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The math myth : and other STEM delusions / Andrew Hacker.

by Hacker, Andrew.

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The New Press, 2016.

Mathematics -- Study and teaching -- Social aspects.

Mathematical ability.

View Andrew Hacker's 2012 New York Times article "Is Algebra Necessary."

9781620970683 (hc.)

239 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 209-224) and index.

The "M" in STEM -- A harsh and senseless hurdle -- Will plumbers need polynomials? -- Does your dermatologist use calculus? -- Gender gaps -- Does mathematics enhance our minds? -- The Mandarins -- The Common Core: one size for all -- Discipline versus discovery -- Teaching, tracking, testing -- How not to treat statistics -- Numeracy 101.

"Andrew Hacker's 2012 New York Times op-ed questioning the requirement of advanced mathematics in our schools instantly became one of the paper's most widely circulated articles. Why, he wondered, do we inflict a full menu of mathematics - algebra, geometry, trigonometry, even calculus - on all young Americans, regardless of their interests or aptitudes? The Math Myth expands Hacker's scrutiny of many widely held assumptions, like the notions that mathematics broadens our minds, that mastery of azimuths and asymptotes will be needed for most jobs, that the entire Common Core syllabus should be required of every student. He worries that a frenzied emphasis on STEM is diverting attention from other pursuits and subverting the spirit of the country. Hacker honors mathematics as a calling (he has been a professor of mathematics) and extols its glories and its goals. Yet he shows how mandating it for everyone prevents other talents from being developed and acts as an irrational barrier to graduation and careers. He proposes alternatives, including teaching facility with figures, quantitative reasoning, and understanding statistics. Andrew Hacker is the author of Two Nations: Black and White. He is an emeritus professor of political science at Queens College, City University of New York"--Provided by publisher.

"STEM is a term that refers to the academic disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and is typically used when addressing education policy and curriculum choices in schools to improve competitiveness in science and technology development."--From wikipedia.org website.

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