Administrators waste a LOT of money on fads, coaches, programs, and consultants. All they have to do is read a few articles by Barry Garelick, and they will improve the quality of math education in your schools. Yes, it can be that simple.
Barry has been an advocate for quality math instruction and materials for many years. A teacher himself, he understands how to teach the subject and what kind of materials to use. This is not rocket science; it’s basic math. It shouldn’t be that difficult for administrators, teachers, and board members to figure this out.
Sadly, too many fall victim to the failed fads when it comes to math education.
Look at this recent article in Education Week where Barry explains some simple, logical ways to teach children math. He advocates for the memorization of math facts. How do kids memorize math facts? Answer: through repetition.
Does this sound familiar? Rote memorization is needed; however, education reformers have downplayed these important practices. Barry says, no. If you want kids to learn math, go back to the basics.
The fad of “deeper learning” needs to be replaced with traditional algorithms. That means stop confusing kids with confusing division algorithms and go back to teaching the standard division algorithm.
Not only will this reduce confusion, but it will also help them later on when students need to use this concept to work long division algebra concepts.
Many teachers in the higher grades will tell you that they are seeing children devoid of knowledge that they should have mastered in elementary school.
Read Barry’s article, and share it with your school administrators and school board members. Tell them that Common Core math is a lesson in mediocrity. In many ways, it sets children up for failure. There are better ways to teach math, and Barry spells it out for them.
