It bothers me that everywhere I look on Facebook I see this meme meant to show the insanity of core math. It takes the very easiest, most straightforward math problem to do on paper, and contrasts that method with the most convoluted-looking presentation of core math you could ever find. Heres what core math is: if you asked me, Whats 82 minus 57? and I was just standing around with no pen and paper and no calculator, Id start with 57 and think: Add 3 to get to 60, 20 to get to 80, 2 to get to 82. 3+20+2=25. Its breaking the problem into the easiest-to-think-about components and then manipulating them without difficulty. I could do this in seconds and Id have the clearest visual of the relationship between these two numbers. If I tried to do it the old-fashion way (as the meme puts it) in my head, Id have to picture the numbers on a worksheet, one below the other. Id probably have to draw it in the air, and try to freeze the image of the digit I put in the ones column in my mind, and try to remember it as I worked my way left: much more stressful and less intuitive for me. Maybe your child will find the principle of core math a much more efficient and empowering tool than a method that relies on having pen and paper handy -- as I do. Or maybe not. The point is it offers your child another way to think about math and theres nothing wrong with it.
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 18:35:41 +0000
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