What do you get when a formally trained engineer/scientist and a classically trained pianist/liberal arts genius work together?  Sounds like a lead up to some kind of joke, right?  Or maybe you’re thinking this is some reference to my kids.  Neither are right.   While my kids would be a logical and technically correct answer, that isn’t the one I’m looking for.  When it comes down to it, this reference is about a project in the early stages of development.  You see, Liz and I are about to embark on a project that, if successful, will answer this question in the form of an unusual and comprehensive approach to math education.

For most of the last decade we’ve homeschooled or kids.  Moving frequently, mixed with the difficulty in tailoring public education to the individual needs of our kids, has meant that homeschooling was the simplest and likely most productive route.  However, one area that has been a constant source of frustration as Liz has tried different approaches has been how and when to teach math in such a way that it isn’t pure drudgery for both her and the kids.  We’ve tried several different curricula, and Liz has had significant heartburn with each she’s looked at.  One does a decent job with one aspect, another with another, but none of them has ever come close to teaching the subject in a manner consistent with our teaching and learning philosophy.  After informally surveying several friends, I’ve become convinced that the frustration extends well beyond me and my household.  There is demand, even if it’s only in a small market segment.

Given that there is room for a new approach to math education, one might wonder what might possibly make me believe that Liz and I would be a plausible source for a solution.  While I have extensive math in my background as an electrical engineer and applied physicist, I am not a mathematician.  Nor am I a professional educator.  Liz would seem similarly unqualified on the surface.  She has had no formal math education beyond college algebra, little experience with the kind of traditional applied math the education system insists is most important (the venerable STEM that is supposed to solve society’s ills), and all of her formal training as an educator revolves around either homeschooling or music.  So, why then would we consider ourselves qualified to undertake this challenge?

First, I claim our status as outsiders makes us better qualified to identify the limitations of the currently available system without some of the self confirming biases of those who built the current method.  Granted, we have our own biases, but the tendency of my most prominent bias to question the establishment has proven highly useful in my professional life as it has forced introspective reevaluation of many cherished “truths” held by whatever community I am called on to consult for at the moment.  When a cherished belief or preference for doing something has merit, questioning it can help clarify why it is the right way to do business and assist in gathering support from both the practitioners (teachers in the current context) and the recipients (students).  When an idea or approach lacks merit, questioning can lead to clearing the path for something better.  I believe Liz and I are in a position to test and evaluate teaching methods and content without being bound or blinded by the conventions of the education industry.

The second reason I think Liz and I can produce something useful is exactly because we are so different both from each other and from the crowd that typically writes math curricula.  If the two of use can come to consensus on what and how to lead someone through understanding and applying critical quantitative reasoning concepts the odds are pretty good that we’ve covered the concerns of a large portion of the population segment who are struggling with currently available resources.  Both of us have varying ways of approaching problems, explaining concepts, and shaping messages.

So, there you have it, Liz and I are seriously working on a new approach to teaching math.  Who knows how far it will go, but for now it’s certain to keep us busy.