Understanding concepts is best math foundation

Re: “Balanced approach needed to teach numeracy,” comment, March 10.

Albert Einstein is often credited with the quote: “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.” This quote is very pertinent to Nikki Lineham’s commentary.

When I started teaching math more than 47 years ago, the latest fad in math teaching was to teach “from the top down.”

As a result, we ended up teaching the esoteric concepts of groups and fields (don’t ask) to Grade 10 students. What stupidity, and another generation left school mathematically disadvantaged.

Einstein would approve of the Know-Do-Understand model that “weaves together conceptual understanding with procedural fluency,” because even if the procedural fluency might decay over time, concepts founded on understanding stay with one for life. And that is what Einstein is referring to.

John Coenraads Victoria