Reply to Arghh MCPS Math!

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]What is "real" math? Math is math. There are different ways to teach it. What is multiplication ... it's adding up that number x number of times. What is our numbering system based on ... 10. You show an 8 yr old those two concepts. That is real math.

And you sound unhinged.
[/quote]

When someone can't make a valid logical argument they stoop to personal attacks.  I'm not falling for low brow MCPS tactics and won't stoop to your level.

[b]Physically drawing 100 boxes of groups of 10 to represent a thousand, and continuing with this exercise to represent a million is a giant time suck and of zero teaching value.[/b]  It's busy work, plain and simple.[/quote]

[b]But the PP didn't say that you should do that.[/b][/quote]

Reread the original ridiculous response copied below.

You missed a great teaching point here. You ask the 8 yr old, what does the stick represent? He should answer "10". You then ask, "How many 10's would make a million?" You start small... "how many 10s in 100" then move up from there. [b]Group the 10's into 100 boxes, etc..[/b]. Then you show how "10" - 100,000 boxes (not that you draw 100K boxes, you just draw a box that represents 100K) make one million, and that is multiplication.
[/quote]

"Group the 10's into boxes [b]representing [/b]100's"  -- there.. better for your little mind?  I was typing pretty fast back there.

And 21:00 PP is correct.  The pictorial representation is how Singapore math is taught.  Do I need to tell you that Singapore scored much higher than the US in the PISA math test?

Let me provide you some info on how Singapore math:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_math

quote: 
"The term was originally coined in the U.S. to describe an approach, originally developed in Singapore, to teaching students to learn and master fewer mathematical concepts at greater detail as well as having them learn these concepts using a three-step learning process: concrete, pictorial, and abstract"
...
"Students then transition to the second or pictorial step by drawing diagrams called "bar-models" to represent specific quantities of an object. This involves drawing a rectangular bar to represent a specific quantity."  In this case, 10 to begin with, then 100K.

I get it.  Adults in the US aren't used to doing math this way.  It's the old "I learned math the old-fashioned way, and I turned out fine."  argument.  Well, they teach math a bit differently in Singapore, and those kids are outscoring our's in math.  So, draw your own conclusion.  Mine is that we aren't teaching our kids math well compared to kids in Singapore. [/quote]

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