When someone describes the math taught in Singapore schools as being too difficult to understand, or complains that young students are unhealthily exposed to an obscene number of brain-unfriendly math questions—“cheem” means “deep” in the Chinese dialect Hokkien.
Ahmad who could hardly understand Mr. Goon’s lessons told his parents: “Singapore math, so cheem. I gave up!”
by MathPlus May 15, 2021
When math educators in America are pushing for their states and schools to embrace the Singapore math curriculum, or part of it, to raise the mathematical proficiency of their students—Singapore is often touted as a model for quality math education that is achievable via wallet-friendly good-quality textbooks.
Trump’s white “patriots” and diehard blue-collar supporters in red states are against the “Make US Math Singapore Math” slogan, as they’re allergic to any form of alien math infiltrating their local schools.
by MathPlus October 03, 2021
When the methodology and pedagogy used in Singapore math textbooks and supplementary titles (foreign and local editions) at the same grade are believed or perceived to be equivalent, yet the level of difficulty of the brain-unfriendly questions in both editions differs significantly—the tailor-made overseas editions are often one or two grades lower than the local one.
US math educators need to take note of the same-same-but-different Singapore math titles to temper their expectations of their students’ mathematical proficiency compared to that of their Singaporean counterparts.
by MathPlus August 31, 2021
When math writers and publishers in the “fine” city of Singapore discover that math-anxious students are more inclined or motivated to solve brain-unfriendly word problems or fiendish questions that involve ghosts, vampires, zombies, and other paranormal or satanic figures rather than those dealing with humans or animals.
The zombification of Singapore math has alarmed a number of conservative or puritan parents and homeschoolers both locally and abroad, especially in red-pilled states that have a significant proportion of ultra-MAGA or anti-woke voters.
by Numerati January 21, 2024
The time it takes for the bar model method, the heart and soul of Singapore math, to become a common feature in most math curriculums around the world, which implicitly means that it no longer holds the competitive edge over other developed nations in math education.
With pirates from both developing and developed countries leveraging on AI, the half-life of Singapore math is getting exponentially shorter, and the “fine” city of Singapore risks being innovated away if local math educators don’t act now.
by Numerati January 09, 2025
When uninhibited math educators in the “fine” city of Singapore have started posing word problems that use rogue characters who exhibit the idiocies and idiosyncrasies of Mr. Pinocchio and his team of morally corrupt lawmakers and semi-innumerate advisors.
The Trumpification of Singapore math has sprung a dozen-odd politically incorrect titles that aim to hone students’ and parents’ critical thinking skills in mathematics.
by Numerati March 20, 2024
When writers-mathepreneurs keen on leveraging on the Singapore math brand are ever grateful to Amazon’s print-on-demand services, which allows them to self-publish their oft-half-edited manuscripts, which were rejected by 99.99% of educational publishers.
The Amazonification of Singapore math and the low interest or investment in AI technologies have led some once-leading publishers to drop from hero to zero until it’s too late for them to do anything.
by Numerati December 30, 2024