What WWII pilots can teach us about math education

If President Obama is to succeed, my belief is that he should follow FDR as well as China and other top-performing Asian countries like Korea and Japan. Spending millions to build a corps of master math and science teachers is a laudable effort. But if we want real tangible results, we must give our teachers highly engaging tools that inspire students to take ownership of their own learning process.

When kids are given a structured practice mechanism with realistic challenges, clear goals, immediate feedback and the freedom to make mistakes, no one needs to convince them to practice. In the majority of cases, interest, enthusiasm, proficiency, and success are the outcomes.

During the past decade, our political and business leaders have fretted over how to boost our children’s math skills in order to maintain our nation’s competitive strength. The response from the established educational community remains focused primarily on “teaching” as the solution to closing the achievement gap.

Instead, shouldn’t we be asking ourselves, “Isn’t there a better way to learn this complex skill?” All we need to do is look to history to solve the problem. As Edwin Link correctly reasoned in the 20th century—and as we must once again realize in the 21st—systemized, self-directed practice is the answer to one of our nation’s most immediate and important learning challenges.

Watch: The White House’s approach to STEM education