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Andrew Hacker's 2012 New York Times op-ed questioning the requirement of advanced mathematics in our schools instantly became one of the paper's most widely circulated articles. Why, he wondered, do we inflict a full menu of mathematics—algebra, geometry, trigonometry, even calculus—on all young Americans, regardless of their interests or aptitudes?
The Math Myth expands Hacker's scrutiny of many widely held assumptions, like the notions that mathematics broadens our minds, that mastery of azimuths and asymptotes will be needed for most jobs, that the entire Common Core syllabus should be required of every student. He worries that a frenzied emphasis on STEM is diverting attention from other pursuits and subverting the spirit of the country.
In fact, Hacker honors mathematics as a calling (he has been a professor of mathematics) and extols its glories and its goals. Yet he shows how mandating it for everyone prevents other talents from being developed and acts as an irrational barrier to graduation and careers. He proposes alternatives, including teaching facility with figures, quantitative reasoning, and understanding statistics.
The Math Myth is sure to spark a heated and needed national conversation not just about mathematics but about the kind of people and society we want to be.
The Math Myth expands Hacker's scrutiny of many widely held assumptions, like the notions that mathematics broadens our minds, that mastery of azimuths and asymptotes will be needed for most jobs, that the entire Common Core syllabus should be required of every student. He worries that a frenzied emphasis on STEM is diverting attention from other pursuits and subverting the spirit of the country.
In fact, Hacker honors mathematics as a calling (he has been a professor of mathematics) and extols its glories and its goals. Yet he shows how mandating it for everyone prevents other talents from being developed and acts as an irrational barrier to graduation and careers. He proposes alternatives, including teaching facility with figures, quantitative reasoning, and understanding statistics.
The Math Myth is sure to spark a heated and needed national conversation not just about mathematics but about the kind of people and society we want to be.
Price: $17.99
Pages: 240
Publisher: The New Press
Imprint: The New Press
Publication Date:
01 March 2016
ISBN: 9781620970690
Format: eBook
Praise for The Math Myth:
"Not one to decelerate, at 86 [Hacker] is doing nothing less than taking on the mathosphere."
—New York Times Education Life
"In the meantime, it's probably a good idea to give students multiple math pathways toward high school and college graduation—some less challenging than others. If we don't, we'll be punishing kids for the failures of an entire system."
—Slate
"The Math Myth is a worthwhile read, even if you are among the educators who become apoplectic at the suggestion that students shouldn't have to grapple with polynomial functions."
—National Book Review
"Hacker's accessible arguments offer plenty to think about and should serve as a clarion call to students, parents, and educators who decry the one-size-fits-all approach to schooling."
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A lively argument against the assumption that if the United States is to stay competitive in a global economy, our students require advanced training in mathematics."
—Kirkus Reviews
"[I]mportant and timely—and a great read."
—Howard Gardner, Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and author of The Unschooled Mind
"Andrew Hacker exposes the inconvenient truth that the majority of college students will never need to use quadratic equations in their majors and even fewer will ever need them on the job. Hacker shows convincingly that our current math curriculum has become too much of a good thing—an artificial barrier to the deeper learning at the heart of true vocations."
—Anthony Carnevale, Director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce
"In a friendly and accessible style, Hacker. . . systematically demolishes every argument used to support the advanced-math-for-all position. His book is now my go-to resource on this topic."
—Alfie Kohn, author of Schooling Beyond Measure and The Homework Myth
"The Math Myth is an important book. Hacker demolishes some totally unrealistic policies that will prevent many students from ever receiving a high school diploma and leading useful lives."
—Diane Ravitch, author of Reign of Error and The Death and Life of the Great American School System
"I love every single word and idea. Andrew Hacker may make some enemies, but truth is truth!"
—Debora Meier, author of In Schools We Trust and The Power of Their Ideas
Praise for Mismatch:
"Few people writing today for a general audience can make more sense of numbers."
—The Wall Street Journal
Praise for Money:
"A political scientist doing with statistics what Fred Astaire did with hats, canes, and chairs...He doesn't crunch numbers, he makes them live and breathe."
—Newsweek
Praise for Two Nations:
"His insights into the racial wounds that refuse to close are searing, and urgently need to be addressed."
—Kirkus
"Witty at times and searingly direct."
—Publishers Weekly
Praise for Higher Education?:
"Andrew Hacker and Claudia Dreifus have written a lucid, passionate and wide-ranging book on the state of American higher education."
—The New York Times
"Not one to decelerate, at 86 [Hacker] is doing nothing less than taking on the mathosphere."
—New York Times Education Life
"In the meantime, it's probably a good idea to give students multiple math pathways toward high school and college graduation—some less challenging than others. If we don't, we'll be punishing kids for the failures of an entire system."
—Slate
"The Math Myth is a worthwhile read, even if you are among the educators who become apoplectic at the suggestion that students shouldn't have to grapple with polynomial functions."
—National Book Review
"Hacker's accessible arguments offer plenty to think about and should serve as a clarion call to students, parents, and educators who decry the one-size-fits-all approach to schooling."
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A lively argument against the assumption that if the United States is to stay competitive in a global economy, our students require advanced training in mathematics."
—Kirkus Reviews
"[I]mportant and timely—and a great read."
—Howard Gardner, Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and author of The Unschooled Mind
"Andrew Hacker exposes the inconvenient truth that the majority of college students will never need to use quadratic equations in their majors and even fewer will ever need them on the job. Hacker shows convincingly that our current math curriculum has become too much of a good thing—an artificial barrier to the deeper learning at the heart of true vocations."
—Anthony Carnevale, Director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce
"In a friendly and accessible style, Hacker. . . systematically demolishes every argument used to support the advanced-math-for-all position. His book is now my go-to resource on this topic."
—Alfie Kohn, author of Schooling Beyond Measure and The Homework Myth
"The Math Myth is an important book. Hacker demolishes some totally unrealistic policies that will prevent many students from ever receiving a high school diploma and leading useful lives."
—Diane Ravitch, author of Reign of Error and The Death and Life of the Great American School System
"I love every single word and idea. Andrew Hacker may make some enemies, but truth is truth!"
—Debora Meier, author of In Schools We Trust and The Power of Their Ideas
Praise for Mismatch:
"Few people writing today for a general audience can make more sense of numbers."
—The Wall Street Journal
Praise for Money:
"A political scientist doing with statistics what Fred Astaire did with hats, canes, and chairs...He doesn't crunch numbers, he makes them live and breathe."
—Newsweek
Praise for Two Nations:
"His insights into the racial wounds that refuse to close are searing, and urgently need to be addressed."
—Kirkus
"Witty at times and searingly direct."
—Publishers Weekly
Praise for Higher Education?:
"Andrew Hacker and Claudia Dreifus have written a lucid, passionate and wide-ranging book on the state of American higher education."
—The New York Times
Andrew Hacker (1929–2026) was an American political scientist and public intellectual. He was the author of ten books, including the The Math Myth: And Other STEM Delusions (The New Press) and the New York Times bestseller Two Nations: Black and White, Separate, Hostile, Unequal. He was a frequent contributor to The New York Review of Books and wrote for The New York Times opinion page and The Chronicle of Higher Education.