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> Math education in the US is pitiful. No arguments there. > The last attempt to fix it (common core) mostly emphasized memorizing arithmetic facts Did it? M

by vkou 4y ago

> Math education in the US is pitiful. No arguments there. > The last attempt to fix it (common core) mostly emphasized memorizing arithmetic facts Did it? My understanding is that it uses a few different approaches to build basic intuition about numbers, and that parents hate it because many of those approaches don't make sense to them, because that's not how they learnt math. Which makes it an incredibly convenient punching bag.

btilly 4y ago
You're describing what it was in theory. In PRACTICE it was kids being present with a confusing array of things all at once when they hadn't sorted out the basics, and as a result learning none of them. See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34634210 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34634210 for my rant about what my son actually went through. There is an old saying about writing. "Writing is easy, just open a vein and bleed." That particular rant I'm pretty sure that I hit an artery.
- vkou 4y ago
  Your problems mostly stem from the fact that your son's teacher doesn't know his elbow from his ass, mathematically. Which, given the current climate, is unsurprising, as anyone with a basic understanding of mathematics will run[1], not walk away from a teaching job. Unfortunately, it's a valid criticism. More unfortunately, switching to another standard for teaching math isn't going to solve this. [1] Why be society's punching bag, on the front-lines of an insane litigation and culture war, have your heavily-backloaded pay be contingent on putting up with decades of this kind of bullshit, all while trying to do a mixture of teaching and social work?
  - btilly 4y ago
    You're right about where the problems come from, and that the criticism is valid. However I stand by my point that Common Core should be described in terms of what it did do, and not what its supporters hoped it would do.
- mrguyorama 4y ago
  >given how many teachers in practice can't tell you whether 3/5 is larger than 2/3 Teaching requirements are NOT standardized at the federal level, and lots of states have decided to just lower standards instead of paying professionals more. If you only hire baby-sitters, don't be surprised when they can't teach simple stuff. In my state, we have high standards for teachers, and every single one, from kindergarten right through high school, from french teacher to cooking to history, could teach a middle school math course. Your state or municipality cheaping out on your child's education is not the fault of federal regulation, or of a federal curriculum. You'd be whining about the same thing no matter what the national curriculum was, because the problem is that your local governments don't care about education.
ZeroGravitas 4y ago
Common Core was also the target of a full on QAnon/Covid style conspiracy push by republicans. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/rnc-embraces-common-core-conspiracy-theory-flna1c9388203 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/rnc-embraces-common-core-... > If you're familiar with Glenn Beck's broadcasts, you've no doubt heard about his unhinged crusade against Common Core, including his declaration last week that he will no longer send his kids to college -- Common Core will only indoctrinate them and make them part of "the system that is coming." > Republicans are taking this all very seriously, with lawmakers in 18 states considering legislation to block Common Core, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) denouncing it on Beck's radio show. As mentioned in the article there are some actual experts with criticisms to make but many of the people getting unusually upset about it had got sucked into a conspiracy theory.

by vkou 4y ago

btilly 4y ago

You're describing what it was in theory. In PRACTICE it was kids being present with a confusing array of things all at once when they hadn't sorted out the basics, and as a result learning none of them. See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34634210 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34634210 for my rant about what my son actually went through. There is an old saying about writing. "Writing is easy, just open a vein and bleed." That particular rant I'm pretty sure that I hit an artery.

vkou 4y ago
Your problems mostly stem from the fact that your son's teacher doesn't know his elbow from his ass, mathematically. Which, given the current climate, is unsurprising, as anyone with a basic understanding of mathematics will run[1], not walk away from a teaching job. Unfortunately, it's a valid criticism. More unfortunately, switching to another standard for teaching math isn't going to solve this. [1] Why be society's punching bag, on the front-lines of an insane litigation and culture war, have your heavily-backloaded pay be contingent on putting up with decades of this kind of bullshit, all while trying to do a mixture of teaching and social work?
- btilly 4y ago
  You're right about where the problems come from, and that the criticism is valid. However I stand by my point that Common Core should be described in terms of what it did do, and not what its supporters hoped it would do.
mrguyorama 4y ago
>given how many teachers in practice can't tell you whether 3/5 is larger than 2/3 Teaching requirements are NOT standardized at the federal level, and lots of states have decided to just lower standards instead of paying professionals more. If you only hire baby-sitters, don't be surprised when they can't teach simple stuff. In my state, we have high standards for teachers, and every single one, from kindergarten right through high school, from french teacher to cooking to history, could teach a middle school math course. Your state or municipality cheaping out on your child's education is not the fault of federal regulation, or of a federal curriculum. You'd be whining about the same thing no matter what the national curriculum was, because the problem is that your local governments don't care about education.

ZeroGravitas 4y ago

Common Core was also the target of a full on QAnon/Covid style conspiracy push by republicans. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/rnc-embraces-common-core-conspiracy-theory-flna1c9388203 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/rnc-embraces-common-core-... > If you're familiar with Glenn Beck's broadcasts, you've no doubt heard about his unhinged crusade against Common Core, including his declaration last week that he will no longer send his kids to college -- Common Core will only indoctrinate them and make them part of "the system that is coming." > Republicans are taking this all very seriously, with lawmakers in 18 states considering legislation to block Common Core, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) denouncing it on Beck's radio show. As mentioned in the article there are some actual experts with criticisms to make but many of the people getting unusually upset about it had got sucked into a conspiracy theory.