The Math Mojo Chronicles

Respect for Good Teachers

Teachers are hampered by exactly the type of ignoramuses who insist on "standards" that the ignoramuses themselves do not understand, and could not enforce. It's easy to set up well-meaning (if naive and ineffectual) criteria for other people, and through wishful thinking and some notion about "tradition" expect others to live up to your unreasonable expectations even as you pull the rug out from them and disrespect them. [...]

Simple word problem puzzle

If we teach this way to our children, it encourages them, and enables them to explore their own minds, and use critical thinking to evaluate solutions to problems. It also encourages them to check their answers, and not just blindly accept “whatever works.” [...]

The Difference Between Fractions and Rational Numbers

... even though every fraction is a rational number, not every rational number is a fraction. [...]

Study equals No Fail graffiti

Some math humor [...]

Teaching Then and Now

How could I resist this? It’s [...]

Pizza Puzzle

... there is no reason to feel that someone must be "bad at math" to make mistakes. Clearly, if a mathematician can have a foggy day, then so can others. It doesn't mean you're "bad at math." [...]

School Boards lowering passing grades

There used to be a lot of things about public schools that you could like. At one time they were even a jewel in society's crown. But those days have pretty much gone the way of the stegosaurus, bell-bottom pants, and eight–track tapes. [...]

Geek-Speak

The cartoon below is similar to a small part of the method I teach in “Numbers Juggling – Times without the Tables” e-book and course (see http://learn2multiply.com)

You can see a video of the method I teach here:

http://www.learn2multiply.com/video-quickstart/

You’ll need a password for it. You can get the password by requesting it below

Name Email

(After you fill out the form, [...]

Getting Math in your Bones

I'm sure there is a very high percentage of the population that doesn't learn well at all from staring at charts of seemingly random material. I'm not saying that you shouldn't use charts at all. Sometimes it's nice to supplement real learning with stuff like that. But it should not be the main source. I think dependency on passive learning is a pathology of our modern society, and is a lot more counterproductive than most people realize. [...]

How Puzzles may Improve your Mind

As much as I like puzzles, I've come to think of math as about the ultimate puzzle. Not in the sense of it being confusing (because by its nature it aims at reducing confusion and creating clarity), but in the sense that it has logical rules but requires creativity to understand and use in any meaningful sense . [...]