Name: A Mathematician's Lament
Rating: 4.5 (5 reviews)
ISBN: 9781934137178

Paul Lockhart

A manifesto for freeing math from the drudgery of traditional teaching by a brilliant mathematician.

A Mathematician's Lament

Gavin

if I had to design a mechanism for the express purpose of destroying a child’s natural curiosity and love of pattern-making, I couldn’t possibly do as good a job as is currently being done— I simply wouldn’t have the imagination to come up with the kind of senseless, soul-crushing ideas that constitute contemporary mathematics education. 

Everyone knows that something is wrong. The politicians say, “we need higher standards.” The schools say, “we need more money and equipment.” Educators say one thing, and teachers say another. They are all wrong. The only people who understand what is going on are the ones most often blamed and least often heard: the students. They say, “math class is stupid and boring,” and they're right...



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Donald

I love reading books that explain elegantly something I already agree with. The fun part about this one is that it applies to every subject taught in schools.

Fellow parents, homeschool your children!

A Mathematician's Lament

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