As all of my friends and family can certainly attest, math is not exactly my strong suit. I never truly mastered basic math skills (especially in multiplication and division) and struggled with my tutor to get through Alg. II to graduate high school. Trust me, the first time I ever got a B in math, I cried. Then somehow I got an A in college math, but perhaps it was because it was 5th grade level math without a lot of computation and certainly no factoring, trinomials, or proofs......
All my faults in math aside, kids today cannot be short-changed in basic skills. Listening to the stories of my best friend, middle school math teacher, I am heartbroken to hear that children are still lacking in their basic skills. Reading articles from TIME and The New York Times , I am reminded that I am not the first person to realize the need to traditional math instruction. I am here to jump on the bandwagon in the resurgance of basic drills. They are so necessary for the future success of our children no matter what area they study, or which field they choose to work. They are essential life skills. No child's creativity has ever been squashed forever because they had to do timed skills drills. We aren't going to scare them for life by teaching them math. We are going to give them tools for success. We are build the foundation not only for future learning in math, but also for living life.
Got a few minutes? Test a 3rd grader on his times tables. Ask a 2nd grader to subtract two digit numbers for a while. They will thank you twenty years from now.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment