- Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (1972)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140213104
- ISBN-13: 978-0140213102
- Product Dimensions: 18 x 11.2 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 228,522 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This small paperback took me several years to read. And at the end of it, not only had I grasped a number of mathematical concepts that had eluded me thus far - I also understood why they had eluded me.
Skemp builds from the ground up: what is a number? Why does counting work? Is adding natural numbers the same as adding rationals? He does not go into imaginary numbers beyond mentioning them briefly. The aim of the book is not to teach mathematics, but to explore the psychology of why so many of us give up on mathematics.
You can get only so far by rote learning (pretty far if you're bright). But you are building an edifice on weak foundations. Until one day you are confrointed with what is a concept too many. Another trick you are forced to learn, without real understanding (or explanation) of why it should work.
Such rote drilling is an insult to the intelligence - in both senses. And is not surprising learners rebel in a variety of ways.
Read this book and realise what has been stolen from you by imcomprehending teaching (incomprehending both of mathematics and the psychology of learning). And rage.
Then see it happen to your primary school kids and order a gift copy for their Headmaster...
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
An excellent resource for teaching algebra to the very young
21 April 2005
Format:Mass Market Paperback
There is growing awareness among mathematics educators that algebraic thinking can be taught to elementary school children. To support such an endeavor, it is imperative that teachers understand the algebraic foundations of arithmetic in a deeper way than by simply manipulating formal symbols. This book is an excellent resource for teachers to explore, aiding them in their quest to foster the natural, spontaneous expressions of genuine mathematical understanding often expressed by students prior to having canonical representations for their ideas. This inner psychological foundation for mathematical understanding can then be better guided toward formal expression, rather than by imposing formalisms, rules, and algorithms from without.
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