[IAEP] IAEP Digest, Vol 10, Issue 18

[Bryan Berry]

> From: Alan Kay <alan.nemo at yahoo.com>

> Also, I have given an account in several places of some of the wonderful teaching approaches of first grade teacher Julia Nishijima (when she was at the LA Open Magnet School). These include setting up an environment in which children construct and really do discover 1st and 2nd order growth laws as arithmetic progressions. Most of her (and Mary Laycocke's) stuff was done before computers (and doesn't need computers) but can later be enhanced by computers.
> 
> The biggest limitation by far here is not the knowledge of how to do this stuff, but the fact that most elementary school teachers have essentially no sense of math, and very few of these really want to learn anything about math.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Alan

This approach works well in an idealized situation, one with an
extremely well-trained teacher and supportive school administration. The
vast majority of classrooms in developing countries-and developed
ones-won't have these advantages in the short-term or long-term. We need
strategies that don't depend on an exceptional educator leading the
classroom. 

-- 
Bryan W. Berry
Technology Director
OLE Nepal, http://www.olenepal.org