[papertyger]

However - I have seen that for most kids, this method throws them into dizzied confusion. They would much rather have the boundaries of the ‘slog through the numbers’ method. So, my opinion is that 1st graders should be taught traditional math. And, if a student excels, around the 5th grade they can go to the common core style of estimating, rounding, assessing reasonableness of an answer, and breaking down the problem into smaller pieces.

Just my opinion.

And an insightful opinion it is....

However let me counter your example with an alternative problem from one of the instructional videos I reviewed. Subtract 1999 from 3000 using the traditional steps we were taught.

Now THAT is a recipe for error!

[lacrew]

It would be...I agree. But I don’t see any harm in showing kids how to do that problem the traditional way...and somewhere in the 4th or 5th grade teachers can show the CC way...and they should be able to identify the kids who appreciate the better method.

Something I failed to mention in my prior post also - a lot of grade school teachers really aren’t that good at math. And many aren’t ready to learn a new style of doing math. So for many of these teachers, they go through the CC math in a mechanical way...but aren’t good at ‘teaching’ it. The only solution is to wait until today’s kids become teachers. And IMHO, all the more reason to wade into this pool more slowly, and let the kids who are self directed learn it with or without a good teacher.