How Learning Debt Starts

by Justin Skycak (@justinskycak) and Sanjana Kulkarni on

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Learning debt usually starts with adults failing to call students out:

  • practice your backhand instead of relying on your forehand for everything
  • memorize your times tables instead of recalculating them
  • stop using a calculator for simple arithmetic in your math problems

They donโ€™t want to nag. They donโ€™t want conflict.

So they let these compensatory hacks slide.

But letting it slide doesnโ€™t make the problem go away.

It compounds the skill gap.

Progress slows, frustration rises, and students hit ceilings that donโ€™t need to exist.

And when it occurs across many students across many schools, it degrades the whole educational system โ€“ leading to the current situation in which many students are totally unprepared for the rigors of college.

Discussed here: Math Academy Podcast #6 Part 3: Learning Debt and Skill Insolvency


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