowpipe to help out the Prof. And don’t forget, students need to make progress to earn the right to play the Whizz Summer Adventure.
Good luck!
