I read the piece on Kitchen Math,great post.
I just wish someone with a brain in their head would separate K-3 process,milestone and preparation to the grand scheme.
At the moment everyone makes sweeping generalized statements for the whole learning scheme and curriculum,some of these content areas are fine but not without the basics in place.
The emperor has no clothes.

Kitchen Math takes Summer’s remarks out of context.  A fair review would note that Summer’s comments are about university students.  They appeared in the ‘Education Life’ section of the NYT, which is entirely about post-secondary education. 

Kitchen Math’s unfair criticism does however support their argument that you can’t just google stuff; a valid opinion requires background and understanding.  Just not the way they intended.

Tom, what is scary is the Summers’ of the education world, is promoting and advocating for a highly specialized type of education, that is devoid of old knowledge, such as ancient history and calculus. Whenever I have read the Summers’ of the education world, they are dismissive of the old knowledge that comes from within, and misty-eyed for the new knowledge of the global nature. Learning to mastery is no longer important , because collaboration will replace it.

” As the “Moneyball” story aptly displays in the world of baseball, the marshalling of data to test presumptions and locate paths to success is transforming almost every aspect of human life. It is not possible to make judgments about one’s own medical care without some understanding of probability, and certainly the financial crisis speaks to the consequences of the failure to appreciate “black swan events” and their significance. In an earlier era, when many people were involved in surveying land, it made sense to require that almost every student entering a top college know something of trigonometry. Today, a basic grounding in probability statistics and decision analysis makes far more sense. “
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/education/edlife/the-21st-century-education.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

Looking up the facts, without mastery of the foundation have led this world into the economic crisis, as well as increasing the number of adults with low literacy skills. Much of the education policies rests on the premise, why have students reach mastery, when the students can look it up for verification. Policies such as calling it a day, when all students reaches a 50 percent or above pass.

The public education system, as well as the Summers of the education world are dismissive of mastery, automaticity, memory load, and old knowledge, at the expense of the individual. It is at the expense of the individual, when probability statistics becomes the focus in math curriculum.

Probability statistics is the last thing that a person needs to make a decision on their medical needs. Most people want knowledge including old knowledge, since they are not willing to gamble their lives away, on the odds. It is the knowledge that is being downgraded, in favour of highly specialized knowledge, that makes people dependent on others to make decisions for them, because the persons have never been taught to mastery, automaticity, and as well as having a large bank of old knowledge.

Nancy: 

i don’t think Summers is dismissing mastery, he merely points out that the volume of knowledge is exploding and the technology to deal with it is changing; and so suggests that we adapt.

let me suggest that the present discussion fully supports Summer’s argument.  we are working “together”, we are engaged in learning, we are using a wonderful new technology, and our collaboration is helping both of us construct a level of understanding of this issue that we might not achieve on our own.

the comment about probability may come from Kahneman’s book “Thinking, Fast and Slow” which Summers referenced in an earlier point;  it starts with a discussion of how humans are poor natural statisticians and tend to make wrong decisions from unreliable biases.  i’m just starting to read it so i’ll hold further comment.

i agree with you about the need to master the basics.  but i think we would both be thrilled if students were independently engaged in these kinds of rich arguments, supported by the huge pool of knowledge available at their fingertips.  why should we have all the fun?

Great post Tom.  I tend to agree with you there.

”  but i think we would both be thrilled if students were independently engaged in these kinds of rich arguments, supported by the huge pool of knowledge available at their fingertips.  why should we have all the fun? “

But to be independently engaged, students need to have a solid foundation to stand on. Technology allows the student to engaged in independent learning, but as to how much, is dependent on the solid foundation and the individual’s knowledge bank.

My child, who is 16 years old engages in learning new knowledge on the sciences and in the off beat topic of ancient history. It would not be a reality, if I did not tutored her on the 3 Rs, and related foundation knowledge, that the current public education no longer teaches, or has been watered down to appease the agendas within the education system.

As my 16 year old, said to me when she was 12 years old. Ancient history is cool, because it tells you that not much has change in society when it comes to the small ruling elite ruling the roost over what people can do or cannot do. My child is one for knowing that the public education system does not operate with the best intentions to the students. All she ever wanted to do, was to be able to read, write and do numeracy well, but what she got was the opposite. It was left up to me to sort it out, and if not me, she would not have become an independent learner inside and outside of the classroom.

It is the quality of instruction and the final outcomes that are of the most importance. And yet, the public education system and its many different agendas would rather have the students learning against their best interests, as well as against their cognitive strengths and weaknesses.