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...Others find the book "mechanistic" and too repetitive, and think it might be boring to use in class. Bruce Vogeli, professor of mathematics at Columbia University's Teachers College, sees Saxon's innovations as insignificant and ineffectual: "One can't teach algebra only as a skill. Drill and practice are only part of the problem." He likens drilling to the lowest common denominator of algebra. Mathematical literacy, assert Saxon's critics, is not simply the ability to calculate, but the ability to reason quantitatively...
Criticism of Saxon tends to divide along the same lines as the debate about the future of American mathematics teaching. There are those who advocate a return to basics through practice and drill, and those who insist that practice without abstract theory is ultimately limiting. Both sides are in a sense right. Yet Saxon's main point contradicts neither. He simply affirms that Algebra I is not the place for obscure theory, which can be introduced later, when students know how to use algebra well enough to profit from it. "Algebra is the basic language of all mathematics beyond...
...root of the word algebra is the Arabic al-jabr, which means "bringing together." Saxon's synthesis of traditional practice and drill with the fundamentals of modern algebraic theory taught clearly may provide an alternative to the present dismal state of mathematics teaching. Alfred North Whitehead, the English mathematician and philosopher, once noted that "the study of mathematics is apt to commence in disappointment." If John Saxon is right, the study of algebra may not end so. -By Richard Stengel. Reported by Jeanne-Marie North/New York
...alternative has been gaining popularity. Called tooth bonding, it not only costs less but is easier to do, and, enthusiasts claim, looks better when the job is done. Declares Chicago Dentist Marvin Berman: "Bonding is one of the greatest things to come along since fluoride and the high-speed drill...
William Casey, the current director of the agency, has decided not to follow their example. He has kept control of his investments, which may be worth as much as $3.4 million. Among his holdings: more than $250,000 in Superior Oil Co., which has contracts to drill oil in Abu Dhabi and mine platinum in South Africa and is negotiating to sell gas in Thailand...