Anonymous wrote:

It's a crock of shit and will ruin many kids for math.

Yes, because the way they've been teaching math for the last 30 years is really working well for us in this country.

Anonymous wrote:It was hard for my kid to learn that way so I taught him how to carry the numbers. His teacher wasn't happy but there wasn't anything she could do about it. Now that he is older, he can use his way and other kids do it their way. Good news about the new math is it is supposed to let kids use whatever system that works for them.

You just contradicted yourself. If new math allows kids to use whoever system works for them, why was your child's teacher unhappy that he learned and understood another way than she was teaching?

Anonymous wrote:It changes- they'll be doing it the old fashioned way by the end of elem school. It's good for building foundations in the early grades. But can certainly be frustrating.

They take too long on the foundations and then speed up too quick

Anonymous wrote:I teach middle school math. It's obvious which kids learned the actual mathematical concepts and which kids just memorized algorithms and don't actually have any true understanding of what they're doing. The number of kids who can't do mental math is astounding to me.

People who don't understand math or how to teach it don't realize that all the algorithms you learned growing up are just shortcuts and do not teach any actual concept. It is the reason kids struggle as they move up to higher level math and cannot apply old concepts to new material.

It may be the reason some kids struggle but not all. And by some, it is probably the kids already struggling. 2 out of 3 of my kids were pre-2.0 kids have always thrived in math. One is a junior taking B C Calc Honors and the other is 8th taking Geometry honors. Child #3 is in "math is so boring" mode. Sitting there in 3rd grade writing tally marks all over the place is ridiculous. She does so much more at home. There is no acceleration option available in MCPS.

Anonymous wrote:OP just wait until you hit multiplication of two + digit numbers. Your kids are drawing lattices all over their math homework that will make zero sense to you.

I know! It is terrible

I have mixed feelings about new math. My 1st grader is in an accelerated class and is now carrying math problems with up to four, 2-digit numbers (i.e. 57+68+95+22). I actually think it's inappropriate and worry about the long term implications (not a solid foundation of basic principals, lack of self-esteem in math as a girl, etc.)

It changes- they'll be doing it the old fashioned way by the end of elem school. It's good for building foundations in the early grades. But can certainly be frustrating.

Anonymous wrote:Seriously, for those of you new to it: they are doing an incredible job teaching math these days. My kids are faster and have deeper understanding than we ever did, but they way they got there is very different. And now I can look back and see the beauty and brilliance of it all.

+1

My second grader can now do math like that in her head without missing a beat.

As a result of the "new math", she's very comfortable and confident with numbers and eager to learn more. It's awesome to see.

No doubt they'll learn to carry and add on other skills in time. But the foundation comes first.

FWIW, this is how my math-strong DH always did math. School required him to carry and borrow, but left to his own devices he did it the way they are now teaching DD.

Anonymous wrote:I teach middle school math. It's obvious which kids learned the actual mathematical concepts and which kids just memorized algorithms and don't actually have any true understanding of what they're doing. The number of kids who can't do mental math is astounding to me.

People who don't understand math or how to teach it don't realize that all the algorithms you learned growing up are just shortcuts and do not teach any actual concept. It is the reason kids struggle as they move up to higher level math and cannot apply old concepts to new material.

Yep, my kid is in 2nd grade and I don't understand his math at all. I was worried about it at first but his teacher (who has Ph.D in education and specializes in math) explained that teaching the concepts helps them become good mathematics thinkers, which is the goal in the age where computers will be doing the basic math anyway. Her explanation made a lot of sense to me. There is no point in learning math the way that I did because no one needs to do basic arithmetic anymore. But there is a point to learning mathematical concepts. I don't help my kid with math at all and he seems to do fine! I'm going to let the teachers do the teaching here.

I teach middle school math. It's obvious which kids learned the actual mathematical concepts and which kids just memorized algorithms and don't actually have any true understanding of what they're doing. The number of kids who can't do mental math is astounding to me.

People who don't understand math or how to teach it don't realize that all the algorithms you learned growing up are just shortcuts and do not teach any actual concept. It is the reason kids struggle as they move up to higher level math and cannot apply old concepts to new material.

It was hard for my kid to learn that way so I taught him how to carry the numbers. His teacher wasn't happy but there wasn't anything she could do about it. Now that he is older, he can use his way and other kids do it their way. Good news about the new math is it is supposed to let kids use whatever system that works for them.

I just shared this news with DH who is economist. He does not care a s*t about it because he's not the one who help our child with homework.

New math is odd. What my son struggled with is that they taught them four ways an then would have homework that would say which way they had to do it. One of the ways he thought was not intuitive, so I just told him he could figure it out whatever way he wanted, but he had to show the work the way the directions said. I figured following directions, even if they are silly is a good life lesson (we do discuss this rule dnds if following the directions leads to harm)

I have taught him how to do things ahead if when the class learns, but only when he asks and only if he understands that he has to follow the directions.

All of the new jargon drives me apeshit at times but when you get down to what they are teaching I think it's great - I'm excellent at math and it is how I started explaining to by son because it is how I do it in my head. It really helps them conceptualize math rather then just follow rules. Like anything else they still need practice and for multiplication we are drilling him regularly on the multiplication tables.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was doing fractions and long division with decimels in 2nd grade in the 80s. This is the dumbing down of america. I doubt any child outside of GT/AAP can do this in 2nd grade now.

AAP doesn't start until third, but my now AAP kids certainly weren't doing long division with decimals in 2nd. They didn't get multiplication facts until late 2nd to work on the summer between 2nd and third. And I certainly wasn't doing this in 2nd either. Either you are misremembering, or your school experience just wasn't standard.

We learned our multiplication tables in 3rd grade in the 70s. Long division wasn't until much later. 4th grade, I think. My high schoolers are doing far more advanced math than I ever did at that age. It makes so much more sense the way they teach it now.