DT>I know that many kids memorize facts...but can they apply them? 
Two different cognitive levels... Reaching the first doesn't
mean you reach the second...
DT>But I see many kids, even 5th graders, still struggling with 
DT>some basic math concepts.  I am left to wonder why?
1. Many kids simply don't CARE why, they just want a nice,
   easy formula to follow that ALWAYS works.  I see it every
   day in physics, and I'm sure Sheila does in math.  It's
   much easier than investing the effort in understanding.
2. Many kids simply don't work hard enough, or long enough,
   or with enough concentration to "get" more than a 
   rudimentary understanding of the concepts.
   
3. Some teachers have given up trying for true understanding
   because so few of their kids (in the teachers' mind) are
   going to "get" it anyway.
   
4. There IS the possibility, largely ignored these days, 
   that some kids are not going to "get" the higher order
   understandings because of a lacking in their internal
   wiring.
DT>The question I have is...if we are after understanding, and a 
DT>child isn't getting it (let's say many aren't getting it) then where do 
DT>we go from here?  One question that comes to mind is "What kind of 
DT>mathematical foundation has been laid for this kid?  Perhaps kids who 
DT>don't understand some basic math facts need a bit of "foundational" work 
DT>as well?  Does this make sense?  
Yes, but is it possible that despite ALL efforts, some kids
are simply not going to "get" it?  Along the lines of my
discussions with Carl, there seems to be this underlying 
assumption that everything hinges on what WE do, rather than
on what the KIDS do...  Teaching we control; LEARNING is
pretty much out of our hands as long as kids have the choice
to learn or not...
SK>The reasons why they aren't learning the facts is because they are 
SK>not getting enough help on the material, and that includes help in 
SK>the home from the parents.
With deference to Sheila's point, this is ONE reason, and
extending it from "help" to "direction of effort" is
another, but there is still the matter of the kids DOING
the learning....
DT>This has to do with learning how to study and memorize (which 
DT>actually take time and effort).
DT>And all too often this important item is left out.
Very often in our discussions, for example !
DT>I believe that many kids exit the learning mode once the 
DT>dismissal bell rings. 
Many never ENTER it !
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 * MR/2 2.26 * "OS/2 is THE operating system of the 90's" - Bill Gates
--- Maximus/2 3.01
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