Common Core Math
Recently I read an article from the Washington Post called "Why Young Kids are Struggling with Common Core Math." This article talks about a specific math question on a PARCC (The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) it is
The San Francisco Giant’s Stadium has 41,915 seats, the Washington Nationals’ stadium has 41,888 seats and the San Diego Padres’ stadium has 42,445 seats. Compare these statements from two students.
Jeff said, “I get the same number when I round all three numbers of seats in these stadiums.”
Sara said, “When I round them, I get the same number for two of the stadiums but a different number for the other stadium.”
Can Jeff and Sara both be correct? Explain how you know.
Kids of different ages would all answer this differently because of their thought processes. Some may think that they can only be rounded by the thousands place and not realize that they can also be rounded to the hundreds place.
This question was meant for a fourth grader and in the sampler it explains that children should go much deeper than just solving straight forward math problems. Is this really acceptable? In this article it says
"Children are not 'mini-adults.' If a child is not developmentally ready, these problems will likely lead to frustration, discouragement and negative emotional reactions—which is exactly what parents are reporting."
I agree, the new common core is pushing difficult questions on younger and younger students. This may be difficult, not just because it is frustrating the students, but because it is taking the fun out of learning. I remember being in elementary school and loving math. Now, my best friend's nine year old sister comes home every single day with her math homework and does not know how to do anything. Sometimes she ends up crying. Shouldn't we be creating positivity during school? I feel like everything is so rushed nowadays. When I was in school I did not have to do common core problems and look, I'm still doing fine and I had a wonderful experience in elementary school.
Some teachers that have been teaching for several years also have to change their ways. They need to learn new ways to do math and open their minds to different problems. Some teacher may even struggle because each grades math has become more difficult and after teaching for several years, how does one really change their ways?
When I become a teacher myself, common core will have been going on for several years and I hope to learn the proper skills in order to teach the common core in a fun and productive way that many students will like.
In conclusion, common core math is made for a reason and it obviously was not made to frustrate students, it was made to open their minds to new and unique ways to do math. I also think that eventually it will be good for the students to learn the common core way. Maybe it will even open their minds to new ways of doing things. I believe it is only causing frustration because right now is the transition period between the ways of common core and the ways it way before common core.
Some teachers that have been teaching for several years also have to change their ways. They need to learn new ways to do math and open their minds to different problems. Some teacher may even struggle because each grades math has become more difficult and after teaching for several years, how does one really change their ways?
When I become a teacher myself, common core will have been going on for several years and I hope to learn the proper skills in order to teach the common core in a fun and productive way that many students will like.
In conclusion, common core math is made for a reason and it obviously was not made to frustrate students, it was made to open their minds to new and unique ways to do math. I also think that eventually it will be good for the students to learn the common core way. Maybe it will even open their minds to new ways of doing things. I believe it is only causing frustration because right now is the transition period between the ways of common core and the ways it way before common core.
Resources
Strauss, Valerie. "Why Young Kids are Struggling with Common Core Math."Washington Post. The Washington Post, 9 Nov. 2013. Web. 27 Nov. 2013. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/>.
I would like to focus on the quote you chose..."Children are not 'mini-adults.' If a child is not developmentally ready, these problems will likely lead to frustration, discouragement and negative emotional reactions—which is exactly what parents are reporting." We talked about this in class when we related some math concepts to Piaget's stages of development. If a child is not developmentally ready, we can't force it. It WILL lead to the student feeling frustrated and, unfortunately, stupid. I also agree with you that the way Common Core was implemented was a little ridiculous because there will be this "gap" that occurs. However, I can also see other issues with it - like everything being in paragraph form and relying on students reading skills instead of just assessing the subject at hand...
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