em, for example, it is also just as important to teach them the underlying concept for the problem. Children need to be able to experiment and discover for themselves what math concepts mean in order to own and understand the information or skill. If students are not taught reasons for why they are learning something, they will not be interested. I also believe that discussions between teachers should focus on sharing their techniques and instructional ideas with each other rather than on discipline and logistics. Sharing should not be considered to be intrusive but as a way to build better teachers. I feel that the reason for so much ‘discipline’ discussion is that American teachers don’t have any power in disciplining their students, so therefore the students are more apt to create problems. On the other hand, in Japan, when a teacher speaks, the children have respect for authority and they listen. This creates a better learning environment because teachers do not have to deal with as many behavioral problems and therefore have more time to concentrate on techniques and instruction....
