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Probably true. My daughter finished 2nd grade behind in math and with a deep dread of it. I had been too busy to realize what was happening. So I bought the Ca

Probably true. My daughter finished 2nd grade behind in math and with a deep dread of it. I had been too busy to realize what was happening. So I bought the California Common Core books for 3rd grade to understand the requirements. In our 10 minute car rides to and from camp every day, I was able to teach her all of it, without books or writing anything down. The way they teach this in schools is just so far from optimial it's heartbreaking. To give one concrete example, a huge part of 3rd grade here is memorizing the times and divide tables. After some quick experiments, it was obvious that all she'd need to do was learn to count each number series, which is MUCH easier than memorizing flashcards, and can be done anywhere. Once you can count the number series, times and divide problems fall out naturally with practically no memorization needed. The second big thing this year is word problems for those math facts. These word problems are so easy if you give the child the vocabulary and concepts to break them down in into their key parts. Instead, schools just leave it up to the courage and interest of the student to keep hitting their heads against the wall. We're on to 4th grade math now and she's a week into 4th grade. I'm keen to check the Alan Kay link. :)

boppo1 4y ago
>learn to count each number series, which is MUCH easier than memorizing flashcards, and can be done anywhere. Once you can count the number series, times and divide problems fall out naturally Can you describe this process a little more clearly?
- ciphol 4y ago
  I'm guessing - instead of memorizing "7*9=63" (and numerous other products), you memorize that the multiples of 9 are "9,18,27,36,45,54,63..." and the 7th one in that list is the one you want?
  - hinkley 4y ago
    And pick whichever one comes to mind easier. I am generally very good at taking tests but that was learned behavior. My origin story was a conversation about timed math tests with multiplication tables, and I was hit with the twin observations that you don’t have to do the answers in order, and if you can’t recall 7x9 but you can recall 9x7 it’s the same answer. All of a sudden I wanted to know what other tricks there were and boy did I look for all of them.
  - ellyagg 4y ago
    Yep, and it's oven more overpowered than that, becaause she has a deep understanding of the relationships of the numbers to the tables. First, you just learn to count them fluently. After that, you already know all the anwers, which is a huge head start. I would have her count up and down. So now, just to learn the counting series she also had to do a bunch of addition and subtraction too. After she could count the series, she could actually guess many of the answers the first time through a set of flashcards. And it only took a couple repetitions to get them all right. And then, if you forget one, you can landmark off of easier ones, likes 5s and 10s. Since you deeply understand that 6x6 is just one more 6 past 5x6, you go 30+6. It was fun and cute to see her working out the answers when she didn't know it off the top. And even if you have to count from 0, you're quick at it so it's not a big deal.
- ellyagg 4y ago
  See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32694614 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32694614
hinkley 4y ago
I knew a kid who would practically melt down doing math homework a 8 years old. Originally contemplated a career in music or art. Somewhere along the way something clicked, and now they’re applying to engineering programs for college. I was also about eight when I figured out how to enjoy math, and I think it had something to do with realizing the teachers aren’t authorities. There is no “way” to teach things and you don’t have to like their strategies for teaching it. That love for math came at the same time I started running a dialog in my head, stepping out of myself, observing my own mind, and being my own coach. Years later I encountered this idea in the context of meditation and mindfulness, and while I had always felt like maybe I was doing something others were not, the ways that mindfulness sometimes belabors the point made me realize that maybe there are quite a lot of people who don’t figure this out.
- ellyagg 4y ago
  Thanks for this story, inspiring to hear. After last year, it was satisfying to hear my daughter come back from her first day of math yesterday: "My teacher made us show our work, it was soooo boring."
ellyagg 4y ago
*week into 3rd grade, I should have said

boppo1 4y ago

>learn to count each number series, which is MUCH easier than memorizing flashcards, and can be done anywhere. Once you can count the number series, times and divide problems fall out naturally Can you describe this process a little more clearly?

ciphol 4y ago
I'm guessing - instead of memorizing "7*9=63" (and numerous other products), you memorize that the multiples of 9 are "9,18,27,36,45,54,63..." and the 7th one in that list is the one you want?
- hinkley 4y ago
  And pick whichever one comes to mind easier. I am generally very good at taking tests but that was learned behavior. My origin story was a conversation about timed math tests with multiplication tables, and I was hit with the twin observations that you don’t have to do the answers in order, and if you can’t recall 7x9 but you can recall 9x7 it’s the same answer. All of a sudden I wanted to know what other tricks there were and boy did I look for all of them.
- ellyagg 4y ago
  Yep, and it's oven more overpowered than that, becaause she has a deep understanding of the relationships of the numbers to the tables. First, you just learn to count them fluently. After that, you already know all the anwers, which is a huge head start. I would have her count up and down. So now, just to learn the counting series she also had to do a bunch of addition and subtraction too. After she could count the series, she could actually guess many of the answers the first time through a set of flashcards. And it only took a couple repetitions to get them all right. And then, if you forget one, you can landmark off of easier ones, likes 5s and 10s. Since you deeply understand that 6x6 is just one more 6 past 5x6, you go 30+6. It was fun and cute to see her working out the answers when she didn't know it off the top. And even if you have to count from 0, you're quick at it so it's not a big deal.
ellyagg 4y ago
See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32694614 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32694614

hinkley 4y ago

I knew a kid who would practically melt down doing math homework a 8 years old. Originally contemplated a career in music or art. Somewhere along the way something clicked, and now they’re applying to engineering programs for college. I was also about eight when I figured out how to enjoy math, and I think it had something to do with realizing the teachers aren’t authorities. There is no “way” to teach things and you don’t have to like their strategies for teaching it. That love for math came at the same time I started running a dialog in my head, stepping out of myself, observing my own mind, and being my own coach. Years later I encountered this idea in the context of meditation and mindfulness, and while I had always felt like maybe I was doing something others were not, the ways that mindfulness sometimes belabors the point made me realize that maybe there are quite a lot of people who don’t figure this out.

ellyagg 4y ago
Thanks for this story, inspiring to hear. After last year, it was satisfying to hear my daughter come back from her first day of math yesterday: "My teacher made us show our work, it was soooo boring."

ellyagg 4y ago

*week into 3rd grade, I should have said