The Official WTF Thread

[wart57]

So, to get 9+6 you need to know 6-1=5, 9+1=10 and 10+5=15. Instead of memorizing 9+6=15. Makes perfect sense.

Memorizing is a quick way to a result, which isn't the point. The point is to give kids a method to find other results.

But they still have to memorize the other parts to get to the final amswer.

[Arthur Dent]

You have to memorize 5+1=6?

[wart57]

You have to memorize 5+1=6?

How else does a kid remember it? You just know it? That is called memorization, isn't it?

[ghostrunner]

Sure they have to memorize simple, small numbers. You used 9+6 as an example, so it happens the "base numbers" (not sure on the terminology here) aren't far off from the ones you chose anyway. You can apply the principle and the basic memorization to more complex problems.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

You have to memorize 5+1=6?

How else does a kid remember it? You just know it? That is called memorization, isn't it?

You have to memorize that? I have five things. I add one more to it. That means the next number in the series is what I have now, that is six. Add two things? Oh - that's the second number from five in the series. That would be seven. Got it.

That's not memorization. That's understanding sequences and how to process them.

Now as addition becomes more complex, there are ways to break down quantities into combinations of more basic, easily manipulated sequences. That's what it looks like they are teaching kids these days. And that's a good thing.

Believe it or not, before there were calculators, people in accounting and finance knew these shortcuts in order to do their jobs quickly and efficiently. My mom talks about watching her dad add a column of numbers about as quickly as reading them. It was expected as part of his job.

Now your times tables - that's memorizing.

[lukethedrifter]

My daughter's in 2nd grade and it's all about Common Core, dividing numbers into blocks--seriously, a larger block to represent 10 and smaller blocks for the 1's.

Makes me wonder how equipped children are to do math when they can't draw a picture.

Isn't that actually understanding what numbers represent as opposed to a symbol denoting that number?


Wasn't taught that way but always broke numbers up when adding. Too bad I was such a lousy student. My SAT score said I had a mathematical brain.

[BW23]

I'm on the anti-CC bandwagon, but it's not because of math. I understand what most of it is getting at and trying to accomplish. Hopefully most teachers will still use different ways of instruction since kids learn differently.

On a bigger scale, we've gone away, in education, at preparing kids to be critical thinkers and problem solvers. I think these new methods (not really CC methods but adapted by CC) will be ways of getting back to that.

[wart57]

You have to memorize 5+1=6?

How else does a kid remember it? You just know it? That is called memorization, isn't it?

You have to memorize that? I have five things. I add one more to it. That means the next number in the series is what I have now, that is six. Add two things? Oh - that's the second number from five in the series. That would be seven. Got it.

That's not memorization. That's understanding sequences and how to process them.

Now as addition becomes more complex, there are ways to break down quantities into combinations of more basic, easily manipulated sequences. That's what it looks like they are teaching kids these days. And that's a good thing.

Believe it or not, before there were calculators, people in accounting and finance knew these shortcuts in order to do their jobs quickly and efficiently. My mom talks about watching her dad add a column of numbers about as quickly as reading them. It was expected as part of his job.

Now your times tables - that's memorizing.

But it is memorizing, anything you put in to your head is memorization. Remembering your own name is memorization. My 6 year old didn't just know that the shape that denotes a six (6) is automatically 5 things plus one more thing, she had to be taught what that symbol meant, and that was memorized or placed in her brains memory. I just want to know at what arbitrary point we stop memorizing and then have to break things down to get the correct answer and get full credit for getting that answer. Again, I don't have a problem with this being taught as a way to get to an answer, it is a great skill to have, but taking points off for doing something a different way does not seem right, and being told this is the only way to get to that answer also seems faulty.

When given 17+18 - I can break it down in my head to 7+8 = 15 - so that will give me 35. But how will a kid have to explain this breaking it in to 5's and 10's. I think it can lead to confusion, especially in us idiot parents who never learned things this way and are trying to help our kids.

[lukethedrifter]

You don't believe there's a difference between understanding the concept and memorizing?

[wart57]

You don't believe there's a difference between understanding the concept and memorizing?

Of course I do, but you still are required to memorize parts to understand the concept. What is the cut off point for memorization?

How does a computer perform complex calculations, it pulls information from what was programmed in to it's memory.

Once again - i love the concept of teaching kids how to break things down so it is easier, but are they taught it is the only way to do things? That is like my wife and loading the dishwasher, there is only one correct way to do it, her way, anything else and you lose points for doing it (you get criticized.)

I guess this is just an emotional problem of mine.