The Algebra Revolution

The algebra revolution begins by eliminating Algebra 1. Spreadsheets and other digital technologies have made this central course obsolete and irrelevant. Eliminating it removes the prime barrier to school achievement and equity. This singular act will transform our broken education system. It enables us to reinvent the math curriculum, forces us to rethink the disciplines generally, and lets us reimagine the pedagogy we consider canonical. Join me as we take this path to its logical conclusion and turn schools into places where we prepare students for their future, not our past.

A little over a year ago I made a discovery that changed my life. I found that eliminating Algebra 1 was a magic wand that not only enabled us to bring new problem solving mathematics into our schools, but would revolutionize both our curriculum and pedagogy. I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am about this discovery. Eliminating Algebra 1, the algebra of equations, removes the greatest roadblock to achievement, a seminal, obsolete and now irrelevant course. It is made possible, indeed required, by bringing spreadsheets and their algebra of functions into our schools. It opens the door to questioning the entire math curriculum, to rethinking the disciplines generally, and to reimagining the pedagogy we take as canonical, which fundamentally changes how, what, and why students learn. The result greatly surprised me. I believe you too will find it startling. Yet, this revolution based on a new educational paradigm will assuredly happen. I hope you will download this ebook, spread the word, and use the magic wand I hand you to help transform education.

I am a digital learning designer, teacher, entrepreneur, and math educator. I have lived in Cambridge for over 50 years after being born and raised in Chicago. I taught physics, mathematics, and have been a curriculum designer. I started three ed tech companies, love the Berkshires where we have a family home, am fascinated by photography, history and epistemology, and have authored 5 books on math education, epistemology, the future of education, and early childhood math. I continue to be deeply involved in education and educational technology, and I continue to dream of revolutionizing the way kids learn. I am a Lesley University trustee. My personal website is artifacts.com.