Elementary Education Online Master Degree

Q: (1) To become knowledgeable in mathematics areas one must spend a lot of time on one's own learning and thinking about math. (2) Sitting before a teacher being lectured at whether it is a math teacher or a history teacher is interferring with the alone time needed to learn the math. (3) What the math teacher presents is a small part of the total necessary to attain a deep understanding of the subject. The different math classes one takes at the same time are not unifying in the sense that the student solves the fundamental problems from a whole. Only personal research across several areas of math attains the whole view from which one can progress.

A:By this same logic, to learn karate one should practice kicks at home and not have anyone show you the proper way to stand, recover, etc. The purpose of the teacher is, among other things, to model the right way to think about and do math. I'm not sure what this means. I had come to the general conclusion that it is possible to understand something about all branches of math, but to understand *all* of math is quite impossible. That's why there are so many specialists. Without any form of feedback, this is very unlikely. A book can tell you, through the answer in the back of the book, that you are wrong, but not where your mistake is. I know of no books that will tell you whether a geometry proof is right. This seems to be either a narrow definition of applied subjects, or a broad definition of mathematical thought. Conflict management is an applied subject that would appear to have far more to do with psychology than mathematics. Have you been in the elementary schools lately? Have you talked with teenagers? An appreciation for mathematics and enjoyment of them is a good thing, but it is hardly universal, and certain does nothing to make an athlete more gifted, an artist more gifted, and little to help me get along with my wife. two comments. #1, Obsession with *anything* is unhealthy, even something as cool as math. Concentration, fascination, ok. Obsession? Nah. Not using the clinical definition of obsession, anyway. #2, I don't think there is any substitute for a good teacher taking time to answer a student's question and assisting with the learning process until the student understands it. That can not be gotten from a book, and there are times when ALL of us have questions. These forums are great, but I certainly appreciate the good math teachers I've had over the years.

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