Reply to Is your principal allowing math acceleration and grouping?

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[quote=Anonymous]I see MCPS prettying up C2.0 by giving fancy names to concepts that are, in reality, simple and age appropriate not advanced.

For example, kids in 3rd grade are not really doing "algebra".  The "agelbra" my child brings home in third grade is really the idea of triangular math facts disguised as "algebra".   When I saw that my son was bringing these home, I checked to see if he understood or was taught the Algebraic ideas -- that an equation can be changed on by doing the same thing to both sides and that one can "solve" the equation by isolating for X.  It was Martian talk for him.  It is not "algebra" to give a kid a triangular math fact and ask him to substitute in to fill in the blank.  (e.g. 10-X=3).   Mastering triangular math facts (i.e. knowing all the math facts from 1-10 or 12 in all four operations, addition, subtraction, mulitplication and division) and understanding that they are related (e.g. 10-7 = 3 and 3+7=10) has long been the main work of third grade math.  C2.0 isn't doing anything advanced by calling it "Algebra".

Similarly, our school has touted the fact that kids are "learning fractions" now in third grade.  Wow!  this curriculum must be really advanced!  But, if you look carefully at the work, all the kids are learning is how to name a fraction (e.g. that in a picture of a pizza with four slices, each slice is 1/4), and perhaps how to add or subtract a fraction with the same denominator (if Susie eats one slice and Bobby eats two slices, how many slices did they eat?).  There is really no discussion of adding or subtracting fractions with different denominators, unless done pictorially.  There's also no multiplication or division of fractions.  So, really these fraction concepts are not "advanced."  Kids can and do learn these concepts earlier, particularly in a Montessori school (which my son attended through kindergarten).

Look behind the curtain, people.  The Great Oz is just a little bald man with a bad goatee.

MCPS can get away with this, because most parents are not math literate.

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