Anonymous wrote:Ugh, OP, I have an answer for you. Two words: home school. I get it- you don't love the curriculum and it's not perfect for your child. Well, guess what, your child's needs aren't the sole determinant of the curriculum. Neither are mine. And I'm willing to bet that no one on this thread is a certified expert in primary-level math instruction. Why does every Bethesda mother insist that she knows best and what's best for her kid(s) is what's best for the world?

+1000

I'm not the PP. I don't understand how your question is relevant. Nobody is talking about the ability to ask other people to explain what they're doing. The PP is saying that being able to explain what you're doing is an important workplace skill. Therefore, presumably, being able to explain what you're doing is something that would increase your employability.

You must be PP's twin.

Anonymous wrote:

If the concern is employability, I'm curious: Are there jobs out there that do not require you to explain your work? I mean, not always for every step, but I pretty regularly have to tell people not just what I know but the logic/rules behind it.

Do you make THEM explain to you what they are doing when they are doing it correctly? Do you make them stop and tell you why they are doing it correctly?

I'm not the PP. I don't understand how your question is relevant. Nobody is talking about the ability to ask other people to explain what they're doing. The PP is saying that being able to explain what you're doing is an important workplace skill. Therefore, presumably, being able to explain what you're doing is something that would increase your employability.

Ugh, OP, I have an answer for you. Two words: home school. I get it- you don't love the curriculum and it's not perfect for your child. Well, guess what, your child's needs aren't the sole determinant of the curriculum. Neither are mine. And I'm willing to bet that no one on this thread is a certified expert in primary-level math instruction. Why does every Bethesda mother insist that she knows best and what's best for her kid(s) is what's best for the world?

If the concern is employability, I'm curious: Are there jobs out there that do not require you to explain your work? I mean, not always for every step, but I pretty regularly have to tell people not just what I know but the logic/rules behind it.

Do you make THEM explain to you what they are doing when they are doing it correctly? Do you make them stop and tell you why they are doing it correctly?

Anonymous wrote:Is that why Montgomery county is having so much trouble with Algebra?

No.

If the concern is employability, I'm curious: Are there jobs out there that do not require you to explain your work? I mean, not always for every step, but I pretty regularly have to tell people not just what I know but the logic/rules behind it.

Is that why Montgomery county is having so much trouble with Algebra?

Anonymous wrote:

How exactly does explaining make him slow down? You are suggesting that math class is a race where whomever solves the most problems in the fewest amount of time is the winner. Not really how things work in the real world. The goal is to get children to be able to solve problems correctly and understand the principles involved in getting there.

Are you serious? You don't understand how continually stopping to explain something you have mastered could put a crimp in your style? Seriously?

No because if you actually understand it, it takes very little time to explain. It isn't stopping, it's just completing the answer Where do you live? My oldest has had five years of math where they need to explain their answers, not for all but some problems (in Maryland). The kids have no trouble doing this. They cover the same amount of concepts as in the past.

Anonymous wrote:

How exactly does explaining make him slow down? You are suggesting that math class is a race where whomever solves the most problems in the fewest amount of time is the winner. Not really how things work in the real world. The goal is to get children to be able to solve problems correctly and understand the principles involved in getting there.

Are you serious? You don't understand how continually stopping to explain something you have mastered could put a crimp in your style? Seriously?

But the Common Core standards do not require people to continually stop to explain something they have mastered.

How exactly does explaining make him slow down? You are suggesting that math class is a race where whomever solves the most problems in the fewest amount of time is the winner. Not really how things work in the real world. The goal is to get children to be able to solve problems correctly and understand the principles involved in getting there.

Are you serious? You don't understand how continually stopping to explain something you have mastered could put a crimp in your style? Seriously?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/pb/newssearch/?query=standardized+testing

For the poster with the subscription to WAPO. Here's a start for you.

Anonymous wrote:

If he had grown up having to explaining it, he would be able to.

Probably would not have had the success he did if he had to slow down and explain everything.

'

How exactly does explaining make him slow down? You are suggesting that math class is a race where whomever solves the most problems in the fewest amount of time is the winner. Not really how things work in the real world. The goal is to get children to be able to solve problems correctly and understand the principles involved in getting there.

Anonymous wrote:

Really? That hasn't been my experience at all.

LOL! You must work in a private school. And, you must not read the newspaper.

Nope. Two kids in MCPS, and a subscription to the Washington Post.

Really? That hasn't been my experience at all.

LOL! You must work in a private school. And, you must not read the newspaper.