Common Core Math: Interesting Article Round 2

[JoJosMom]

IMACS followed up their link to the article in The Atlantic with a blog post, in case anyone is interested.

[shawthorne44]

I thought this was interesting.

 

 

The authors rightly pointed out that verbal explanations are hardly the only way of determining whether a student understands a concept and that many of the brightest mathematical minds are verbally challenged.

 

 

[BooksandBoys]

I thought this was interesting.

And even those that aren't verbally challenging may struggle to write...especially at younger ages. Others have said it before, but the saddest part of all this to me is that we are turning math into yet another verbal/written skill, making it even harder for less verbally or written inclined kids to shine.

[Farrar]

 

 

The theory that if you cannot explain, you do not understand doeslogically lead to the conclusion that if you understand, you can explain. (IMACS Mathematical Logic students will recognize this as an example of contrapositive inference.) That theory, however, is completely false, yet it continues to drive the misguided practices of Common Core-aligned pedagogy to the detriment of another generation of students who, we worry, will be irreparably damaged in their understanding and appreciation of math.

 

YES YES YES YES.

 

Exactly.

 

Yes.

 

Also, Chopped. :D

[Spy Car]

They are simply on the wrong side of this one, even as they think they're not.

 

It is aid and comfort to those who don't want math taught for understanding. 

 

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

 

Bill

 

 

 

 

[JoJosMom]

YES YES YES YES.

 

Exactly.

 

Yes.

 

Also, Chopped. :D

 

Anything that combines math and food must be good.  It's a law.

[kiana]

And even those that aren't verbally challenging may struggle to write...especially at younger ages. Others have said it before, but the saddest part of all this to me is that we are turning math into yet another verbal/written skill, making it even harder for less verbally or written inclined kids to shine.

 

Yeah, I agree with this. I would have hated math so much if it had been done this way. 

[Chrysalis Academy]

Yes, and again, it's just another impediment to English language learners, who now can't be successful at anything.  I live in an affluent small town, and many have pulled their kids from ps and sent them to private or charter schools, so the local ps is ~75% English Language Learner/Economically Disadvantaged.  Having to write out explanations in English when they are still trying to grasp the language and how to write at all is just another hurdle. It makes them feel stupid, and that they don't understand math, which leads to disengagement (even more) and the self-fulfilling prophecy that they'll never get it. It used to be that at least math was something they could succeed at.

[Tsuga]

Yes, and again, it's just another impediment to English language learners, who now can't be successful at anything. I live in an affluent small town, and many have pulled their kids from ps and sent them to private or charter schools, so the local ps is ~75% English Language Learner/Economically Disadvantaged. Having to write out explanations in English when they are still trying to grasp the language and how to write at all is just another hurdle. It makes them feel stupid, and that they don't understand math, which leads to disengagement (even more) and the self-fulfilling prophecy that they'll never get it. It used to be that at least math was something they could succeed at.

I think this is really taking it far. People do not need to ask for dissertations for word problems but most aren't. My kids both had to do math--conceptual, with drawings and text--in a second language.

 

We have 45% non-native speakers in our classrooms as well and two immersion schools where kids are between 50 and 85% non-native speakers and parents cannot help with math.

 

I see my neighbors and my own kids doing fine with the translated common core in Spanish, Mandarin, and German.

 

The problem is not that the kids can't.

 

The problem is that we are unwilling to invest in their instruction.

[EmseB]

IMACS followed up their link to the article in The Atlantic with a blog post, in case anyone is interested.

Something that occurred to me while reading that post is that when I was in school, when we were taught a math concept and then sent home with homework to practice it, I could always tell if I was doing something wrong if the problem became too difficult, or looked too long, or if I couldn't use the concepts I had been taught at school. In other words, if the problem appeared too difficult, it meant I was doing something wrong. That has hampered me in many college math and business classes to this day. That's why I'm using beast with my son...So he knows that going outside the boundaries and not knowing how to do something doesn't mean something is wrong.

 

I think the post hit on something else, though, that even verbal explanation is required and graded, kids will just plug in the vocabulary they are taught and is no more valuable the way it is being used in textbooks now than the old plug'n'chug of prior years. It's just the same sort of formula with words instead of numbers.

Edited November 24, 2015 by JodiSue

[MarkT]

blog that refers to The Atlantic article

 

Demonstrating Understanding in Mathematics

 

https://www.eimacs.com/blog/