A group of people who have no shared language could sit around and collectively solve a math problem, but people with no shared language could not read the same book.
Sean, This is another right on the money article. The new math is circular, but to me, a woman, bizarre. It’s more than a couple of chairs in the way! My granddaughter was here for a week with homework lessons to tackle and I had trouble understanding and explaining the whole complicated procedure myself. I couldn’t understand why they made it so cumbersome never mind the “why” of it all. My husband, a former middle/high school math teacher even resorted to explaining things the old way. Even simple addition was a mess. Many of us, at best, only use up to geometry math in our lifetimes; examples; quilting, landscaping, balances finances, and cooking etc. In the end I showed my granddaughter the old method and she picked it up, but was concerned about her teacher. My other granddaughter is in the 4th grade and she is having trouble with division and multiplication. Took me all of five minutes to realize she hadn’t memorized her times tables. Why? Heck I have no idea. I told her this would help tremendously since it’s the founding principle for the next steps. Kinda like learning tablespoons and cup measurements is necessary to becoming a basic cook. Sean, this core math needs a few tweaks not just for boys, but for girls too! Thanks for all you do and your informative practical thinking!
Silverwind, thank you for the comments. The teachers who know this new approach is not working will also work in the practices that have stood the test of time, like your husband. This is what happened in the high school that dropped its IMP program. Those who really knew math understood the challenges students faced. There are ways to approach math for boys and girls that used brain-science as its foundation to help boys and girls thrive. It's time to introduce this approach into our teacher training programs.
Thank you for the comments that keep the conversation going and growing!
All relatable issues I saw with my boys as they were going through school. Something not mentioned in your piece that was a big pet peeve of mine was schools have stopped using textbooks on a regular basis. They have gone to worksheets and online multiple choice for a lot of things. Parents are not able to even see the teacher’s methods for a math section or topic to help their children problem solve with the technique they are teaching. So as a parent I was to interpret a hodgepodge of information that I couldn’t figure out myself. Don’t get me wrong I am a supporter of multiple methods of teaching problem solving for math but when you restrict information and sometimes space to just a work sheet, that creates problems with understanding and the mechanics of working out the problem.
My father was a math teacher for 30 years. He preached that a tree died so you could have this sheet of paper so you need to respect that and show all your work when solving a problem. It was his joke but being able to learn how to organize your work was part of the process to him whether you got the answer right or wrong.
Thanks for sharing Patrick! Some teachers do not allow students to bring tests and quizzes home. Mainly so they do not have to create another test or quiz. This removes parents from the process, not a good idea. Some schools have physical books and online books. Showing work is important for sure and your dad was right.
Sean, This is another right on the money article. The new math is circular, but to me, a woman, bizarre. It’s more than a couple of chairs in the way! My granddaughter was here for a week with homework lessons to tackle and I had trouble understanding and explaining the whole complicated procedure myself. I couldn’t understand why they made it so cumbersome never mind the “why” of it all. My husband, a former middle/high school math teacher even resorted to explaining things the old way. Even simple addition was a mess. Many of us, at best, only use up to geometry math in our lifetimes; examples; quilting, landscaping, balances finances, and cooking etc. In the end I showed my granddaughter the old method and she picked it up, but was concerned about her teacher. My other granddaughter is in the 4th grade and she is having trouble with division and multiplication. Took me all of five minutes to realize she hadn’t memorized her times tables. Why? Heck I have no idea. I told her this would help tremendously since it’s the founding principle for the next steps. Kinda like learning tablespoons and cup measurements is necessary to becoming a basic cook. Sean, this core math needs a few tweaks not just for boys, but for girls too! Thanks for all you do and your informative practical thinking!
Silverwind, thank you for the comments. The teachers who know this new approach is not working will also work in the practices that have stood the test of time, like your husband. This is what happened in the high school that dropped its IMP program. Those who really knew math understood the challenges students faced. There are ways to approach math for boys and girls that used brain-science as its foundation to help boys and girls thrive. It's time to introduce this approach into our teacher training programs.
Thank you for the comments that keep the conversation going and growing!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08v5C5DvR14
All relatable issues I saw with my boys as they were going through school. Something not mentioned in your piece that was a big pet peeve of mine was schools have stopped using textbooks on a regular basis. They have gone to worksheets and online multiple choice for a lot of things. Parents are not able to even see the teacher’s methods for a math section or topic to help their children problem solve with the technique they are teaching. So as a parent I was to interpret a hodgepodge of information that I couldn’t figure out myself. Don’t get me wrong I am a supporter of multiple methods of teaching problem solving for math but when you restrict information and sometimes space to just a work sheet, that creates problems with understanding and the mechanics of working out the problem.
My father was a math teacher for 30 years. He preached that a tree died so you could have this sheet of paper so you need to respect that and show all your work when solving a problem. It was his joke but being able to learn how to organize your work was part of the process to him whether you got the answer right or wrong.
Thanks for sharing Patrick! Some teachers do not allow students to bring tests and quizzes home. Mainly so they do not have to create another test or quiz. This removes parents from the process, not a good idea. Some schools have physical books and online books. Showing work is important for sure and your dad was right.