Would the use of Everyday math turn you off?
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Anonymous
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Was just doing some research as my daughter is having great issues with this Everyday Math, she goes to tutors 2x a week. We spent a lot of money to have her tested the results were she is off the chart in her reading/vocabulary but has issues with learning math using this idiosyncratic method.
Half of the kids in her class have to use tutors, as they jump from one topic to another never learning the core math. Seriously this new math is nothing more than a gimmick someone came up with and the schools have bought into for some reason. I really feel for family's that cannot afford tutors or alternate education because of EDM. I found this letter from a Stanford Professor that pretty much sums it up. http://everydaymathsucks.com/everyday-math-letter-from-stanford-professor/ |
SAM2
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Out of curiosity, I just searched for old news articles on math curricula. Seems there's not much new here. Sort of depressing that people are having the same discussions now that our parents and grandparents were having 50 years ago.
Expert Unhappy with Way New Math is Being Taught (1966) http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DLBeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gy8MAAAAIBAJ&pg=3417,3370758&dq=math+curriculum&hl=en "The American public is being sold a bill of goods in many of the new math and science programs being produced for schools." (1965) http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=g8hTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rTgNAAAAIBAJ&pg=3545,1623138&dq=math+curriculum&hl=en Problems in US math education include "'confused' and pooly trained teachers, often saddled with a math curriculum 'remarkably like the 1890 model.'" (1956) http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0nRPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wgQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2401,2139184&dq=math+curriculum&hl=en The three main problems of facing math students today are "boredom, poor instruction, and an outdated curriculum." (1963) http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-HEuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yn8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=2660,1268547&dq=math+curriculum&hl=en "The report suggested the term 'new math' should be abandoned ... parents and educators 'use the term new math only as a historical label for ... developments that took place in school mathematics between 1965 and 1975.'" (1975) http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8-9LAAAAIBAJ&sjid=bO0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=7201,788822&dq=math+curriculum&hl=en |
Anonymous
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Plenty of edm specific info from this century available via google.
It is genuinely sad if, as it appears, many families are paying in time and dollars to compensate for the shortcomings of another latest and greatest math curriculum. Saying it isn't that bad, and besides, our teachers have rewritten it.... Not really much of a defense of edm. The privates in this area are kind of easy targets for sales folks pushing educational products produced by brainiacs. Parents though, not so much. Yey! |
Anonymous
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The reason there has been so much discontent over the years with all math programs is because children learn differently and there can never be a one size fits all approach. EDM can be a great fit for children who can handle a more abstract approach. Some children need a more concrete approach. There are privates in this area that do not use EDM and if you think it is a bad fit for your child, apply to those. Similarly, if your child can take a more abstract approach and run with it, EDM might be just the ticket.
Its so easy to take sides and become ideological about this, especially if EDM was not a good fit for your child. But it really doesn't make any sense to ramp this up and hurl insults at schools who use it when (1) it can be a great tool for some kids, and (2) YOU chose the school. You can unchoose it. |
Anonymous
| EDM never hurt my DCs - they are keeping up with very advanced math curriculum now. Just because your DC is struggling with/after EDM doesn't mean the problem is with the curriculum (or the teacher). Some people "get" math better than others.... |
Anonymous
Not entirely true. Your explanation doesn't account for the wide gap in math ability among countries. Are you willing to say that Asians just "get" math better than others? I hope not. The difference is that the countries with children who have strong math ability is that they have excellent, well-trained, superbly educated, well-paid, and highly respected teachers who know how best to use curricula. I'd bet that students with a South Korean math teacher--even using EDM--would do far better than your average US math teacher using the same curriculum. |
Anonymous
Another difference is homogeneity vs. heterogeneity. That's a big one. |
Anonymous
Simply put, they practice math more and they put more emphasis on school and math. Please explain why they are now doing better at Reading/Language Arts. |
Anonymous
Simply put, they practice math more and they put more emphasis on school and math. Please explain why they are now doing better at Reading/Language Arts. Again (and I'm not PP) homogeneity vs, heterogeneity. You simply can't compare the challenges of an education system in the US with those of South Korea (or Japan, or Israel, or Norway). |
Anonymous
| Why not and what about the ones here in the US? Why are they doing better? |
Anonymous
Agree, but the better curriculum will help them also. Koreans with a bad curiculum will do worse than Koreans with a good one. |
Anonymous
Racist |
Anonymous
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Homogeneity refers to class and ethnicity even more than it does to race. South Korea, for example, is more homogeneous on all fronts -- race, ethnicity, class -- than the US.
Calm down. |
Anonymous
Still, South Korea is facing increasing gaps between rural and urban, wealthy and poor, etc., and yet their scores are astronomically higher than ours. Why? |
Anonymous
To make matters worse, their little geniuses are doing better than our little geniuses. |