What’s
the Deal with this Crazy New Math?
Larissa
L. Peluso-Fleming, M.Ed.
I
was standing at the bus stop a few weeks back waiting for my fourth grader to
return home from school. Several of my neighbors were engaged in a heated
discussion about Common Core Math. “This isn’t the math I remember,” said one
exasperated father. Another mother replied, “I can’t even help my third grader
with her homework because I have no idea what I’m looking at…and I always got
good grades in math when I was in school!” Chances are you have overheard a
similar conversation or perhaps engaged in one yourself. So what IS the deal
with this crazy new math?
Our
world has changed dramatically over the past few years and shows no signs of
slowing down anytime soon. Advances in communication, science, technology, and
information processing, paired with our ever-changing workplace, demand a shift
in the way we do business. Business and industry are increasingly calling for
workers who can solve real-world problems quickly and easily, effectively
communicate their thinking to others, identify and analyze trends in data, and
utilize modern technology flawlessly. Some estimates claim that 90% of the jobs
that will dominate the marketplace in just 20 years have not even been created
nor even heard of yet. How do we respond to these transformations? How do we
prepare our children to compete and thrive in this brave new world?
The
traditional algorithmic approach with which we are all intimately familiar is,
unfortunately, riddled with conceptual weaknesses and relies far too heavily on
memorized procedures and rules. Our mathematics curriculum has been a mile wide
and an inch deep for too long. Adhering to the conventional methods of teaching
and learning has been a disservice to our students. Strange and unfamiliar as
it may be, the Common Core mathematics curriculum (though certainly not
perfect!) aims to transform our time-honored curriculum by making it
substantially more focused, coherent, relevant, and rigorous. It follows the
natural evolution of mathematical foundations and structures and offers a rich
preparation for the rigors of real world issues and challenges facing our
future workforce. The Common Core curriculum calls on students to apply their
knowledge to novel and complex scenarios that mimic problems they will actually
face and be expected to solve down the line. The new curriculum perpetuates the
notion that math is sensible, useful, and worthwhile. There is still room for
students to focus on computation and arithmetic; however, these skills must be
paired with analysis, rich understanding, improved decision making, and the
ability to communicate effectively and efficiently about math.
So,
how can you help? What can you do to support your child when he or she comes
home with an assignment that looks like Greek to you? How should you respond
when your child tells you that the answer is less important than the process? Try
asking questions such as “why,” “how do you know,” “can you explain,” and “does
this always work?” Not only will you be bolstering your child’s ability to
communicate, but by engaging in these conversations you are offering your child
the opportunity to explain and defend his logic. You can rest easy knowing that
your student is well on her way to becoming the perfect candidate for her dream
job years down the road. Perhaps against our will, the world is changing; we
must work together collaboratively to embrace and prepare our Brassfield
students for what is to come.
Should
you have any questions or concerns, I welcome hearing from you! Please e-mail
me at lpeluso-fleming@wcpss.net.
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