I was reading this Washington Post article that suggests the way to higher math scores in our children is to stop concentrating on self esteem and happiness.
While I agree there should be more of a focus on the basics I'm not sure I agree with some of what this study suggests:
"It is interesting that people grasp this notion in other areas of self-improvement -- eating healthy foods, getting exercise, saving for retirement -- but when it comes to education, for some reason, the limitations of happiness are forgotten," Loveless wrote.
Call me silly but the main reason I believe our children are not doing as well in math is because we aren't spending enough time teaching math. We teach to the tests that they have to get thru for NCLB, but there is not enough focus on creating a good foundation of math skills. If you rush children thru without making sure they have a good grasp on the simple basics of math? You end up with children who about that 8th grade level discover that math is harder than it should be. They don't need to learn how to operate scientific calculators as much as they need to learn how to memorize and know simple addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Bragging that you teach Algebra in the younger grades really has no purpose if they don't know their time tables...
:-)
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
The Details...
Financial resources & Fun!
Financial Resources:
Corporate Recovery
With a shaky stock market, now's a great time to invest in diamonds.
Fun!
Yard Signs Cheap
Yard Signs Cheap
Corporate Recovery
With a shaky stock market, now's a great time to invest in diamonds.
Fun!
Yard Signs Cheap
Yard Signs Cheap
Regular Reads
History Mike's Musings
Toledo Tales
Hooda Thunkit
Aaron's Blog
Along the Tracks
The Glitch
Roland's Ramblings
Judy's Jewels
I think about by Valbee
Toledo Speaks Out
Maggie Thurber's Thoughts
Color Orange Art
The Yippie Show
Progressive Toledo
Thoughts on TPS
Shanahan Select
Make A Difference
Toledo Perspectives
Toledo Tales
Hooda Thunkit
Aaron's Blog
Along the Tracks
The Glitch
Roland's Ramblings
Judy's Jewels
I think about by Valbee
Toledo Speaks Out
Maggie Thurber's Thoughts
Color Orange Art
The Yippie Show
Progressive Toledo
Thoughts on TPS
Shanahan Select
Make A Difference
Toledo Perspectives
Blog Archive
...
...
Thank you!
Thanks for visiting Liberal Common Sense...
4 comments:
I was trying to get Willy to understand that if
2 + 3 = 5
then
3 + 2 = 5
and that was difficult enough, considering the way they're teaching him math. I'm not sure exactly what they're doing, but he's way too reliant on the little dots.
In response to that, I went back to how my Dad taught me math when I was little. I made a table, or rather several tables, that included all the numbers up to fifteen. 1 + 1 to 15 + 15 and everything in between. Once I started doing this, he started to understand that if 5 + 5 = 10, then 5 + 6 = 11. It floored me that he hadn't gotten that yet.
Now, admittedly, part of it may be due to his developmental delay, but I doubt it. Whatever they're doing in his class seems really hokey to me, because all the numbers have dots on them and he has to be able to move beyond the dots to succeed in math.
Stephanie - it's not just Willy - I've gone thru the same thing with mine. The stupid dots thing didn't work for Aubrey either.
:-)
I remember when I was in school, the math I took in 8th grade and my freshman year was what my brother's high school taught as junior/senior courses. I think it was a matter of different expectations. My schools expected us to study and try to look past high school. My brother's school just wanted them to get through high school first.
I don't know anyone in school now so I can't comment much on that.
I remember the math tables being beaten into me and I'm thankful for that to this day.
Thank God for the Sisters of the Masochistic Cloister and their swift, muscular wrists, weilding the mother of all rulers.
:-|
Post a Comment