FROM FRACTIONS TO FELONIES?!?!? Dramatic? Yes. Accurate? YES! This post is the first in a series, where we will explore this connection of repeated math failures and juvenile delinquency. The intention is to create awareness and to open discussion of this topic. Juvenile detention may seem like an odd topic for a math blog, but from my perspective, there is a direct correlation. To illustrate this, let's trace the path for a typical juvenile offender backwards. Now, I would agree that there should probably be many steps added below "Failure in School." What would you add? Learning disabilities? Poverty? Language barriers? Trouble-making behavior? Poor parenting? Cultural differences? No doubt there are a variety of factors that contribute to students' failures in schools, but that is far beyond the scope of this blog. There is little (outside of early intervention advocacy) that teachers can do to prevent students from reaching that ...
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