March 12, 2012 60 Minutes 524 West 57th St.

New York, NY 10019 Dear 60 Minutes, As a high school educator in mathematics, I was interested by your segment last night about Khan Academy and its increasing influence on the way mathematics (among other subjects) is being taught in our nation's schools. Salman Khan is, no doubt, an extremely intelligent individual whom we should all thank for his commitment to education. In today's increasingly standardized educational system, his online instructional system has many benefits as a supplement to what can be provided in our schools. With that said, I was disappointed with what I considered to be a shallow discussion on the nature of teaching and learning mathematics, particularly on a news program that influences the opinions of such a large audience. The overwhelming praise of Khan Academy is a testament to our nation's definition of mathematics and mathematics instruction. While this is no fault of his or your's, it is clear that many people view mathematics as a sterile, fixed set of rules/knowledge and that, through education, that knowledge must be transferred from teacher to student. It also implies that there is only one correct way to approach or understand a problem; it does not honor an individual student's way of knowing and understanding. Not only is this a fleeting system of education, but it in no way mirrors the reasoning, sense-making, exploration, and numerical literacy that is the heart of what mathematics truly is. Your segment last night perpetuated that misconception and, inadvertently, rallied viewers behind the very cursory system of education that our nation has developed in response to standardized testing. I would ask you to consider two things: 1. When was the last time you used one of the pieces of information you learned in your high school math course? 2. Would you rather your own child be able to factor a polynomial or creatively and collaboratively make sense of problems in the world around them? I was disturbed by the video of the silent classroom with students individually working in front of a computer on what I know to be disconnected, abstract topics. I would hope that we could work towards a more meaningful vision for a classroom, one in which students are working together, making sense of difficult problems, challenging each other's ideas, and articulating their thinking. If technology is going to provide depth in our students' education, it should do so by offering dynamic, interactive software that allows students to investigate, explore, and construct in a way that paper and pencil cannot (and these forms of software are available), and not merely by reassigning fact-based instruction to a computer. I want to conclude by stating that I completely understand the good intentions of both Khan Academy and the 60 Minutes program. Your show regularly exposes viewers to interesting and innovative things happening in our nation and our world. For that, we are thankful. However, the power of media is tremendous in shaping public opinion and by not consulting or including the viewpoint of educators, learning theorists, or even a

variety of students, the program exposed and influenced viewers to support a vision of mathematics education that many would argue is negatively affecting our students' love and understanding of the subject. Thank you for starting this dialogue about education. I sincerely hope that it continues and expands. Bryan Meyer