The Euro, a Czech weekly currently belonging nether The Youth Front (and thus owned yesteryear PM Babiš through a trust), has published 2 novel texts promoting the Hejný method. One of them is an interview with Milan Hejný, the boy of the "inventor" of the method. The championship reads
First commandment: don't let on whatever wisdom to the schoolkids, Milan Hejný urges teachersBecause, yous know, the start thing that the teachers tin post away never ever do is... is to teach! Just to last sure, I would last absolutely willing to concord that students should last left to figure out numerous things – e.g. approximately dull steps needed to consummate the details of a calculation or a proof – yesteryear themselves. However, to plough the regulation "teachers don't teach" into a universal dogma is exactly acre insane because really many things (arguably an overwhelming bulk of the things that 1 should larn at school) but demand approximately sort of guidance together with if the guidance doesn't exist, the students exactly won't ever acquire it.
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 particular I notice remarkable is the religious language. We, the critics of the method, often push clit their meetings as religious events. The prophet Mr Hejný has constitute approximately miraculous method at schools together with everyone has to worship Him – together with the method. They must either last ignorant that this is a widespread criticism, or they must deliberately encompass it. For 1 of these reasons, they don't hesitate to telephone yell upwards their misguided rules "commandments".
It's wrong to approach the teaching of mathematics inwards a religious way. And yesteryear the way, it is illegal to impose faith on schoolkids. Once the "first commandments" genuinely start to resemble those inwards existing religions – together with I think it's the instance – they're violating the police push clit inwards the same way as a church building that is turning a schoolhouse into a branch of its religious structures.
Aside from approximately basics of the method together with facts nigh his family, this onetime guy says a lot of arrogant together with crazy things. The accumulation of the cognition is solely the quaternary most of import thing at school, nosotros hear. The pedagogy of decent people is at the top. By decent people, he clearly agency arrogant SJWs such as himself together with the crooked individuals who worship him. Pretending that people driblet dead "more decent" yesteryear supporting his utterly misguided methods together with philosophy is immensely immoral.
The cognition isn't the most of import thing. But the to a greater extent than of import things cannot last taught at schools – either because it's impossible due to the laws of biological scientific discipline or because it's incompatible with democracy. It may last ameliorate to brand kids talented together with independent inwards diverse ways so that they don't demand the classes at all together with they larn it yesteryear themselves – except that the brain personality traits are determined yesteryear Mother Nature, non schools, together with it's unremarkably really unnatural to appear a kid to written report yesteryear itself. And it could last to a greater extent than effective to modify the political together with otherwise of import views of the kids inwards approximately goodness way – except that inwards democracy, no political forcefulness should select the ability to dictate what the "good way" genuinely is.
He describes their household unit of measurement as approximately victims of the totalitarian regimes – which is demonstrably deceptive. And together with so he insists on eliminating the multiplication tabular array from the schools. When was the terminal fourth dimension that yous used it, he asks the journalist? Holy cow, I utilisation it dozens of times a day. It's nigh the damn multiplication. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 thinking fellow member of a civilized social club can't alive without multiplication.
Hejný also wants to eliminate variables. Like the variable inwards the equation \(2x+3 = 15\). Sensible teachers may debate what is the ideal minute when variables should last presented. The answers are inwards betwixt the quaternary graders together with 7th graders. There are approximately subtleties. The variables involve approximately social conventions – such as the usage of letters, specially \(x,y\). You could utilisation approximately totally unlike letters – or fifty-fifty multi-letter names or symbols instead.
(I think that many of yous volition select similar memories from the childhood: I was ever interested inwards mathematics-related things but non so much inwards social conventions. So although I used the "methods of equation solving" as a 5th grader, I didn't utilisation the standardized symbols together with routine operations – together with maybe non fifty-fifty things similar \(x,y\) – inwards most of my scribbled notes. As far as I remember, I genuinely learned the "drill" of solving the equations together with sets of equations inwards the measure way at school. It manifestly replaced my informal methods that had the same purpose. There's goose egg wrong nigh learning a standardized methodology at school.)
But there's no goodness argue for kids non to larn these immensely useful constructs inwards the most conventional way – so that it becomes really piece of cake for them to communicate with everyone else (even with adults, professionals, together with foreigners). What's often hard nigh the equations is the pregnant of the equal sign, approximately folks mention. That's right. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 little kid thinks that the equal sign ever agency "here yous select the uncalculated thing on the left paw side, calculate or simplify it together with write it on the right paw side".
However, that's non how equations may last framed. Both sides of the equation (which are separated yesteryear the equal sign) may last as "calculated or uncalculated" together with "simplified or unsimplified". The betoken is that the equation with the equal sign is a proffer together with the proffer may last manipulated as a whole (for example, yous may add together an human face to both sides). That's something slightly unlike than exactly calculating the value of an human face such as \(2+3\).
At whatever rate, Mr Hejný says that the abstraction may appear inwards his books but it mustn't last mandatory. There are textbooks A,B,C,D,E,F,G inwards his setup, nosotros hear. F is for the 8th graders (reorganized as "fourth graders inwards the Latin-style midpoint schools") but solely G has the variables together with it's for the top notch mathematicians alongside the schoolkids. He wants approximately 2% of the kids to larn variables.
It's exactly insane together with it could disrupt most high schools if the Hejný method becomes genuinely common. At high schools, the students but demand to last able to sympathize the variables. It's needed non solely inwards mathematics, it's needed inwards physics, chemistry, together with fifty-fifty approximately subjects exterior natural sciences. They should already last using them together with manipulating with them inwards many ways. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 kid that finds out that variables or equations are exactly also hard may last lost throughout the high school. In effect, Hejný wants to convey the uncomplicated schools to the province of affairs inwards which the variables are understood yesteryear basically nobody.
It would hateful to piece of cake downwards the pedagogy of mathematics yesteryear 2-5 years – because the high schools manifestly demand to brand for certain that the kids sympathize the variables. Is it genuinely fine to plough high schools into de facto uncomplicated schools? And uncomplicated schools into de facto kindergartens? And he clearly doesn't desire to halt there. By placing the self-confidence of the schoolkid at the top, he gradually wants to plough graduate schools into de facto kindergartens.
"My kid is already so mature. Last week, he saw snowfall together with as presently as he saw the snow, yous know what snowfall is, he screamed: Snow is here, snowfall is here. We volition build shnew shnew shnewmen!" – Oh, that's cute together with impressive. And how onetime is your baby? "He was lately fifteen years old."
Hejný wants to plough the kids into retarded ones together with to last for certain that this becomes the societal norm, he wants to arrive a blasphemy to mock such retarded children. At the destination of the interview, he says that the professional person mathematicians are genetically gear upwards for abstraction (so far so good) which is why they consider classmates who haven't mastered variables (and abstraction) to last inferior (a deliberately tendentious language, he's trying to brand the mathematicians unpopular) which is a "strongly asocial behavior" (and yesteryear now, that's exactly a roughshod insult).
Just imagine the insanity of that. The human whose hollo is most often associated with the teaching of mathematics at Czech uncomplicated schools thinks that everyone who thinks that abstraction (e.g. variables) is of import should last labeled "strongly asocial". Maybe he volition desire to jail all mathematicians together with similar people into mental asylums as if they were psychopaths.
I am sorry, Mr Hejný, but it is yous who is a senile psychopath inwards this debate. Mathematics, mathematical abstraction, variables, multiplication tables, formulae, together with mathematical algorithms that yous deal against are important, together with so are the people who move inwards diverse occupations that require this measure type of mathematics for adults together with that build on this background inwards many ways. If they're a minority, they're a minority, but it doesn't brand them or their skills together with methods less important. On the contrary, the scarcity of such people in all likelihood makes them to a greater extent than precious. In the future, such people volition also last needed which is why a sufficient issue of kids must last prepared for such occupations. We already select a shortage of kids capable of doing technical together with quantitative fields today (and employers consider a shortage of potential employees inwards technical occupations). If yous deliberately conception to cut their numbers further, where volition nosotros end?
Even communists had quite approximately abide by towards such "minority" things. They didn't cancel variables or multiplication tables at schoolhouse although the average kid of the working flat parents has ever had greater problems with these things than a kid from the wealthy classes. In fact, they didn't bastardize the pedagogy of mathematics together with STEM fields at all (well, almost). They didn't genuinely cancel operas, either – despite the fact that most people can't appreciate it because their ears aren't sufficiently refined for that music together with operas were connected with the "other classes". But exactly because most people don't select XY doesn't hateful that XY isn't of import – communists understood but Mr Hejný together with his disciples don't.
The Euro has published approximately other text on the topic, an opinion slice yesteryear Ms Hana Boříková (the same lady did the interview). That sentiment slice had a ludicrous original championship as good – 1 that presented Granddaddy Forrest, a grapheme from numerous exercises (where animate beingness species correspond little integers), as a vampire that terrifies children (the utilisation of that championship was to mock the critics as infantile alarmists). But what seems unbelievable to me is that she is employed as a author focusing on metropolis halls' existent estate, populace transportation, together with municipal waste. But inwards that sentiment piece, she attacks our side – including approximately of the top notch Czech mathematicians or mathematics officials (Czech-Canadian senior mathematics professor, manager of the Mathematics Institute of the Academy of Sciences, together with others).
Well, the weekly doesn't notice it unusual to allow such an arrogant low-information "lady" to human activity as a top skillful inwards mathematics together with mathematics education. Analogously, 2 weeks ago, Mr Vidomus was treated as a top skillful inwards climatology although he's exactly a pupil of humanities together with a host of a jazz programme inwards the populace radio. He has absolutely no clue nigh the required science. But this spoiled brat also constitute it appropriate to speak as if his cognition of climatology were superior non solely relatively to the ex-president Klaus but also the researchers he has interviewed such as myself.
Now, Ms Boříková wrote that it was "crossing all the cherry-red lines" when the critics said that the kids typically similar the Hejný method classes because they're closer to gyms than mathematics. I said this declaration explicitly together with because of other details, she was clearly reacting primarily to my assertions (she may select been introduce at the conference inwards February). (In approximately other sentence, she reacted to Prof Dlab's assertions nigh the psychological impairment caused yesteryear the Hejný method together with he mentioned his name.) But other people from our side select said similar things together with it's mutual sense. Just appear what the Hejný method classes appear like. They're playing games, they're moving a lot, it's similar to gyms. The mathematics over at that topographic point isn't also much abstract than counting the score inwards basketball. And that's why such classes are to a greater extent than pop – it's exactly a well-known fact that gyms are to a greater extent than pop with most kids than mathematics.
What sort of "red lines" does it cross to betoken out this obvious fact that is so essential for a proper agreement of the emotions together with arguments inwards favor together with against the method? Indeed, 1 tin post away brand the mathematics classes to a greater extent than pop – but the toll 1 pays volition last that at that topographic point volition last less actual mathematics at schools. Do nosotros genuinely desire to modify the schools inwards this way? Everything may last made to a greater extent than pop yesteryear populist reforms. Hellenic Republic has made the populace sector jobs to a greater extent than pop because these employees acquire all the benefits but the employees select virtually no duties or move to do, except for drinking java for 8 hours a solar daytime inwards their office, if I exaggerate exactly a picayune bit. But populist policies similar that select for certain negative consequences together with it's exactly unethical if non suicidal for the land to overlook these consequences.
Do nosotros desire to last bullied yesteryear aggressive witches such as Ms Boříková who would dear to declare all of import questions together with ideas to last politically wrong together with de facto banned? I won't allow it. She's an arrogant stupid bitch who has no business concern to utter nigh such matters together with I volition ever move hard to brand for certain that this fact is understood yesteryear as many people as possible.