Here is the one thing about math whether you are good at it or not. It is not about opinions. It is not about feelings. It is about called hard facts. A correct answer if you will. That is the comforting thing about math. There are rules that if you follow and understand will lead you to the correct answer. The simpler the better.
I am not sure what this common core math is but to me it seems like walking 4 miles out of your way to go one block. I have seen enough of this and it is mental gymnastics at best and torture at worst. There is a reason certain math subjects were taught at certain ages for decades. It was determined that the human brain could grasp those concepts at that age. Once those concepts were grasped they were built upon as the foundation for more principles of math.
As somebody joked on my Facebook page 2 + 2 no longer equals 4. It equals banana. Second and third graders are solving for X. Letters do not belong in math. X is best left to represent a generation nobody cares about, the rating for a movie I would like to watch, or the place where buried treasure is hidden. Still, solving for X is Algebra. I did not learn Algebra until the seventh grade. I was terrible at it. Some of my peers were good at it so the age level was appropriate for some. However I can’t see how the vast majority of second and third graders can be expected to think algebraically.
Why not go old school and establish addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, decimals and fractions? That builds upon principles.
The worst part is quality teachers barely understand it and are being forced to learn this on the fly. My child had half days last year so that teachers could be taught how to teach common core. It is ridiculous. I would much rather the students being taught by their teachers instead of the teachers being taught by lord knows who. Now all the teachers teach to these standardized touch that emphasize speed. Speed is not important for second and third graders. Whether they have mastered the concept and retained the rule should be of the utmost importance.
It has gotten to the point where we are teaching our daughter when she comes home. Whatever is being taught in school does not stay with her. We are teaching her the way we were taught without convoluted thinking. Straight good old fashioned math. And she understands.
Some classics are better than new and improved. Cars, movies, Coke, math. And remember if you are solving for X and there is no buried treasure you got jipped.