Reply to Is there a downside to doing a little bit of supplementing at home? (mostly math question)

Forum Index » Elementary School-Aged Kids

Reply to "Is there a downside to doing a little bit of supplementing at home? (mostly math question)"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We had a few teachers in grade school get upset with us for teaching our kid the times tables up through 12 until they knew them cold. Flash cards, just randomly saying, "Hey, what's 3 x 3?" 9! And on and on. Kid started third grade knowing the times tables.

The teachers teaching New Math were upset. They couldn't get our kid to draw the math anymore. Our kid would write the answer on the page and circle it. Our kid said why are you making me draw 4 x 4 when I already know the answer is 16? I'm bored with this. Kid would get 50% of a math test when the answers were all correct but got 50% taken off because weren't 16 pineapples drawn to represent the answer. Also, kid finished the math test in two minutes.

Went to a meeting where the FCPS math curriculum person said that the parents who were teaching times tables were "damaging" their child's ability to learn math.

Have fun, OP. [/quote]

Op here. This is the kind I mean. I know some use the frames, then there is repeated addition, drawing out groups for multiplication… My kid has started saying “What’s 3 times 5? 15!” “What’s 11 times 0? 0!” And asking about other math concepts. I don’t want to discourage him but don’t want to put him at a disadvantage for what will happen in the classroom, either. [/quote]

No no no. I told both my kids to read the question and answer it. Following directions is a HUGE part of academics, OP and PP. You do NOT just blurt out the answer, you have to show your work, and show it the way the curriculum wants you to. Don't think this is dumb! That's the way AP courses work, and it's the only way to get a 5/5 on the exams! Understanding what a question is really asking, in which context, is a CRITICAL skill that will serve them well all throughout their school and college career, and beyond. It's not a math skill - it's a reading comprehension and social communication skill. Math content cannot be separated from human communication.

[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics