Fractional Dispute

In a current article found here, Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania Dennis DeTurck is making waves with a declaration that decimals should be taught over fractions to elementary students. Also, long division, calculation of square roots and by-hand multiplication of long numbers are also on his target list of things he has declared are obsolete in this digital age.

His position has been described as ranging from satirical to absurd and many opinions in between. His primary response to criticism is "They'd always boil down to: 'What would we do in cooking and carpentry?' "

Since he has a book being published this year, all of this uproar is obviously generating cheap press for his material and will line his pockets handsomely. If this is a satirical attempt to generate discussion on mathematical pedagogy, then I would take pause at the wisdom of making grandiose statements and publishing controversial material. The danger is if one of the top brass in the US Dept. of Education or any other state curriculum members misinterpret his intentions and get a bright idea to try and mandate a potentially damaging curriculum change. It happened 150 years ago and led many astray. In today’s political environment combined with his credentials, anything is possible.

However, if he is serious about his position as stated in this short news article, then his overall understanding of fractions in daily life and cross curriculum usage is to be questioned. As quoted in the article, Professor George Andrews makes a fair point:

“Questioning the wisdom of teaching fractions to young students doesn't compute with people such as George Andrews, a professor of mathematics at Pennsylvania State University and president-elect of the American Mathematical Society. "All of this is absurd," Andrews said. "No wonder mathematical achievements in the country are so abysmal.

"Arithmetic is the basic skill. If children do not know arithmetic, they can't go on to algebra, which leads to calculus. From there you go on to other things," Andrews said. "It's fine to talk about it, but this is not a good pedagogy."“

Mathematics is cold, hard logic at its finest. For some children and adults, logic and subsequently mathematics will never be their forte. Some are more creative, left-brained, sanguine personality or whatever you wish to cite to be really good at it. Some students just do not have the aptitude for math while others do. For a fair number, their math will not extend past carpentry, cooking and balancing their personal budgets. But is that justification for a wholesale change in the core arithmetic curriculum?