@matrix If you watch the video they are making triangles with ropes (in groups of 3-5 everyone holding a node) or building larger cubes out of sugar cubes to (I assume) learn square and cube functions. Like, that's great, but obviously if these kids need tangible models and group work to handle abstract concepts, obviously they aren't so hot at abstract concepts to begin with. What is worrisome to me is not that 'oh no the darkies will learn math and take us over' so much as that will become the one-size-fits-all new model that will just hold back the kids who actually can learn this stuff at a much faster rate. I guess that's always been the concern with American education. We spend more money on teaching retards crayons than actually moving the bright ones along faster. FWIW I was in most of the 'gifted' programs growing up and the POZ and filler material is still there, but you move slightly faster. By the time I was in high school all the kids who were capable of actively learning on their own were pwning the school networks even though the school offered only the most remedial programming classes. The bureaucratic education model just breaks down completely at the far right tail of the bell curve, and the solution is for some sort of mentorship program but those are expensive vs. someone who can teach crayons to retards and the system gets just about as much money from pushing a retard through the system as it does graduating someone who is not being pushed to their full potential.
That was a lot of words.