Russ's review
Out of the Labyrinth: Setting Mathematics Free by Robert Kaplan
I'm all in favor of the basic premise of this book: that teaching kids how to discover math on their own is more likely to make math interesting and is a better way to teach them to think. I also enjoyed the examples from the classes and the ways they got students to get into certain ideas, even though many of the ideas were over my head. It's the long, middle section of the book that I found less compelling. The authors found the need to explain their theory of how the brain works and their idea that everyone has an "architectural instinct." I found myself saying, "Let's just stick to math and leave psychology and other fields to experts in those fields." Still, it's an interesting book; I'd just skim the central chapters.
Out of curiousity: for you, or for the helping the kids?
For helping the kids. Both of them seem to enjoy math now, and I'd like them to continue enjoying it as long as possible.
Does it give you practical things to do?
A few, but not many, and most of those aimed more at someone who would lead a course like theirs than at a parent. It's more about the philosophy of teaching math in a different way--a way not all that unfamiliar to us, really. After all, a good discussion section was about gently leading students into discoveries of their own. That's pretty much how this theory goes too.
