Well it’s the trendiness of it that’s the problem I think.
If they stick to the methodologies they’re using within common core math, it can work. Any method can work.. Math is a language with multiple ways ot getting to the same concept.
But they won’t.
That’s the problem.
10-12 years from now, they’ll abandon it. They always abandon experiments because some new trend comes along that’s better than the last.
But it’s not better; it’s just different.
One niece learned “leafs and nodes” in 5th grade. I looked it up online at the time. The only reference I could find was an obscure upper level university math course, where it was an obscure way of looking at numbers. SOMEBODY decided that it would be better.
They had that in their textbooks for ONE YEAR.
I know this because my niece that’s two years younger had the SAME TEACHER, SAME SCHOOL. But where’s the Leaf and Nodes?
GONE.
She survived though. Now 23, how does she do math?
In her head, just like she did before they tried to scramble it. She does it in the way that you don’t show your work. It’s unique to her way of thinking and it works for her.
That’s how people tend to do math from what I’ve seen. Shortcuts that work.
My ne who just turned 10 is dealing with the 1st bit of common core this year. I’ve helped him with his homework. Thankfully I read up on it. Him and his classmates bitch and moan about the math and all of their grades have tanked.
He still does it in his head, and I told him how to show his work ‘just enough’ for the teacher to be happy. I explained how SHE has to show his work to the principle who grades HER, and HE gets graded by the school district.. and the school DISTRICT gets graded by the STATE, and the STATE gets graded by the Dept of education.
So he knows it’s BS now and his grades have improved 2nd and 3rd quarters. He does it his way in his head, shows the teacher in the way they need to see it, so he can get better grades.
I did the same in school.
Favorite recent question involved putting decimals in 10s boxes. Some kind of matrix thing. They asked:
“Why is it important to show decimals places in these boxes?”
His answer?
“Because you told me it’s important.”
I wasn’t going to argue with his homework answer. He’s right.
[responsivevoice_button voice="US English Male"]