How best to teach math to kids, pt. 2

Y'all might remember my posting from some weeks ago where a noted mathematics professor advocated that kids not be taught fractions in elementary school. Here's a story with the findings of a presidential panel on math education.

The panel found that kids should not only be taught fractions but they should be taught better and more strongly, along with basic math and geometry, to provide a solid base for algebra and higher math.

My beef is not with the's panel's recommendation-- I agree that strong basic math skills are essential to being able to do algebra and other higher math. My beef is that 1) math was taught to me as torturously as possible, 2) I had enough mean, bad or otherwise ineffecive teachers to last a lifetime and 3) I see now that I've struggled all the way up needlessly-- I just wasn't being taught right. (Except for trig and calculus-- notoriously dificult for most but simple for me since I had a phenominal teacher, and even chemistry wasn't too horrible is something I used to know how to do, because I had a good teacher.)

Maybe math education would be better if they didn't make us cram so many topics in together and focused on the more important of the algebraic topics, since a lot of the stuff they tortured us with in Algebra II, for example, I've never since used and no long remember how to do (along with trig, calc and chemistry--- oh well)

Or maybe I'm just biased and bitter, based on years of soul-crushing, discouraging failures in math-land. Maybe I just don't think that way and just don't get the "logic" of it (ok, I don't.) But I really hope some other kid doesn't go through what I did, and having it be largely for naught...

If you have 1/2 of an apple and 2/3 of a pear, how much fruit do you have?

Who ever would have thought that a math professor would be advocating that fractions not be taught in schools to young children anymore? (http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-01-23-fractions_N.htm)

There are many good reasons for teaching fractions:

1. We don't use the metric system, so if you want to do anything involving any sort of distance, volume, quantity in the imperial system, you need fractions. (We'll not discuss how I'm still a bit uncertain at reading a f-ing inch-demoninated ruler, and VASTLY prefer centimeters)
2. The right of passage that is suffering through years of being forced to learn how to add, subtract, multiply and divide fractions by hand. (I vaguely remember how to do these tasks, but maybe that's because it's almost second nature and I don't have to think about it?)
3. The joys that those mean bitches who get jobs as elementary school teachers get from torturing their innocent students with endless fractions-problems. (Guess what Mrs. Mean 4th Grade Teacher From Hell, I still don't do math fast-- if I ever was on a bus that would blow up if I didn't add/subtract fractions quick enough, we'd all be toast)
4. Surely there's another.... oh, yes. The conceptualization of partial units. Seriously, when was the last time you had a subtract fractions? (I'm not sure that I even know how to do it, now that I think about it) But when was the last time you dealt with the concept of a part of a whole? My point exactly.

Kids need fractions, calculators or not. Metric system or not. And as much as I hate to say it, Mrs. Loud, Fat Shrew With Stirrup Tights (evil 3rd grade teacher) might have done me a favour, when she wasn't breaking my spirit.

Yet again, not RoW material. I promise a RoW posting very shortly.