The FLOW school districts of Franklin Lakes, Oakland and Wyckoff are joining numerous other school districts that have embraced what is marketed as “Singapore Math”.
As school curriculum rarely, if ever, is branded with the name of a country, it is appropriate to ask why in this case the teaching of mathematics is it being branded with the Singapore name.
It is also appropriate to ask as to who benefits from such a marketing strategy, and whether the United States as a nation would be better served by “taking ownership” of the curriculum.
In Singapore, math is called “math”. Certain series of math books might target primary or secondary school students, but it is not branded as “Singapore Math” – it is simply math.
The branding of “Singapore Math” is largely based on two factors. One, it incorporates the methodology implemented by the nation of Singapore – which is one of a few countries that regularly scores high on the international PISA exams.
The second, and probably primary reason, is that the companies publishing the books are based in Singapore and Asia. Well known publishers such as Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Marshall Cavendish can have all their Singapore Math books traced back to Fraser& Neave, LTD
How math has been taught has evolved, changed, and with each new methodology comes a name. Many parents today will remember what was called the “New Math” – which was really just a new methodology in teaching. With the “New Math” 2 + 2 continued to = 4….the same is true with “Singapore Math”.
A methodology is not something that can have a patent or be copyrighted. The method of teaching math in Singapore is not something owned by the country of Singapore – it is simply a compilation of theories on education.
A business consultant in Singapore, Elijah Lim, clarifies how the marketing of the methodology of “Singapore Math” is a business strategy. “How long will Singapore Math in its current form serve us? Once others are able to duplicate the basic structures, it will not be long before they no longer need to depend on Singapore Math.”
The many books used in the United States to teach “Singapore Math” are published by companies with financial investments well beyond publishing and education. Their interest is in expanding the “branding of Singapore” – a very small country with a population slightly over 5 million people.
It is in the best interest of these conglomerates to pursue a branding of “Singapore Math”, but is it in the best interest of the United States? It seems counter-productive to allow American schools to be used as a platform for corporations to “market” and “brand” another country’s industries.
There was a time when many Americans would only buy Japanese cars or electronics because it was perceived they were producing a better product, but these companies never marketed their product as “Buy Japanese, Our Cars Are Better” – much less used American schools for marketing purposes.
“Singapore Math” is simply a “marketing and branding” strategy…But rejecting the marketing strategy does not mean rejecting the methodology.
The educational strategy adopted in Finland, which also is a top scorer on the PISA exams, is largely based on the theories of the American education reformer John Dewey – but Finland “took ownership” of the theories Dewey advanced.
“Singapore Math” could just as easily be called “Bar Model Math” or “Visual Math”, or it could even be called “Yankee Doodle Math”. It is simply a methodology, and math by any other name is still math.
There are also valid concerns as to how selling “Singapore Math” to American children, and adults, can be counter-productive to both the nation and the students.
First, it communicates a message that Americans are not innovative; it communicates that Americans have “outsourced” their educational curriculum overseas; and it communicates a lack of national commitment to education in America.
It also communicates that, as a nation, we are not seeking to make American schools the best – we are seeking to make American schools like those in Singapore; it communicates that we do not want American students to be the best – we want them to be like students in Singapore.
The branding of “Singapore Math” can also impact how it is perceived by students, especially those in grades above first or second, who need to transition into it. As Dewey related in The Child and the Curriculum, “…the lack of any organic connection with what the child has already seen and felt and loved makes the material purely formal and symbolic.”
It is clear that the branding & marketing of “Singapore Math” is purely symbolic. It serves no honest purpose but to promote the industries associated with the nation of Singapore. On the other hand, it creates a barrier by implying that the teaching methodology is some how distant and foreign – it lacks an “organic connection”.
A recent review of Finland’s core curriculum is being published by the University of Helsinki, and it offers some words of advice for every nation.
“Each country has its own cultural identity, value system and educational content that are deemed valuable, even irreplaceable. This cultural content is transferred to the next generations as a self-evident part of education. National curricula both pass on this cultural knowledge and reinvent it.”
While a neutral sounding name – such as Visual Math or Math Modelling – would do little for the corporations that are seeking to promote a variety of industries in Singapore. The methodology used in Singapore would not lose its effectiveness if sold under a generic name unattached with the nation.
What’s in a name?… Nothing, but marketing….
Submitted by Charles McCormick
Cicero Designs
Interesting…I wonder since Catholic schools are so well respected in America if a Vatican Math program would be as well received as Singapore Math. We should be thanful that North Korea has not developed a great math program or else our kids might be learning Commie Math lol
I believe the name comes from the company that published homeschool math books for many years. It was started by US missionaries who had been stationed in Singapore and brought their methods back for the US market. The method has been referred to as Singapore math for years even though other companies are now using it.
“First, it communicates a message that Americans are not innovative”. We are a country based upon capitalism, as it should be. You snooze, you lose. Let’s spend less time blaming others for their success and more time focusing on our own.
“First, it communicates a message that Americans are not innovative”. We aren’t. We are a country based upon capitalism, as it should be. You snooze, you lose. Let’s spend less time blaming others for their successes and more time focusing on our own initiatives.