What’s wrong with today’s math education?

 Math has been taught the same way for a hundred years. The lecture starts, the instructor explains definitions, models the concept and then demonstrates examples on the board, maybe with some short-cuts. Students practice repeating the memorized procedures in class and at home and are tested. This is traditional math and, having its origins in the assembly lines of the Industrial Revolution, it can be found in nearly every math classroom in every school and homeschool because it produces easy, immediate and measurable results. Students either get problems right and move on or they re-memorize and repeat the test. It’s completely focused on doing math problems and getting right answers. Its goal is to build students into replaceable, efficient calculators. Traditional math, however, comes at a huge cost. It removes discovery and student ownership. It takes away student independence, creative and original thinking and teaches there is only one right way to solve a problem. It propagates the myth you are either a math person or not. Traditional math has built the myth that we need a book, a teacher or a video to teach us and tell us when we are right or wrong…that we can’t discover truth on our own.

If we have instant access to calculators, why do we need to include math in our education?

We struggled with this question while working in the public school system. If all we care about is students passing tests, the ACT and SAT included, then why don’t we just teach the basics and spend the rest of the time training students how to use a calculator to pass those tests (which is the goal of nearly every traditional math program)? The truth is, that kind of math is now obsolete. The need for human calculators is gone. We need thinkers, observers, creative problem solvers, people who confidently discover truth and can communicate with clarity. We believe math can be the tool to do all of that. We follow Einstein’s admonition “The development of general ability for independent thinking and judgement should always be placed foremost, not the acquisition of special knowledge. If a person masters the fundamentals of his subject and has learned to think and work independently, he will surely find his way and besides will better be able to adapt himself to progress and changes than the person whose training principally consists in the acquiring of detailed knowledge.”

Why is it called Math Inspirations?

Emily’s math inspiration is her mother, Candy Ralphs. She was a beloved elementary school teacher, incredible mentor and math enthusiast. Sadly, she passed in 2009 after a long battle with breast cancer. In 2013, as we were in the beginnings of formalizing our efforts to help mentor parents and developing the Discovery Method, we stumbled across several math resources on Candy’s computer from her years of teaching and graduate work. Among the resources we found was a book of games she had collected entitled Hands On Math, as well as a business card which read “Candy Ralphs, Math Inspirations.”  Unbeknownst to anyone in the family, about a year before her passing, Candy had planned a company she called Math Inspirations to teach parents how to help their children find joy in mathematics through play and problem solving.  In her loving memory, we’ve carried on her legacy by adopting the name and mission of her Math Inspirations and hope to inspire others just as she did.

What’s wrong with today’s math education?

 Math has been taught the same way for a hundred years. The lecture starts, the instructor explains definitions, models the concept and then demonstrates examples on the board, maybe with some short-cuts. Students practice repeating the memorized procedures in class and at home and are tested. This is traditional math and, having its origins in the assembly lines of the Industrial Revolution, it can be found in nearly every math classroom in every school and homeschool because it produces easy, immediate and measurable results. Students either get problems right and move on or they re-memorize and repeat the test. It’s completely focused on doing math problems and getting right answers. Its goal is to build students into replaceable, efficient calculators. Traditional math, however, comes at a huge cost. It removes discovery and student ownership. It takes away student independence, creative and original thinking and teaches there is only one right way to solve a problem. It propagates the myth you are either a math person or not. Traditional math has built the myth that we need a book, a teacher or a video to teach us and tell us when we are right or wrong…that we can’t discover truth on our own.

The Math Inspirations philosophy

We believe math should be a tool, a playing field, to train our students to think independent of an instructor, discover truth and communicate their reasoning in clear and original ways. To achieve this goal, we created the Discovery Method, which trains students to apply the scientific method in discovering, observing, testing and proving their own definitions and theorems. Instead of being told what the term quadrilateral means, students can use our Unit 5 Definitions Creation page to create and prove their own definition. Instead of being told how to multiply two numbers, students can use our Unit 2 to create their own method of multiplication. By repeating the Discovery Method through every definition and every k-8 theorem, students become more independent, more confident and more powerful thinkers. We believe this process of students using the Discovery Method to become great thinkers is best realized with the companionship of a trained mentor and that the flexibility and personalized nature of homeschooling provides the best environment for student success.

If we have instant access to calculators, why do we need to include math in our education?

We struggled with this question while working in the public school system. If all we care about is students passing tests, the ACT and SAT included, then why don’t we just teach the basics and spend the rest of the time training students how to use a calculator to pass those tests (which is the goal of nearly every traditional math program)? The truth is, that kind of math is now obsolete. The need for human calculators is gone. We need thinkers, observers, creative problem solvers, people who confidently discover truth and can communicate with clarity. We believe math can be the tool to do all of that. We follow Einstein’s admonition “The development of general ability for independent thinking and judgement should always be placed foremost, not the acquisition of special knowledge. If a person masters the fundamentals of his subject and has learned to think and work independently, he will surely find his way and besides will better be able to adapt himself to progress and changes than the person whose training principally consists in the acquiring of detailed knowledge.”