Of course the benefits of training in math extend further than an ability to apply logic … I’d contend the absorption of the subject leads students to develop a greater intellect, than those who do not study math. If parents knew that and had seen the development of my son from a very average year 8 student into a Bachelor of Mathematics (Distinction), and understood the career prospects and rewards available to him, they’d be lined up bullying their children to enjoy math education. (Anyone know the average income of an Acturary?)
Jedimaster, it is possible to break the routine. I was useless at math. My son has a degree in applied math. I think his success had three aspects. I kept my limitations to myself, he enjoyed math and had teachers who encouraged his enjoyment.
I had great amusement hearing him tell a prospective employer he had ‘done’ math at uni for fun! He was serious!
Shadow Minister, my son also has an honors Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He has assured me the learning of math in Engineering Degrees is very limited. He’s found Engineers use tables and references rather that calculate from first principles.

Generally I think Education entirely has an incorrect focus. It over the last couple of generations has switched to trying to teach kids how to do things rather than teaching them how to think!
I think this has been done with the mistaken object of encouraging children of lesser intellect or ability to compete more favourably with more intelligent students. I think a return to the tried and proven methods of a concentration on Math English Chemisty Physics and latin based languages would not only allow more intelligent students excel but would ensure a greater competency and general commonsense among the not so clever students.

But there again I'm only a parent, so what would I know.

Almost every curriculum problem across the entire subject range taught in our high schools has been created by trying to make it all easier "for the students". One suspects the real goal is to make it easier for the teachers - who too often lack the subject mastery that alone makes it easy to explain things to a novice.

Eliminating math anxiety by eliminating the need to master math skills strikes me as somewhat like reducing the tension before a chess game by running a discourse on the history of chess, the biographies of famous chess players, and on the elegance with which the pieces are carved.

for those interested in this issue, i strongly recommend "lockhart's lament":

http://www.maa.org/devlin/devlin_03_08.html

http://www.maa.org/devlin/LockhartsLament.pdf

it fleshes out the kind of thing eldridge is on about.

I have been very successful at Mathematical studies both at school and University.
To suggest that my school Maths teachers had any part of my success is both laughable and insulting.
I found my Maths teachers to be boring, lazy and elitist.
My early teaching career was spent teaching Maths in Queensland state schools.
Any attempt to revamp Maths so that it sparked the interest of a majority of students was thwarted and undermined at every turn.
There was too much at stake for the entrenched, boring, lazy and elitist Maths teachers to let this happen.

Elitist maths teacher? That's an oxymoron right? Boring and Lazy I'll give you though.

So I'm guessing you like the Kermit method of teaching. Kids shouldn't have to do anything unless it's fun and entertaining and teachers should make it so huh?

People like what they're good at. Trying to make things 'relevant' and 'interesting' and 'engaging' is a lowest common denominator solution.

I ascribe to the "inspirational path to learning" rather than the "rote method", the "bored teacher method" or the "fun method".

Mathematics is an Art insofar as it is intricately woven with human ideas and expression and has tenuous direct links with the observable world.

Thanks bushbasher for posting the links to Lockhart's Lament. The observations regarding chemistry teaching without labs or art teaching without art creation is right on the money.

The idea of encouraging students to create their own maths is inspiring. Will they all get maths? Do they all paint masterpieces? That is not the point.

When I think back to my high school mathematical education, there were few memorable moments. The one that stood out is when a group of us disagreed with the teacher when he declared pi to be irrational. We spent lunchtime discussing it afterwards and inventing ways of showing he was wrong. We weren't successful of course, but we were engaged and involved in the process of creation and discovery.