I wrote in my last post about the MEGA dude, a crossed breed between a Web Designer and a Web Developer. I thought I was witnessing the birth of a new multipurpose profession out of a demand from the Computer Industry.

I found out recently that the wind is blowing in the opposite direction. I am talking the U.S. Department of Education looking to graduate professionals with single specialized knowledge, the result of a broad plan by it. Bad news if the MEGA dude is to become reality.

This fact is very interesting. On one side the U.S. Department of Education realizing it has to modify the curriculum in order to stay competitive internationally and, on the other hand, the Computer Industry looking to save money in the short term by merging two professions into one. Far sight goals against short sighted interests.

I have twins stepchildren, age nine. Recently, I attended an Open House at their school, for the first time after moving to a new neighborhood.

The meeting that got my attention, and my wife’s too, was that of the Math teacher. The Math teacher said this year was particularly difficult for kids, due to Florida – together with some other state – is participating on a pilot project to change how Math is taught at schools nationwide. Then he provided some statistics I corroborated at the TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center, Lynch School Of Education, Boston College (timss.bc.edu).

The study by TIMSS is made every four years, the last results released in 2007. In this report, US ranks 11th behind countries such as Hong Kong SAR, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Kazakhstan, Russian Federation, England, Latvia, Netherlands and Lithuania. Who could have imagine? Kazakhstan? Singapore?

The Math teacher continued saying that some big shots in the U.S. Department of Education went to and studied Singapore’s educational system to find out about the success of their students. They came back with some interesting findings.

Traditionally in US, Math is taught as building blocks where the student depends in knowledge acquired on previous years to advance to the next level. This method, the teacher said, has an intrinsic flaw: student’s memory. Students do not remember well after summer vacation. The material they have to cover every year is too broad and it is superficially learnt. When the student moves to the next grade, most of the time spent in the classroom is refreshing old material and not learning the new stuff. This ill circle of skimming new material repeats itself every year, graduating students with a shallow knowledge in Math.

The new teaching strategy learnt from watching Asian students is different, as it is being tested on my children right now. The idea is to rely less in student’s memory and more in hard knowledge. Less is more. For example, tables of multiplication. Because they are a fundamental piece of knowledge on many algorithm (fractions, divisions, multiplications, etc.) they have to be known like you own them.

I cannot help myself mentioning here that it seems a great discovery today – learning from Asian students about memorizing tables of multiplications. But, when I was in Elementary school in Chile many years ago, I had to memorize these multiplication tables and apply them routinely. I have not forgotten them since. They are imprinted in my brain like computer circuits.

Anyway. Now my kids are memorizing tables of multiplications. In addition, they are learning how to write very large numbers two different ways: 253434263 as (253000000 + 434000 + 263) and (two hundred fifty three millions four hundred thirty four thousand two hundred sixty three). All very new to them, and hard, as they don’t have any background like students now in first grade will have when they get to be fourth grader. Too bad. By the time my kids become adults, personal checks might be nonexistent for them to practice their new acquired skills; or they might not have enough money in the bank to write off such large sums. Oh, well.

On our way back to the car, and talking about these changes in Math, my wife said, why don’t you write this conversation we are having on your blog? I looked at her and said, what this has to do with my article about the MEGA dude? She smiled back and didn’t say a word. It suddenly dawned on me. I had my epiphany then (I am a little slow sometimes). Of course these two events are related. The MEGA dude is progeny of adults educated in the old, traditional, system. Wide and shallow. The MEGA dude is the archetypal representation of knowing little of everything and nothing of anything in depth.

If the U.S. Department of Education implements this new plan in Math learning at schools nationwide, my MEGA dude is doomed. How will the Computer Industry react to this shift?

© Tito Victoriano
September, 2010

I am afraid I cannot help you on this one. Nowdays PHP, jQuery, mySQL, even C# are of more interest to developers than VB and Access. I would have to go back in time to dust off any books I may still have on Access. Sorry.