One more thing - here is my favorite video of all time - it explains the garbage that is “reform” math:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr1qee-bTZI
She is concise and to the point.
Yeah - I found her when I was trying to figure out my kid’s math. My wife ended up going in to volunteer so the kids could get their “Math Facts” taught/memorized. She would spend time with each kid during reading time as the teacher’s were not supposed to teach the basic facts (you know 2+2 = 4, 6x6 = 36, etc.) She helped all the way from 1st to 6th grade.
What the teacher DID teach (an example):
36 + 52 = ?
Well, 36 is close to 40, and 52 is close to 50.
So 40 + 50 = 90.
But it was 36, so 40-36 = 4, so subtract 4 from 90 = 86.
BUT it was 52, not 50, so add 2 more into the 86 to make it 88.
My one daughter could wrap her mind around this (as well as just “regular addition”), my other could not. The one that could not I told her just to add it up the regular way and I would make a comment on her homework and sign it. The teacher never said a thing - even on the exams. (He thought it was stupid too - but would lose his job if he didn’t teach it).
They keep getting some bad teachers. And I perhaps shouldn’t, but will say in front of them that these crummy teachers should be shot. (Well - at least fired and never allowed to teach again). But they are ruining these kid’s learning. Either by not giving them the proper tools, or worse - causing them to hate education.
bttt