Math Education: An Inconvenient Truth

[davidns]

i remember being force-fed those methods. thankfully my parents, tutored me on their own in the "old school" method.

[wikinerd]

LOL @ the video's first example...

The "TERC" example would require students to factor... ( 26*31 = [20*31]+[5*31]+[1*31] ) Seriously? Factoring before learning to do multiplication?

PS. Reminds me of the Yes, Prime Minister TV Series:

Between the Cabinet Secretary and the PM's Principal Private Secretary about the Prime Minister's worrying about the education system...

Sir Humphrey: "The education system does all that most parents require of it—keeps children out of mischief while they're at work."

...

Bernard: "Look, comprehensive education was an experiment; it ought to be validated.

Sir Humphrey: "Yes, of course, but not invalidated"

Bernard: "But if it was introduced to improve standards—"

Sir Humphrey: "What ever gave you that idea?"

Bernard: "You mean it was to get rid of class distinction?"

Sir Humphrey: "Precisely!"

Bernard: "So that all children——"

Sir Humphrey: "Children?!? Who mentioned "children"? The Department of Education never mentions "children"; no, Bernard, it was to get rid of class distinction in the teaching profession. Improve the living standard of teachers, not the educational standards of children. Bring the NUT teachers of the Primary and Secondary Schools up to the salary level of their rivals in the National Association of Schoolmasters in the grammar schools."

Bernard: "But the Department—"

Sir Humphrey: "When there is a Labour government, the Department of Education says comprehensives abolish the class system. When there's a Tory government, they say it's the cheapest way to provide mass education. To Labour, we explain that selective education is divisive, and to the Tories we explain that it is expensive."

Sir Humphrey: "That way, we have a happy relationship with the NUT and we educate our own children privately."

Edited June 16, 2009 by wikinerd

[sweetnsimple786]

LOL @ the video's first example...

The "TERC" example would require students to factor... ( 26*31 = [20*31]+[5*31]+[1*31] ) Seriously? Factoring before learning to do multiplication?

Haha I think that's the crux of all this. The writers deluded themselves into thinking that by dumbing down the curriculum, they were helping kids everywhere. Two things:

1) They took a concise method and complicated it in hopes of reducing time [which it does actually reduce time under certain criteria.. see below]

2) They freakin gave up on the kids. The news reporter read something to the effect of "Learning the right way wasn't worth the time because the kids weren't going to be able to master it so we'll just skip the 'trying' part and leave them all to fail."

Wow, that shows how students are taught pointless information that they'll never need. Not to brag, but I remember doing double and triple digit multiplication in the 2nd and 3rd grade. Americans are way behind in their education.

The fact that they're going on about 'algorithms' is laughable, why use such a mundane and difficult word, when method suffices just fine?

I had a similar experience. I knew my times tables [multiplication tables] by the time I was 5 (my granduncle tutored, and I'd hang out with him.) When I came to the US, I never practiced and forgot them. Then in 3rd grade [three years later], our class started learning how to multiply--using the standard method, thankfully. You have to crawl before you walk and walk before you run. I grasped the math the second time around in elementary school very easily and was able to work my way up. Later I actually learned the cluster method, and it's really helpful for bigger numbers. I know the textbooks said to use a calculator for three+ digit numbers, but the number one rule in math team is no calculators. So rather than multiplying out 4 and 5 digit numbers, you had to become proficient using mental math combined with the clustering. There's really no benefit for it for two digit numbers.

[~Lc~]

ouch! If i was taught by this lady I would commit suicide. I just hope she doesnt teach kids *child mental abuse!*

She's scrutinizing the textbooks, I doubt she'd use their methods to teach them! so technically you'd be fine being taught by this lady.

And I don't understand why these kinds of simple maths would need alternative methods. making processes longer leavemore room for error when you're not focusing. Imaging if a dyslexic person learned something like these methods! they'd be so confused with all the logic behind it that they'd give up. I think it's ridiculous!

[dtbrehm]

The first alternative she showed (cluster?) is actually useful if you're multiplying in your head. (20x31 + 6x31) is how I would do it. Thankfully, we were never taught these alternative methods as the old school way works just fine on paper.

[powa2]

Wow, that's a lot of complicated steps just to do simple multiplication >.>

[Caustica]

I remember my teacher in secondary school going through some of these steps a year or two ago. (I'd never learnt multiplication beyond one digit or division in primary school - it wasn't actually required.) He showed all these methods, but in a sarcastic kind of way, ridiculing each of them and concluding that the first, traditional one was the best And I agree. I have never used any of the other methods, except for maybe the splitting it into 20/5/1 when doing it mentally. But written work? Which saves most time is the one to go with

Edited December 5, 2009 by Caustica

[Darren]

I think this is ridiculous students should be taught the MOST efficient and practical methods to use. Some of America's maths resources must be slightly behind with that because we were having to do standard multiplication in our first and second years at school.

Edited April 13, 2010 by Darren

[Summer Glau]

i remember being force-fed those methods. thankfully my parents, tutored me on their own in the "old school" method.

Same here. My parents taught me multiplication/division while I was learning it in school, and their method was much easier to use than the teacher's method.

[theloserwins]

Cluster method is most efficient for multiplication IF you don't have pencil and paper. It breaks up big piece into smaller pieces.

I find it VERY useful when I do Maths when I walk in the street... (How often do you do multiplication in the street?)

But if you have pencil and paper... do it the traditional way.

That Partial Quotients Method is actually what is in your logic, you just don't write every single thing down.

Other than Singaporeans, I think the Hong Kong Maths textbooks are good too! (One reason is I used them since I was young, and I think I'm good at Maths )

And I finally understand why people say Hong Kong kids are smart and stuff... That's the education's problem.