@HalloweenRun You make a very good point about seeing a new method of learning a process through the eyes of someone who learned a different process to arrive at the same answer. The real problem I am seeing with those who are flipping out about Common Core is that they are confusing this new process as Common Core. They don't get that CC is just the standards students are being expected to reach, rather than the process (currriculum) by which they get there.
I have nothing against new "methods" but two minus two =0 and three minus one =2 will give you 20 every damn time and it is a lot easier and less room for error than all that other stuff Like I said though, if this is how dem orientals learn it then full speed ahead. Maybe we can close the gap.
7 steps vs 2 steps will never make any sense to me (in the initial example given) shortest distance between two points, folks I tutor 6th grade Math, it's hard enough to have them focus on the 2 steps
I disagree with you on that. Your premise is just a smidgen away from "Do I have to show my work." The real deal is, 7 baby steps WHEN YOU ARE LEARNING is much, much easier than 2 big steps, or in the world of the mental math geniuses, not steps at all, cause I just put the answer down. It is why in business we have processes, not some black box that turns input to output with magic. Remember guys, we are TEACHING children to do something new. We are expanding their tool kit. Those that quickly "get it" will go to fewer and fewer steps, HOPEFULLY, those that struggle will continue to at least have the steps written down as a roadmap. IMHO, you just cant look at any of this through your 20, 30, 40 or 50 year old lenses, it is about teaching something new to children. That is why teaching is SO MUCH HARDER than most appreciate, and that is why it is a true artform.
Completely agree. There is no way that adding a bunch of unnecessary bullshit to subtract 12 from 32 is better than the way we have all done it. It's like bringing sand to the beach.
You old farts are bringing a calculator mindset to this. Even with my slide-rule mindset I can see the deal here. These kids are not going to be doing simple math with calculators, they're going to be programming with algebra on spreadsheets. And these kids are going to pick it up a lot quicker than you did. Look at that "long-way" example you criticize and think Excel. Think about a far more complex problem than 32-12=20. These kids are learning to quickly break complex equations down into manageable problems. They are going to be dealing with a whole lot of numbers in a totally digital 21st century world and 19th century math ain't going to get it done past 3rd grade.
They are learning to take simple problems and turn them into complex monstrosities. 32-20 is not a complex equation. Wtf?
I am what you would consider one of those mental math genuises, numbers have always come naturally to me. I remember in 11th and 12th grade representing Kaplan to compete in the Vermilion Parish Math Bowl. They would show the problems using projectors back in the day, and I can still remember the valedictorian of my class stunned when he found out I could process the answer to a complex math problem without writing a single thing down on paper. The other competitors were busy trying to nervously complete the 2nd of 5 steps to complete the problem while I was raising my hand to answer it. Correctly. Btw, those aren't "two big steps". 2 minus 0, 3 minus 2. That's it.
