"Rithmatic" and the other "Rs" too

As I was reading an educational journal, an article on fractions and algebra caught my eye. Lots of good points about how hard it is to learn these two topics and as they addressed fractions, I actually think that they may not want us to teach fractions and just hand kids the calculator. I was shocked, and dismayed, but one statement did make up for the disappoint I felt with the writers opinion: "For mathematics to make sense to students as something other than a purely mental exercise, teachers need to focus on the interplay of numbers and words, especially on expressing quantitative relationships in meaningful sentences. For users of mathematics, calculation takes a backseat to meaning. And to make mathematics meaningful, the three R's must be well blended in each student's mind." I absolutely, do not want to dummy down the curriculum to accomadate those that cannot understand fractions, but I did agree with this part of the discussion and how I can better address the issue of "numbers and words". I may address the algebra part of the article in a later blog.