Didn’t want to hijack this thread as I had no real comments on the articles, but I thought of this for the ‘new school teaching methods’ at least in Rhode Island, and wanted to ask a question of the Dopers:
I have a degree in Electrical Technology, with math up to and including calculus. Now, I’m not claiming any genius level here, just pointing out my education level.
I taught my daughter the times table when she was young (6-8 yrs old), and I’ll be damn if the school did their best to beat it out of her. They didn’t want the kids to learn math by rote, or memory. Wha? If you know the times tables, most math falls into place pretty easily after that, doesn’t it?
They wanted the kids to have calculators in 3rd grade (THIRD GRADE!!!). Their version of reality was that kids need to understand what a number is and what it means, not how they work. 4 is 4 isn’t it? 2 + 2 = 4 right? 2 apples is 2 right? Eat one you have one left? What other way does one know what a number means outside of counting things up and figuring out totals, equations, etc.
When my daughter brought home her math homework, and asked me for help, I showed her how I had learned from elementary school on, how it was done. She told me I was doing it wrong, that isn’t how we do it in school. Huh? Math is math isn’t it, how do you do it differently? 5000 years of math is tossed because the kids don’t need to know how to add anymore? They just need to know what numbers are? Let the calculators do it for them? Seriously?
I’ve had discussions with a couple of her math teachers, and left wondering what planet they learned math on. It seems they wanted to teach the kids how they feel about a number, or what a number is in the abstract, not really focusing on the math itself.
Thankfully, as my daughter got older (20 now and fairly intelligent), she learned the times tables, improved her math skills, and is fairly proficient at doing general math in her head, no thanks to the school.
Occasionally, when I’m at the store, and the kid behind the counter stares at the register and has no clue what change to give me, I cringe. It is shameful when a couple times I have had to actually tell them what and how many coins to give me back.
I don’t know, and don’t claim this is prevalent everywhere, but this is what I’ve experienced. But, these articles about remedial courses required to enter college are a telling tale:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/5189336-418/college-can-be-a-rude-remedial-awakening.html
I guess I’m wondering if others have witnessed this, or struggled with it yourself with your kid(s)? Is this common everywhere, or is RI just so screwed up in the educational system?