Common Core Math..god I hate it

[Thunderknuckles]

My 8 year old son's school is experimenting with Common Core this year. I hate it, other parents hate it, and the teachers already want to ditch it. I have been getting very frustarted over some of the questions my son has on his homework. It's so damn convoluted. Take the following sample:

5679

Now, I get learning the Distributive Property but this example is just stupid in 4th grade.
Gerard has a 128 song library and he wants to triple it so he draws up model that equates to (3 * 100) + (3 * 20) + (3 * 8).
In 4th grade, 3 * 128 worked pretty good for me.

[Kathianne]

My 8 year old son's school is experimenting with Common Core this year. I hate it, other parents hate it, and the teachers already want to ditch it. I have been getting very frustarted over some of the questions my son has on his homework. It's so damn convoluted. Take the following sample:

5679

Now, I get learning the Distributive Property but this example is just stupid in 4th grade.
Gerard has a 128 song library and he wants to triple it so he draws up model that equates to (3 * 100) + (3 * 20) + (3 * 8).
In 4th grade, 3 * 128 worked pretty good for me.

That isn't a common core problem,it's been going on for years, that is a failure to memorize math facts. If they spent their time in 2nd and 3rd grades memorizing facts, they wouldn't still be stuck on place values in 4th. But that's where it is now.

[Thunderknuckles]

That isn't a common core problem,it's been going on for years, that is a failure to memorize math facts. If they spent their time in 2nd and 3rd grades memorizing facts, they wouldn't still be stuck on place values in 4th. But that's where it is now.
I'll take your word for it Kat but before the school was using something called Saxon Math (you familiar?)
It wasn't until they introduced Common Core that I started seeing some of the crazy problems facing not just my 8 year old but my 6 year old as well.

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

My 8 year old son's school is experimenting with Common Core this year. I hate it, other parents hate it, and the teachers already want to ditch it. I have been getting very frustarted over some of the questions my son has on his homework. It's so damn convoluted. Take the following sample:

5679

Now, I get learning the Distributive Property but this example is just stupid in 4th grade.
Gerard has a 128 song library and he wants to triple it so he draws up model that equates to (3 * 100) + (3 * 20) + (3 * 8).
In 4th grade, 3 * 128 worked pretty good for me. It is stupid the common bore way IMHO. Your example works LIKE THIS THE WAY I WAS TAUGHT AND ITS SO EASY.. ONE CAN DO IT IN THEIR HEAD IN MICRO SECONDS . 3x 120=360 + 3x8 =24= 384. which works the same regardless of how big number . Take this EXAMPLE 3 x2450, GOES LIKE THIS 3X 2400 = 7200 + 3X50= 150 ANSWER =7350. Absolutely NO NEED TO EVEN WRITE IT DOWN . I rarely ever use a calculator for any financial transactions in real life. I do it all in my head and my be wrong one time every 5 or 6 years if ciphering in the early morning on a bad day after a wild night partying til 4 am and have a helluva' hangover that morning. At my job thirty years ago I use to race my buddy when he was doing inventory calculations and he never found me to be wrong in thousands and thousands of answers given which I gave before he finished using the calculator. WAS ALSO A REASON I PLAYED POKER/CARDS SO WELL. I was taught math in school in the early 60's but truth is my dad taught me before I ever went to school. I was doing 6th grade math while in the first grade because I'd take my much older brother's 6th grade math book on weekends and work the problems. Did that just about every Sunday morning the entire year. If it was good enough back then why not now????? -Tyr

[tailfins]

Last year my oldest son was in sixth grade accelerated Math in NH. Now in RI he is doing the exact same assignments in the highest track available in seventh. I'm teaching him Algebra 1 at home. I pressured the Principal for the ISBN for the Eighth Grade Algebra 1 book. She said "I would rather you didn't do that because he will be bored in eighth grade". I told her that wouldn't be her problem because there's no way we will be in RI even if I have the same job. I will commute from Massachusetts if necessary. Believe it or not Massachusetts LOWERED its standards to align with Common Core.

[Kathianne]

I'll take your word for it Kat but before the school was using something called Saxon Math (you familiar?)
It wasn't until they introduced Common Core that I started seeing some of the crazy problems facing not just my 8 year old but my 6 year old as well.

Common Core is a set of standards, (personally I don't like the concept of national standards as the core set, that's besides the point however), not a methodology of teaching math or English.

What you are running into is commonly known as 'fuzzy math' and has been a problem for years:


http://michellemalkin.com/2007/11/28/fuzzy-math-a-nationwide-epidemic/

http://quickreckoning.com/math_research.htm

http://www.city-journal.org/html/eon_3_7_03mc.html

Take a 1st or 2nd grade math text and you'll find some basics, turn the page and you'll find a mix of algebra and/or geometry examples. A bit further, story problems, that have zilch to do with the basics found at the beginning of the lesson. It's a wonder that many more aren't in LD for math.

Where common core will come into play is that the standards were written hand-in-hand with the text book companies and top education departments that developed this 'new, new math.'

[Kathianne]

Last year my oldest son was in sixth grade accelerated Math in NH. Now in RI he is doing the exact same assignments in the highest track available in seventh. I'm teaching him Algebra 1 at home. I pressured the Principal for the ISBN for the Eighth Grade Algebra 1 book. She said "I would rather you didn't do that because he will be bored in eighth grade". I told her that wouldn't be her problem because there's no way we will be in RI even if I have the same job. I will commute from Massachusetts if necessary. Believe it or not Massachusetts LOWERED its standards to align with Common Core.

I don't have much good to say about Common Core, but no district would have to lower their curriculum to meet the standards. Sequencing? Maybe.

[Kathianne]

It is stupid the common bore way IMHO. Your example works LIKE THIS THE WAY I WAS TAUGHT AND ITS SO EASY.. ONE CAN DO IT IN THEIR HEAD IN MICRO SECONDS . 3x 120=360 + 3x8 =24= 384. which works the same regardless of how big number . Take this EXAMPLE 3 x2450, GOES LIKE THIS 3X 2400 = 7200 + 3X50= 150 ANSWER =7350. Absolutely NO NEED TO EVEN WRITE IT DOWN . I rarely ever use a calculator for any financial transactions in real life. I do it all in my head and my be wrong one time every 5 or 6 years if ciphering in the early morning on a bad day after a wild night partying til 4 am and have a helluva' hangover that morning. At my job thirty years ago I use to race my buddy when he was doing inventory calculations and he never found me to be wrong in thousands and thousands of answers given which I gave before he finished using the calculator. WAS ALSO A REASON I PLAYED POKER/CARDS SO WELL. I was taught math in school in the early 60's but truth is my dad taught me before I ever went to school. I was doing 6th grade math while in the first grade because I'd take my much older brother's 6th grade math book on weekends and work the problems. Did that just about every Sunday morning the entire year. If it was good enough back then why not now????? -Tyr

Cause today's texts suck.

[tailfins]

I don't have much good to say about Common Core, but no district would have to lower their curriculum to meet the standards. Sequencing? Maybe.


Particularly problematic, he says, is the state’s decision to jump on the Common Core bandwagon. Massachusetts’ standards were a model, he says, and the Common Core standards are of lower quality. For instance, standards for English-language arts used to be based largely on classic literature and poetry, which have a rich vocabulary, but the Common Core emphasizes more informational text, Mr. Gass says. To him it’s part of a “trendy fad” focusing on workforce-development goals and “softer” 21st-century skills.

http://whatiscommoncore.wordpress.com/tag/common-core-standars-of-lower-quality/

[Kathianne]

http://whatiscommoncore.wordpress.com/tag/common-core-standars-of-lower-quality/

Mass. has higher standards that meet/exceed the Common Core. No need to lower, which is what you earlier wrote.

[Thunderknuckles]

Take a 1st or 2nd grade math text and you'll find some basics, turn the page and you'll find a mix of algebra and/or geometry examples. A bit further, story problems, that have zilch to do with the basics found at the beginning of the lesson. It's a wonder that many more aren't in LD for math.

Where common core will come into play is that the standards were written hand-in-hand with the text book companies and top education departments that developed this 'new, new math.'
Holy Cow Kat!
You just hit on exactly what I was thinking but did not put into words. This is exactly the problem!!

[tailfins]

Cause today's texts suck.

Math nerds refer to this as "Rainforest Algebra". Here are a couple of good texts I purchased:

1961
http://www.amazon.com/course-algebra-Arthur-Adkins-Jackson/dp/B007T3RUK4

1895
http://books.google.com/books/about/A_complete_algebra.html?id=JasXAAAAIAAJ

[Kathianne]

Most adults 40-60 years old had some version of 'new math' that really confused our parents. What is now 'current' is so much worse than that, teachers go nuts. The lower grade teachers want books that open a chapter with money.

First lesson coins and equivalencies to other coins. Then how many of each coin into a dollar. Then which coins will make up .63, etc. Then how much change from a $5 bill if purchase is 1.57?

Intro concept, practice concept in class, practice in homework, increase level of understanding. It's easy enough to set up one of the above exercises in algebraic form, but to what purpose for a 7 year old? More unfortunate, that's not the type of algebra example you'd find in one of today's texts, they are 'stand alone' examples for some purpose not explained in any of the texts, including teacher's editions. Solving the problem, sure, but not why bring it up at that point in a lesson. No connectivity, no understanding.

[Thunderknuckles]

It is stupid the common bore way IMHO. Your example works LIKE THIS THE WAY I WAS TAUGHT AND ITS SO EASY.. ONE CAN DO IT IN THEIR HEAD IN MICRO SECONDS . 3x 120=360 + 3x8 =24= 384. which works the same regardless of how big number . Take this EXAMPLE 3 x2450, GOES LIKE THIS 3X 2400 = 7200 + 3X50= 150 ANSWER =7350. Absolutely NO NEED TO EVEN WRITE IT DOWN . I rarely ever use a calculator for any financial transactions in real life. I do it all in my head and my be wrong one time every 5 or 6 years if ciphering in the early morning on a bad day after a wild night partying til 4 am and have a helluva' hangover that morning. At my job thirty years ago I use to race my buddy when he was doing inventory calculations and he never found me to be wrong in thousands and thousands of answers given which I gave before he finished using the calculator. WAS ALSO A REASON I PLAYED POKER/CARDS SO WELL. I was taught math in school in the early 60's but truth is my dad taught me before I ever went to school. I was doing 6th grade math while in the first grade because I'd take my much older brother's 6th grade math book on weekends and work the problems. Did that just about every Sunday morning the entire year. If it was good enough back then why not now????? -Tyr
I know how it works Tyr and I use it as well but I am 42 and was graced with educators who knew how to teach concepts incrementally, concentrating on each until you had it down before moving on unlike how Kat pointed out in post #6 which explains far better the problem I have with my son's Math today.

[Thunderknuckles]

Most adults 40-60 years old had some version of 'new math' that really confused our parents. What is now 'current' is so much worse than that, teachers go nuts. The lower grade teachers want books that open a chapter with money.

First lesson coins and equivalencies to other coins. Then how many of each coin into a dollar. Then which coins will make up .63, etc. Then how much change from a $5 bill if purchase is 1.57?

Intro concept, practice concept in class, practice in homework, increase level of understanding. It's easy enough to set up one of the above exercises in algebraic form, but to what purpose for a 7 year old? More unfortunate, that's not the type of algebra example you'd find in one of today's texts, they are 'stand alone' examples for some purpose not explained in any of the texts, including teacher's editions. Solving the problem, sure, but not why bring it up at that point in a lesson. No connectivity, no understanding.
Nailed it again Kat. This is exactly what I am seeing. I mean EXACTLY.
To further exacerbate the issue, I have no idea what method the teachers are using to teach the examples. I just get homework that needs completing and I use techniques that may not be the same as what the teacher used.
I redact my Common Core complaint and will just say I am frustrated with how they are teaching math today

[Kathianne]

Nailed it again Kat. This is exactly what I am seeing. I mean EXACTLY.
To further exacerbate the issue, I have no idea what method the teachers are using to teach the examples. I just get homework that needs completing and I use techniques that may not be the same as what the teacher used.
I redact my Common Core complaint and will just say I am frustrated with how they are teaching math today

Yes, a problem I failed to address, the lack of examples in the math texts. Often there aren't any. A problem and an answer, no 'work shown.'

Mind you, I didn't ever teach lower grades, I heard about them through 1-5th grade teachers. I heard the 6-8th teachers complaining that the incoming 6th graders had no math facts down and needed visuals on what to input into calculators to find answers-thus no idea of concepts.

[tailfins]

Nailed it again Kat. This is exactly what I am seeing. I mean EXACTLY.
To further exacerbate the issue, I have no idea what method the teachers are using to teach the examples. I just get homework that needs completing and I use techniques that may not be the same as what the teacher used.
I redact my Common Core complaint and will just say I am frustrated with how they are teaching math today

You will drive yourself nuts keeping track of all the wrong ways to do something, in this case learning/teaching Math. Just learn the necessary requirements for proper Math instruction. Learning the right way and calling everything else wrong is much simpler and keeps your blood pressure down. I know it's wrong that my son is essentially repeating sixth grade as a punishment for being gifted in Math. I don't need to put a name on it other than wrong. I just got called out for assuming it's Common Core. It serves as a reminder how much of a waste of time it is to classify things that are wrong.

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

[/B]

Cause today's texts suck. Amen..--Tyr

[Trinity]

I belong to a couple of homeschooling groups and I received this just a week ago and got really pissed off after reading it.....

BRYANT, Ark. – Welcome to the first day of civics class in the Common Core. Your first assignment? Revising the Bill of Rights in the U.S Constitution because it is an “outdated” document?


The worksheet says:
“You have been selected to work on a National Revised Bill of Rights Task Force. You have been charged with the task of revising and editing the Bill of Rights… You will have to prioritize, prune, and add amendments.”


Students are not being taught what the documents means, or any kind of appreciation for the document. The underlying assumption of the assignment is that the constitution is outdated and needs to be changed. Another underlying assumption is that this can be done by a citizen task force which ignores the actual procedure for amending the constitution.

http://eagnews.org/common-core-assignment-the-constitution-is-outdated/


So so glad I am not dealing with this....I want my children to learn what the facts are the first time....I should not have to re teach them, if that's the case then why bother with sending them to school....oh that's right I don't. ;)

[aboutime]

Our families, marriage, morality, military, freedoms, and now our children are.....



screwed. Being denied, destroyed, and brainwashed. Thanks to democrats and obammer.

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

I belong to a couple of homeschooling groups and I received this just a week ago and got really pissed off after reading it.....

BRYANT, Ark. – Welcome to the first day of civics class in the Common Core. Your first assignment? Revising the Bill of Rights in the U.S Constitution because it is an “outdated” document?


The worksheet says:
“You have been selected to work on a National Revised Bill of Rights Task Force. You have been charged with the task of revising and editing the Bill of Rights… You will have to prioritize, prune, and add amendments.”


Students are not being taught what the documents means, or any kind of appreciation for the document. The underlying assumption of the assignment is that the constitution is outdated and needs to be changed. Another underlying assumption is that this can be done by a citizen task force which ignores the actual procedure for amending the constitution.

http://eagnews.org/common-core-assignment-the-constitution-is-outdated/


So so glad I am not dealing with this....I want my children to learn what the facts are the first time....I should not have to re teach them, if that's the case then why bother with sending them to school....oh that's right I don't. ;)

And why not the socialists saw how well it has worked at the University level starting in the 60's. --Tyr

[Kathianne]

I belong to a couple of homeschooling groups and I received this just a week ago and got really pissed off after reading it.....

BRYANT, Ark. – Welcome to the first day of civics class in the Common Core. Your first assignment? Revising the Bill of Rights in the U.S Constitution because it is an “outdated” document?


The worksheet says:
“You have been selected to work on a National Revised Bill of Rights Task Force. You have been charged with the task of revising and editing the Bill of Rights… You will have to prioritize, prune, and add amendments.”


Students are not being taught what the documents means, or any kind of appreciation for the document. The underlying assumption of the assignment is that the constitution is outdated and needs to be changed. Another underlying assumption is that this can be done by a citizen task force which ignores the actual procedure for amending the constitution.

http://eagnews.org/common-core-assignment-the-constitution-is-outdated/


So so glad I am not dealing with this....I want my children to learn what the facts are the first time....I should not have to re teach them, if that's the case then why bother with sending them to school....oh that's right I don't. ;)




Unless your state has written their own 'common core' standards for social studies, they don't exist. Truth is, national standards have not existed for social studies even under NCLB. The NCSS, (National Council of the Social Studies), wrote some and History, Political Science professors went bonkers-for good reason. Then the Center For Civic Education wrote some over the course of two years, (I was affiliated with the Center and was given credit for input), NCSS went bonkers. Thus no national standards to begin to address Common Core.

Like math texts, social studies texts are primarily written by 'Education Department' affiliated professors, not history, political science, economic, anthropology, or geography professors.