Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

You aren’t going to need it should be applied to the Common Core for education.

I now delve into something for which I evidently have no expertise: arithmetic. I also delve into another topic for which I evidently have no expertise: education. Allow me to preface my ignorant rant by writing that I have a PhD in engineering. I had to attend school some twenty years (lots of education) and perform higher mathematics (of which arithmetic was a part).

The Common Core has come under much criticism. Much of the criticism is not founded in reality. Some of it, however, is. I point to the teaching of arithmetic. I link one article on his matter. There are many more.

The creators of the Common Core in the area of early arithmetic, that taught to kids in 1st and 2nd grades, emphasize factoring. The number 123 can be factored into one-each hundred, two-each ten, and three-each one. Our young arithmetic students are encouraged (or is it required? I forget.) to factor these numbers all the time in basic arithmetic problems. The idea is that when the students reach algebra and other mathematics ten years hence, they will be experienced in factoring and will perform better.

Now we bring in the dastardly YAGNI from that dastardly field of agile development. These dastardly things come not from academia but from the practice of making things work in computing.

YAGNI: You Aren’t Going to Need It

The idea behind YAGNI is to stop fretting about all the possibilities of the future and concentrate on what you need now to make something work now. YAGNI is short sighted because sometimes you will need something in the future, so you should do a lot of work now to prepare for it. The supporters of YAGNI, however, have shown that all that fretting about the future helps you in only a small (like 1%) percent of the time.

Now to YAGNI and the Common Core. The developers of Common Core are correct in asserting that all this factoring over and over again at a young age will help a student factor ten years hence. Those well-meaning persons, however, don’t seem to know much about education reform. The chance that Common Core will still be in use ten years hence are, well, let’s say about 1%.

And then there is the practical matter (ooops). The number of students who will be factoring later in life is, gosh again, about 1%. Those 1% students will be factoring because they are majoring in engineering or some other such science that requires a little bit of higher math. Those persons like math or they wouldn’t be in engineering or some other such science that requires a little bit of higher math. Those persons are good at math or they, well, I trust you get the idea.

Common Core has been pushed by well-meaning persons. It is unfortunate that they didn’t consider YAGNI. At least I think so, and I know a little bit about arithmetic and education.