The topic next week, Monday, 11/7/11, is “I wish someone would have told me sooner about…(mommy or kid related).” Leave a comment below or go to our facebook page and join the discussion. Let’s show Charlotte how Smarty you are! Your comment may be the one read on air with Matt & Ramona! Even better, call in on Monday!
TAG, YOU’RE IT!!
So while in carpool on Monday, get off your facebook feed and join the Matt & Ramona facebook chat and call 704-338-2071.
Be there or be square!
5 comments
I tell all mothers-to-be: go to the movies. Go often. Once you have kids, sitting in a dark room will only put you to sleep. And when you get 2 or 3 free hours the last thing you want to do is sit in a dark room.
Go ahead and send your paycheck to Harris Teeter and Target, equally divided. Because that’s where your funds will be depleted:-)
Everyday Math just touches on different types of math without driving home the basic principles of math, such as addition and subtraction. These are the building blocks for success! Case in point. Last year I helped at our school during a mock Biz Town Day with the fourth grade class. The students each had a check book that they had to use to buy items. After a purchase, they had to enter the amount and balance the transaction. 98% of the students struggled with the simple subtraction! This is very sad, but real fact about Everyday Math.
I second what Alleyne says… and watch out because Connected Math, used in middle school, is just as bad. I don’t even know where to start with my criticism of everyday math (EM)- there’s not enough room here. I’ve read that record numbers of students are entering college needing remedial math that they take for no credit. EM encourages calculator use and doesn’t believe in teaching the standard rules we use to find an answer, instead asking children, often in groups, to try and figure out their own rules. This isn’t good for anyone- kids who are good at math get cheated and kids who aren’t so good wind up even more confused. Good teachers have to “work around” this curriculum to make up for its deficiencies. Its a shame. Just google “everyday math controversy” There’s more disturbing information out there than you will have time to read.
I third that about EveryDay Math!
As a mom, I wish someone told me about the horrible math that is being taught in our schools today. As a math major in college I have never seen such a backwards way to teach math, so much so there have been problems that I have not understood! These “spiral” math programs do not allow a child to ever master a math skill, which does not give them a feeling of confidence. Instead they move very quickly through a wide array of topics, just touching on each topic. By the time they get back around to that topic they do not remember what to do because they never fully learned it the first, second or third time around. To continue on my soap box, I would like to add that there are no reference links or textbooks to help remind the children of how they learned to do a problem or to help a parent help a child. And, finally, math is black or white, right or wrong. The math facts and the four operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) should be the top priorities for elementary school students.