What’s the point of learning math? Why is it so important that kids are exposed to mathematical thinking? And what do parents and teachers need to know about learning real math? Keep on reading to find out.
Today is a very special episode of the Math Dude. To begin with, it’s episode 300. And because we humans have 10 fingers, we love to give special meaning to multiples of 10. But while that’s fun, it’s not the big news of the day or what makes this episode special to me. The big news is that this 300th episode is my last. Between my day job as a physics and astronomy professor and my day-and-night job of being “Dad” to an awesome and bustling 3-year-old, my free time for Math Dude duties has dwindled. And although I will surely miss all of you math fans, after seven years on the job, it's time to say goodbye.
But before I go, I have one more thing to say—and I think it’s the most important thing I’ve ever said on the show. It’s not something that I would (or even could) have said when I wrote the first episode seven years ago, because I wasn’t yet a father and so I wasn’t yet watching somebody discover the world for the first time. So please take a few minutes and listen, because I think this is something that everybody who has kids or might have kids or works with kids or might work with kids should know.
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Here it is: Math is a playground … so play! Allow me to explain.
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