Mathematics Education has a very long history of jumping quickly from one
method to another method. Instead of revising and fine-tuning an approach to
instruction, the math ed. community tends to hop on a bandwagon and turn a
blind eye to methods which have worked in the past.
I do not want to retreat to a completely traditional drill & kill approach.
I taught out of a Saxon book once (not by choice) and I will not do so
again. But at the same time, I do not want to eliminate drill completely
from the curriculum. I am on a quest for balance. I hope to someday find a
pleasant compromise between NCTM-style reform and traditional drill.
Personally, my only "objection to the standards" is that they have not yet
been proven to be effective. The first NCTM one was published in 1989, I
think. Maybe 8 years sounds like a lot of time. But I still need more time
before I can embrace them 100%. Thanks.
Proceeding cautiously...
Mark Harbison
Whittier, CA