topic Re: Math bring taught today in school in Community Chat

Math bring taught today in school

WORKING GAL — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 21:27:47 GMT

My twin 8 yr. old grandsons are doing great in 2nd grade. They are being taught math completely differently than my husband and myself (about 70 yrs. ago) and even my daughter in the 80's. We were taught to add or subtract in vertical columns. They are being taught to do it horizontally. I asked my dtr. to send me a sample of their math as it makes no sense to us or to her. She ended up asking my grandsons to teach her their math so she can learn how to do it. If any of you have elementary school children or grand children, how are they being taught math. My grandsons live in a suburb or San Antonio,Texas. Live and learn as they say!

Re: Math bring tught today in school

on the bay — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 21:26:17 GMT

@WORKING GAL,

Maybe last year I was sitting next to my grandson watching him do his math homework. And I remember saying you don't do this?

No, he said. It was nothing like anything I had seen so I knew not to "help."

We actually were told not to help with "our math" when my children were in elementary school.

It seems there are new methods every few decades!

But of course, ours was the best and most sensible way lol!

Re: Math bring tught today in school

Desertdi — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 21:29:49 GMT

I was truly "bad" at math, but almost all of my jobs involved accounting.

I used one of these...until electronics made my job a LOT easier:

Re: Math bring tught today in school

songbird — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 21:34:53 GMT

It's not a "new" way of teaching Math. Just differently. Doesn't matter how you do it, so long as you get the correct solution. My dad was a wizard in Maths. He taught me tricks to get the right answer. They've been teaching maths for years in schools in Europe/Asia that way.

Re: Math bring taught today in school

Puppy Lips — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 21:37:42 GMT

When our middle son was in grade school, he was having trouble with fractions. My DH and I went to see his teacher, along with our son. This teacher was teaching fractions using the hands of a clock, an actual clock. It made absolutely no sense to me whatsoever, and I am good in math.

I finally asked the teacher, "Is this the best way to teach this?" Her response was that this was something new they were trying.

I get that some people struggle with math. But the way I was taught years ago was simple, straight forward, and it made sense. Not everyone is going to be good in every subject. Throwing all these different methods at students is a mistake I think. Not only is it confusing to the teachers and students, but the parents can't help either.

Re: Math bring taught today in school

Desertdi — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 21:52:30 GMT

I missed 4th grade when long multiplication and long division were taught, because of rheumatic fever.

My grade school lessons were sent home, but I just couldn't "understand" the math.

My dad was an engineer, and used much higher levels of math...and my mother "kept the books" by using budget envelopes.

I guess I could work in accounting, because it's mostly putting the figures in the RIGHT PLACE.

Re: Math bring taught today in school

Neetgal2 — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 23:51:10 GMT

I agree. I am 73, GD, 9. I have not much of a clue here. She works on a division sheet, a placemat I bought. I showed her how to check her division by multiplication, and she was shocked. Her mother teaches first grade and doesn't quite understand fourth grade math in the same hello school! I told her you better go find out how! You have another one following this one following this one.

Re: Math bring taught today in school

Carmie — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 01:50:25 GMT

Back in 1962-1963, I was in third grade. My teacher taught " new math." My mother as well as my friend's families couldn't help or figure it out.

My father was a mathematical genius. He looked at it and helped me. He also taught me other ways of gettting the answers in my head.

In addition to the new math, I had to learn the the old math.

A few years ago, when I volunteered at a local elementary school, there were quite a few children who could not figure out the new math and their parents couldn't help them either.

Some teachers also didn't know how to do it when the kids asked for help in the lunch room.

Boy, were they shocked when I said...I know how. Funny, the new math is not new to me.

1+1 will always be 2 no matter what method you use. Math is a science.

So, I went to school from 1 to 8 grade in a four classroom school. We had one teacher who taught two grades at the same time. There were about 30 kids in a classroom.. That was primitive by today's standards, but 100% effective.

My kids learned the "old" way as well as my grandkids, but the kids at my local public school are learning the "new" way.

It really doesn't make a difference. I am just thrilled they are learning. Maybe, they will be able to do basic math without a calculator or count change back.

Re: Math bring taught today in school

chrystaltree — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 02:23:38 GMT

Math is math but they do indeed do the calculations differently from the way I learned and even from the way my girls who are thirtyish learned. It's IMPORTANT that you not interfere and confuse the kids. The must do their calculations they way they are taught in school. Not the way we learned back in the older days. My 11 year old niece's mom learned so she could help her daughter with math. The dad had to be told "hands off" when it came to math because he was just confusing the child. Things change in education. My niece now wants to learn cursive because she thinks it's pretty. Cursive is not part of the school curriculum and middle school kids are not allowed to use it. They mostly do their assignments on their laptops.

Re: Math bring taught today in school

Ainhisg — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 11:23:47 GMT

I have been retired from teaching for 14 years. During the last year that I taught (third grade), we had to teach "new math" with the problems being written horizontally. The kids not only had to get the correct answer, but they also had to explain why it was the correct answer. The problem? Third graders don't have the life knowledge and experience to understand what they're doing let alone explain it. Math can be very abstract for younger children. If they did manage to explain it correctly, they were just regurgitating what I had taught with really no understanding for the most part. They also had to do lots of extra steps to come up with the correct answer. I found the whole thing ridiculous and was very glad that it was my last year of teaching.

As far as cursive, I taught it to students my whole life...until I didn't. The last year I taught, we third grade teachers were told not to teach it at all--that the fourth grade teachers would teach how to write in cursive. I have no idea if they did or not, since I retired. But in today's world, the skill really isn't needed except to sign a check or legal documents.

Re: Math bring taught today in school

DJs mom — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 14:54:42 GMT

@Ainhisg wrote:
I have been retired from teaching for 14 years. During the last year that I taught (third grade), we had to teach "new math" with the problems being written horizontally. The kids not only had to get the correct answer, but they also had to explain why it was the correct answer. The problem? Third graders don't have the life knowledge and experience to understand what they're doing let alone explain it. Math can be very abstract for younger children. If they did manage to explain it correctly, they were just regurgitating what I had taught with really no understanding for the most part. They also had to do lots of extra steps to come up with the correct answer. I found the whole thing ridiculous and was very glad that it was my last year of teaching.

As far as cursive, I taught it to students my whole life...until I didn't. The last year I taught, we third grade teachers were told not to teach it at all--that the fourth grade teachers would teach how to write in cursive. I have no idea if they did or not, since I retired. But in today's world, the skill really isn't needed except to sign a check or legal documents.

@Ainhisg this is a big misconception. You do not have to sign a check or a legal document in cursive. Your signature is your signature, whether it is cursive or print.

Re: Math bring taught today in school

Laura14 — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 14:55:51 GMT

@Ainhisg Completely agree!

I taught second grade for half a second and they did the same thing and even labeled a little girl as deficient and placed her in a remedial group because she got all the right answers using the "old fashioned" way and could not explain or show it in the "new" way so she was marked as failing.

For a generation that was probably never even going to do math in their heads like we all did for a sale back in the day with the advent of smartphones, I thought it was ridiculous and psychologically damaging. I doubt that little girl who is now in her 20s ever had a checkbook register.

But if she did, exactly how does that work now if they moved everything horizontal?

Honestly, these people that mess with things just to mess with them and make themselves feel original and important are ridiculous.

To have a school message and label a kid as "remedial" because she got everything right, but not in the way some ivory tower wanted to see it is nonsense.

That little girl was giving up on herself and quickly becoming an unnecessary behavior problem all because she did the right thing the "wrong" way. I hope she found better in the older grades.

Re: Math bring taught today in school

beckyb1012 — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 15:02:17 GMT

My GD is in the 5th grade here in Texas started struggling really bad in Math her 3rd and 4th grade year. Still doing the problems vertically though from what I remembered in helping her. Now that she is doing fractions in the 5th grade she is just whizzing along, thank goodness.

My 5th grade year in math we thought for sure I would have to do summer school but I was able to squeak by. Never understood why change things. Growing up I heard the phrase New Math and thought what the heck was Old Math? Math is math.

Re: Math bring taught today in school

Ainhisg — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 15:08:35 GMT

@DJs mom I did not know this. Thank you for telling me!

Re: Math bring taught today in school

DJs mom — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 15:15:55 GMT

@Ainhisg you're very welcome. Many people think you have to "sign" your name in cursive. But it simply isn't true. I am a paralegal and work in criminal law. I've mentioned here before when I took my then 14 yr old son to the DMV last year to get a state ID for his summer job the woman told him he had to sign his ID in cursive or he wouldn't get it. I then stepped in and told her that is not a requirement or the law. My son went to Catholic School and he does know how to write in cursive, but he doesn't. All of his school work is done on a laptop. He doesn't sign his name in cursive, he signs it in print. Nonetheless, he walked out of the DMV with his ID in hand and his signature in print.

Re: Math bring taught today in school

Lakelife62 — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 15:25:02 GMT

@DJs mom wrote:
@Ainhisg you're very welcome. Many people think you have to "sign" your name in cursive. But it simply isn't true. I am a paralegal and work in criminal law. I've mentioned here before when I took my then 14 yr old son to the DMV last year to get a state ID for his summer job the woman told him he had to sign his ID in cursive or he wouldn't get it. I then stepped in and told her that is not a requirement or the law. My son went to Catholic School and he does know how to write in cursive, but he doesn't. All of his school work is done on a laptop. He doesn't sign his name in cursive, he signs it in print. Nonetheless, he walked out of the DMV with his ID in hand and his signature in print.

So much is now signed electronically. I've been using an electronic signature application for years. The only time I have to have a client sign anything is if they don't have a computer or need a signature guarantee or notary.

Re: Math bring taught today in school

WORKING GAL — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 21:26:31 GMT

@chrystaltree- My dtr. will learn the current way her boys are learning math so she doesn't confuse them. They are learning cursive and are really liking it and praticing it on their own because they think it's fun. School curriculums are different across the country. In my opinion they should be the same.

Re: Math bring taught today in school

WORKING GAL — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 21:25:08 GMT

@Laura14- That is so sad. I hope her parents got involved and faught against her being "labeled".

Re: Math bring taught today in school

Laura14 — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 21:42:22 GMT

@WORKING GAL Her mom was a single, working mother and helped her daughter with her homework based on what she knew, which of course was the "old" way.

The school really blamed her and, as a kid of a single mom who worked three jobs trying to keep a roof over our heads, the lack of empathy and insight was outrageous there as well. Some kids don't have the village or stay at home parent experience.

I got out of teaching all together within months.

Re: Math bring taught today in school

chrystaltree — Fri, 25 Oct 2024 00:19:20 GMT

@Ainhisg wrote:
I have been retired from teaching for 14 years. During the last year that I taught (third grade), we had to teach "new math" with the problems being written horizontally. The kids not only had to get the correct answer, but they also had to explain why it was the correct answer. The problem? Third graders don't have the life knowledge and experience to understand what they're doing let alone explain it. Math can be very abstract for younger children. If they did manage to explain it correctly, they were just regurgitating what I had taught with really no understanding for the most part. They also had to do lots of extra steps to come up with the correct answer. I found the whole thing ridiculous and was very glad that it was my last year of teaching.

As far as cursive, I taught it to students my whole life...until I didn't. The last year I taught, we third grade teachers were told not to teach it at all--that the fourth grade teachers would teach how to write in cursive. I have no idea if they did or not, since I retired. But in today's world, the skill really isn't needed except to sign a check or legal documents.

Cursive actually is not required for anything, even checks and documents. More often than not now we sign legal documents on our phones, tablets or laptops and we sign electronically. It feels crazy to me because I'm in my 60s. My niece really wants to learn cursive, I'm going to teach her next summer when she's a little older and can better understand that should not use it in class.