What a modern idea.
Mrs. Daisy Rosa, my algebra teacher in the ninth grade used exactly this same method of teaching in 1945. We sat at large round tables scattered throughout her large classroom. Mrs. Rosa was as round as the tables. The class all started out as a unit for the first week or so. At the end of the week we all took a test.If we passed it we moved to the next higher table. If we failed, we stayed at the same table and reviewed the material. Then we would test again the following week. If we passed the test we moved, otherwise, we stayed where we were. I often stayed at the same table for a while.
She taught in a very large room at Southwestern Junior High School on Goguac Avenue in Battle Creek, Michigan, where I grew up. She was way ahead of her time, apparently.
I was playing piano concertos when I was in the ninth grade, but algebra was not in my vocabulary. Somehow Mrs. Rosa got me through the class and sent me on to high school. If asked today what x equals, I would have to admit that I have no idea except that it often 'marks the spot'. Don't even ask me what y is all about. Mathematics and I have never had a close relationship.
I freely admit that I also cheated all through fractions, whenever that comes along in your schooling. Maybe that's why algebra was Greek to me. My 4th, 5th, and 6th grade teacher was Gertrude Woodard. She seemed to pass from grade to grade with the class. In fractions, at the end of a quiz, she would read the answers. Since I sat in the back of the room, I simply jotted down the answers as she said them. Mea culpa. Naughty boy. I still have no idea how to do either fractions or algebra. So sue me! I also count on my fingers.
But I have played all the Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert sonatas, so I can't be all bad.
Or can I?
