Why parents can't do maths today?
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Why parents can't do maths today?
Long division and long multiplication have been replaced
in schools by chunking and gridding. While the new methods are meant to make
maths easier, parents have been left scratching their heads, writes Rob Eastaway.
I
used to think I had a good understanding of maths - until my daughter started
going to primary school. That's when I discovered a revolution had taken place
in the way arithmetic is taught, and there were techniques and terminology that
meant nothing to me.
Let me give you a flavour. In most primary schools, maths lessons are called
numeracy. Children work using number lines and learn their number bonds, they
fill in Carroll Diagrams, and they calculate using the grid method and something
that carries the peculiar name of "chunking".
Like most parents - numerate or otherwise - my first reaction to this was
annoyance. Why have they changed it? Now my child gets cross when I try to
explain using my methods. Is this why some people reckon the country's maths is
going to the dogs?
I decided to find out more, and ended up writing a book aimed at parents, like
me, who wanted to have a better understanding of how young children learn maths
these days.
Researching the book was a revelation.
What became clear is that at school I was one of the lucky ones. Being strong
with numbers, I had no problem learning the black-box techniques of long
multiplication and long division, and usually got the right answer.
But for a huge proportion of children, these techniques were a meaningless
chore. Ask most adults today to carry out a long multiplication or division sum
and they will look blankly at you.
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more..
Courtesy: bbc.co.uk