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The parents rail against the new style of teaching because they were taught with the old style and never properly comprehended math other than by rote memorizat

by NateDad 12y ago

The parents rail against the new style of teaching because they were taught with the old style and never properly comprehended math other than by rote memorization. This is exactly the problem the new methods are trying to fix. I bet most people on HN are math-minded enough that they could pick up the new ways of doing things and actually understand how it is teaching total comprehension rather than just being able to get the right answer with no idea of why it's the right answer.

unclebucknasty 12y ago
You nailed it. On the other hand, it's a bit double-edged. As I am the parent with the CS degree, my wife is already referring our second-grader to me for help with math homework. Sure, after calc I-III, diff-EQ, linear algebra, etc. I can readily pick up on what they are doing and why. I also absolutely agree that they need to go beyond rote-memorization and help kids with a fundamental understanding of numbers, their relationships, etc. But, here's the other side: I don't know that, say, a first or second-grader is really ready to grasp some of the concepts (at least as they are currently being taught). My daughter "handles" it pretty well and can get the job done, but it sometimes seems that they are simply moving the rote-memorization ball, so to speak. That is, now, instead of just remembering tables, she may be simply remembering these new methods of arriving at the answer. I'm not sure she really knows why though. And, it can actually be kind of difficult to test where their level of true understanding is. For instance, asking them to explain gets into their verbal skills as much as math. So, they may actually understand it, but are unable to really explain it. One clue is the kind of mistakes they make, but it's still kind of murky. In any case, in the end, I'm not altogether sure that her comprehension has been expanded. And, it sometimes seems that the result is that she simply has to labor harder to arrive at the same answers. On a side note, what's funny is that I learned the "old-school" way, yet I somehow managed to comprehend and am now trying to help my daughter understand the "new school" way. Something ironic about that.
- NateDad 12y ago
  Glad to hear from someone currently going through it. My older daughter is only 3, so I haven't gotten there yet. I hope the new way works, I'd like our kids to understand math better than we did, and I'm not averse to learning something new in order to help with that. I find it funny that these parents get so upset at how hard it is.... if the curriculum is designed for your third grader.... you should be able to learn it pretty easily, if you just try. My guess is that a lot of the parents aren't actually trying to teach themselves the new way, and then get mad they can't help with the homework.

by NateDad 12y ago

unclebucknasty 12y ago

You nailed it. On the other hand, it's a bit double-edged. As I am the parent with the CS degree, my wife is already referring our second-grader to me for help with math homework. Sure, after calc I-III, diff-EQ, linear algebra, etc. I can readily pick up on what they are doing and why. I also absolutely agree that they need to go beyond rote-memorization and help kids with a fundamental understanding of numbers, their relationships, etc. But, here's the other side: I don't know that, say, a first or second-grader is really ready to grasp some of the concepts (at least as they are currently being taught). My daughter "handles" it pretty well and can get the job done, but it sometimes seems that they are simply moving the rote-memorization ball, so to speak. That is, now, instead of just remembering tables, she may be simply remembering these new methods of arriving at the answer. I'm not sure she really knows why though. And, it can actually be kind of difficult to test where their level of true understanding is. For instance, asking them to explain gets into their verbal skills as much as math. So, they may actually understand it, but are unable to really explain it. One clue is the kind of mistakes they make, but it's still kind of murky. In any case, in the end, I'm not altogether sure that her comprehension has been expanded. And, it sometimes seems that the result is that she simply has to labor harder to arrive at the same answers. On a side note, what's funny is that I learned the "old-school" way, yet I somehow managed to comprehend and am now trying to help my daughter understand the "new school" way. Something ironic about that.

NateDad 12y ago
Glad to hear from someone currently going through it. My older daughter is only 3, so I haven't gotten there yet. I hope the new way works, I'd like our kids to understand math better than we did, and I'm not averse to learning something new in order to help with that. I find it funny that these parents get so upset at how hard it is.... if the curriculum is designed for your third grader.... you should be able to learn it pretty easily, if you just try. My guess is that a lot of the parents aren't actually trying to teach themselves the new way, and then get mad they can't help with the homework.