Okso New Math Here goes There is nothing new about it.

The only thing that is new is that the system is allowing kids to think outside of the box. How many people struggled with math growing up? You were given a formula and told to memorize and God forbid if you ever asked WHY? Lord knows nobody knew the whyin math you do it that way because thats how its done. Period. Stop. The people that excelled in mathyou know what they did they thought outside the box. They did math this new way, way back then. They could take apart the numbers and visualize things in a different way that made sense to them. They became the math geniuses because they knew how to do it. Whereas the kids who maybe could memorize the process but couldnt go beyond struggled because they were never given the why that those geniuses were able to discover on their own. What the new program is doing now is giving kids the tools to think outside the box and see the numbers in a different way. Its not about taking out a piece of paper to stack the numbers in only one specific way to get the answer. Math usually does have one right answer BUT there is NOT just ONE way to get there. We have allowed these types of Radical allowances of thinking outside the box in other subject areas but math has always been a rigid do it this way or the highway type of subject. We have all been so brainwashed into thinking that there is only one way to do math that when our kids come home and show us a new way we automatically assume their teacher is delusional and misinformed. We diminish and belittle the teachers ability, which only confuses the students further. They were starting to understand what their teacher was saying but then they go home and get a completely new way of doing things (which isnt wrong) but when they are told the new way is wrong what does that tell them about learning? Dont think or question, just do what youre toldeven if it doesnt make sense to you. Soan example: (This is adapted from http://boingboing.net/2014/03/10/a-math-teacherexplains-new.html) 32 12 = ? Normally we would stack these numbers: 3 over 1, 2 over 2. You memorized place value (hopefully) and aligned them and subtracted.

2-2=0 31=2 You are able to figure out the answer is 20 if you aligned the place value correctly or even understand what place value is and why its there. Now lets change the 12 to a 13 - one number: 32 13 = ? What happens now? You cant take 3 away from 2. Well the good memorizors know they have to borrow from the tens place to bring a number 1 over on top. (Some understand it is a group of ten, but not as many as you think.) What they do instead is subtract from the bottom up or make something up. For kids in the old math program, if they couldnt do it the one way they were taught, they struggled and hated math. Does new math eliminate struggles? Of course not! It doesnt claim to. Just like new reading programs will not eliminate all reading struggles for all kids. What the new math does is give options with the hopes of allowing more kids to understand. Just like in Language Arts there are different levels of books, different ways to write stories or express yourself, the new math has introduced teachable options that show the students different paths to get to the same place. SOLets do this problem the new way: 32 - 12 When you dont stack these numbers but are able to see them for what they are worth and also see the numbers WITHIN them, the new way starts to make sense Now stay with me Numbers that end in 0 or 5 are always easier to deal with. If you can see that 12 is the same as 10 + 2 You can go 32 2 = 30 What do we have left? The 10.

Then 30 10 = 20 So 32 - 12 = 20 Does it seem more confusing at first glance? Yes. It seems like more steps, but (as it says on the link) if you are in a coffee shop are you going to pull out a piece of paper to figure out your change if the machine is broken or can you figure out your change in your head? If you can figure out what your change is in your headthis is what teachers like to call a Life Skill. Those handy things you use beyond the 4 classroom walls. Coffee is $2.70, you have a $10.00 bill. 100 70 = 30 That takes you up to $3.00 Or you could use a number line: 2.70 2.80 2.90 3.00 (jumps 10) (jumps 10) (jumps 10) 10 + 10 + 10 = 30 More steps? Yes. But for the kid that just doesnt see 10 7 = 3, this is what they need. Hopefully, they eventually start to see those connections. Part 2: $10.00 - $3.00 = $7.00 7.00 + 0.30 = $7.30 Your change is $7.30 OLD MATH: $10.00 - 2.70 How many people remember having to borrow when you had so many zeros? UGH! You borrow, that becomes a 10, and then its a 9 because you had a zero The main goal of the new math is to help kids be able to pull numbers apart and actually UNDERSTAND what they are doing. Is that a hard concept for our generation (parents) to comprehend after being taught the old way? You bet! But once you actually sit down and try to understand without prejudice it becomes very easy to see what

the goals are here. The entire new curriculum is being geared to raise a generation of students who can think outside the box. They are not being taught to be able to regurgitate facts. Those are the skills you need in call centers and those positions are being outsourced for pennies on the dollar. The jobs that our kids are vying for require them to be THINKERS, not Regurgitators. If youve read this far, first offWOW! Good on you! Second, here are some more links to help you wrap your brain around whats happening in your childs classroom. Alberta Education FAQ: http://education.alberta.ca/teachers/program/math/parents/faq.aspx Sir Ken Robinson: Changing Education Paradigms https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U Just Choose C https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY2mRM4i6tY