Ive seen a lot of people posting things on facebook about their hatred of common core math. I thought Id share some research on the way the US is teaching kids mathematics. In 1989...yes 1989 the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) published an article called Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics. The article called for math reform. They stated that we needed to move away from rote memorization and standard algorithms and teach math with understanding. In 2000, NCTM published another article (Principles and Standards for School Mathematics) with a less drastic approach, stating that some memorization is needed, but the use of manipulates, and UNDERSTANDING the processes should be the focus of math teaching. I attended college from 1999-2003 for my degree in elementary education and was taught to teach math this way. I got a masters in leadership in teaching with a focus in elementary and middle school math in 2007 and again was taught to teach math with understanding. The Common Core standards were published June 2, 2010 and are just that...standards. They are a list of skills that children should master in each grade level. They say nothing about the way in which material is taught, how questions should be worded, or what worksheet your kids gets for homework. Your opinion on common core is yours to have, but please know that when you post a worksheet with new math (math with manipulatives, mental math strategies, questions asking kids to explain how they got their answers etc.) this is not called common core math, nor did the common core standards force your childs teacher to give that sheet, though it likely came from your district/county curriculum office. This way of teaching math has been around for 25 years.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 01:53:07 +0000
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