Date: Wed, 12 Nov 1997 17:05:29 -0800 From: Kirby UrnerTo: synergetics-l@teleport.com Subject: Syn-l: Feedback from MLC Got a call from the Math Learning Center guy Bob San Soucie today. He said my materials were really interesting to him as a mathematician but clearly way too advanced for MLC's target audience. I explained my purpose in sharing advanced materials was to give a sense of what we'd be preparing kids to comprehend, that my talk at the Math Summit, for example, was pitched to an MLC-relevant level, with 5th grade teachers in the audience starting to talk the lingo by the end of the hour. But of course he'd already formulated his message. He explained that MLC already has a huge investment in printed materials and no one at the center could see how my brand of geometry could possibly fit -- the idea of looking ahead a couple years, to some big changes, obviously didn't seem worth contemplating, given the inertia in the math juggernaut -- nothing on the horizon suggests any threat to the status quo. I said I completely understood -- they couldn't switch tracks based on some guy walking in out of the blue and handing them a bunch of papers, however colorful and math savvy. He said I put it very well. I offered that my strategy was to work on the demand side, to try to get students somewhat pumped about this stuff, so that MLC would see there was a market for it and move to respond. He sounded happy with this, as that sounded like a completely improbable way to go i.e. MLC is in no danger of needing to contact me in future -- but of course he was friendly enough (as was I) and said he'd file my materials, and my offer to serve as an ally, and get back to me (on some cold day in hell). I'm not really clear whether he knows my memo to MLC is on the web (certainly I shared this info with MLC, so probably he does). I'll keep it there of course. I want the record to show that I played a strong game, regardless of the eventual outcome (I say checkmate is just a few moves away, but then as one of the players I'm hardly unbiased). Kirby 4D Solutions Cite: http://www.teleport.com/~pdx4d/mlc.html ---------------------------------------------------------- Kirby T. Urner http://www.teleport.com/~pdx4d/kirby.html 4D Solutions http://www.teleport.com/~pdx4d/ [PGP OK] ----------------------------------------------------------