I was in a car the other day with friends who don.docx

7/25/2019 I was in a car the other day with friends who don.docx

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I was in a car the other day with friends who dont pay much attention to

education issues, and one asked me, Who is this guy who gured out how to

teach math to everyone? He said he read about him in ime maga!ine" hus is a

myth created"

I am not a re#iab#e critic of math methods, its not my e#d so I have not assayeda view of $han and his videos"

%ut today I read a devastating criti&ue"he bottom #ine' the videos arent very

good and neither is the math"

I have a tendency to want to see educationa# ideas deve#oped in a sober and

carefu# way, because I know of () educations tendency to *ump on bandwagons

and adopt the #atest fad and new thing" eachers tend to be skeptica# of &uick

+es and proper#y so"

It is not that they are resistant to innovation, but they are resistant to hype, andproper#y so"

he author, $arim $ai ni, writes as fo##ows'

The real problem with Khan Academy is not the low-quality videos or the absence

of any pedagogical intentionality. Its just one resource among many after all.

!ather the danger is that we believe the promise of silver bullets " of simple

solutions to comple# problems " and in so doing become deaf to what really

needs to be done.

As Arne $uncan said we need to invest in professional development and provideteachers with the support and resources they need to be successful. %e need to

give them time to collaborate and create relevant content that engages students

and develops not just rote s&ills but also conceptual understanding. %e have to

help new teachers 'gure out classroom management " to reach the student who

shows up late to class every day and never brings a pencil " and free up veteran

teachers to mentor younger colleagues.

I recently attended the inaugural (Twitter)ath*amp a collection of teachers

who traveled from around the country +plus two *anuc&s,during their

vacationand paid out of poc&etto discuss how best to introduce proportions

and whether slope always requires units.

%e need to stop focusing on the teachers who are doing it wrong and instead

recogni/e the ones who are doing it right0 the 1ran& 2oscheses and the Kate

2owa&s3 the 4adie 5strellas and the 4am 4haws3 the ones who spend their time

trying to become better to ma&e someone elses &ids smarter.

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2/5

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Related

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8ritics 9ispute $han cademy, $han 7esponds to 2ar#ier 8riticIn 68urricu#um6

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3/5

any #ogica# se&uence or we##Bthought out e+amp#es" )a#s no teacher, #et a#one a

great one"

ellis

, meaning that a perfect score wou#d

be 0-? re you reporting on a## three and c#aiming a rise from =1 Caverage of1E to => Caverage of .E? 8ertain#y impressive, but did you use $ videos to

work on the writing and the critica# reading sections as we## as math? nd if so,

did you use nothing e#se for a## three areas?

/ina##y, stating your JsicK an idiot is chi#dish and a #itt#e embarrassing for you" I

have reasons for the things I stated with which you disagree" )ha## I c#aim that

you are an idiot because we disagree? )orry, Im not in the mood for muds#inging

*ust now, and I hope that if you rep#y again that you raise the #eve# of your game

above persona# epithets" I can be#ieve Cand doE that $han is not the great teacher

some fee# he is and make an argument to support that viewpoint" Ive done so,

more than once" 9oesnt make me right, but at #east my reasons are oLered

honest#y and open#y" nd without ca##ing those who see things diLerent#y

schoo#yard insu#ts"

psandeep

ugust ., 0=- at =0'> pm

s of Mu#y 0=, 0=-, the $han cademy channe# on Nouube attracted 0,>A,@1@

subscribers and the $han cademy videos have been viewed over -1> mi##ion

times
http://dianeravitch.net/2012/07/23/math-teacher-debunks-khan-academy/comment-page-2/#comment-339695http://dianeravitch.net/2012/07/23/math-teacher-debunks-khan-academy/comment-page-2/#comment-340006http://dianeravitch.net/2012/07/23/math-teacher-debunks-khan-academy/comment-page-2/#comment-2201120http://dianeravitch.net/2012/07/23/math-teacher-debunks-khan-academy/comment-page-2/#comment-339695http://dianeravitch.net/2012/07/23/math-teacher-debunks-khan-academy/comment-page-2/#comment-340006http://dianeravitch.net/2012/07/23/math-teacher-debunks-khan-academy/comment-page-2/#comment-2201120


4/5

source'Wikipedia

here is factua# evidence indicating that his videos are actua##y he#ping a #ot of

peop#e #earn"nybody who can re#ate to so many peop#e and guide them through

their education i wou#d argue is probab#y bri##iant"i wou#d say the reason his

videos are so he#pfu# is beacuse he emp#oys a conversationa# and informa# sty#e

and by no means is he unprepared,most peop#e are attracted to his enthusiasmand passion"nd anyway hes probab#y done a #ot more than most peop#e

dianeravitch

ugust ., 0=- at @'0- pm

Osandeep, with near#y 1 mi##ion views, why are critics sti## writing artic#es that

mericans stink at math? 9oes that refer on#y to whoever has not seen his

videos CmeE?

)ichael 6aul 7oldenberg

ugust ., 0=- at -'-@ pm

I think its important to keep in mind that diLerent peop#e have very diLerent

ideas about what it means to #earn, teach, know, or do mathematics" /or the

ma*ority of mericans, who are woefu##y ignorant of the essence of mathematics,

$han cademy may get the *ob done Cbut even there its not the right too# foreveryoneE" %ut for deeper understanding of what math is about, it simp#y is a

s#icker version of typica# c#assroom instruction in schoo# mathematics" Oeop#e

wou#d be vast#y better oL going to Mames antons Nouube channe#s" He has a

coup#e of free video courses on his 39ayDath"com website, and #ots of videos via

*amestanton"com, a## of which can a#so be found on Nouube" His books are

fabu#ous, too" here are other ne sources' numberphi#e"com and their Nouube

channe#P the rt of Orob#em so#vingP Mames 3rime Caka the )inging %ananaE have

videos on Nouube and on their websites"

he down side of the things I recommend' they might re&uire some thought"

%ut thats because rea# mathematics does" $han cademy videos often seem totry to take the thought out of things, *ust #ike most traditiona# math teaching

does" s a way to #earn to think mathematica##y, I think such things are a wasted

eLort" If a## you care about is memori!ing steps and procedures that you dont

rea##y understand, I suppose they are okay, though I nd )a# $hans voice dead#y

du## and very annoying, and I dont think he gives informed thought to the

e+amp#es he uses or the interna# order in which #essons proceed" nd I think

thats because )a# isnt a mathematics teacher by trade, and so he thinks that

*ust doing what count#ess math teachers have done #ive with doubtfu# resu#ts wi##

be more eLective if done on video, with the badges and other be##s and whist#es

that the $ website oLers" Orobab#y good for training #ab rats, but not so great forpromoting mathematica# thought"
http://greatschoolwars.wordpress.com/http://dianeravitch.net/2012/07/23/math-teacher-debunks-khan-academy/comment-page-2/#comment-2201584http://gravatar.com/markovchaneyhttp://dianeravitch.net/2012/07/23/math-teacher-debunks-khan-academy/comment-page-2/#comment-2201707http://greatschoolwars.wordpress.com/http://dianeravitch.net/2012/07/23/math-teacher-debunks-khan-academy/comment-page-2/#comment-2201584http://gravatar.com/markovchaneyhttp://dianeravitch.net/2012/07/23/math-teacher-debunks-khan-academy/comment-page-2/#comment-2201707


5/5

0" !obert )c1arlane
http://www.robertmcfarlane.com/http://www.robertmcfarlane.com/

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