2+2=What? Parents rail against Common Core math

Waving a hand and saying the "old way" is simply an algorithm and a poor method because it glosses over the details is like saying teaching someone how to use a calculator will make them forget how math works.

That common core method for subtracting 12 from 32 definitely doesn't teach you anything about how or why it works.

As I am the parent with the CS degree, my wife is already referring our second-grader to me for help with math homework. Sure, after calc I-III, diff-EQ, linear algebra, etc. I can readily pick up on what they are doing and why. I also absolutely agree that they need to go beyond rote-memorization and help kids with a fundamental understanding of numbers, their relationships, etc.

But, here's the other side: I don't know that, say, a first or second-grader is really ready to grasp some of the concepts (at least as they are currently being taught). My daughter "handles" it pretty well and can get the job done, but it sometimes seems that they are simply moving the rote-memorization ball, so to speak. That is, now, instead of just remembering tables, she may be simply remembering these new methods of arriving at the answer. I'm not sure she really knows why though. And, it can actually be kind of difficult to test where their level of true understanding is. For instance, asking them to explain gets into their verbal skills as much as math. So, they may actually understand it, but are unable to really explain it. One clue is the kind of mistakes they make, but it's still kind of murky.

In any case, in the end, I'm not altogether sure that her comprehension has been expanded. And, it sometimes seems that the result is that she simply has to labor harder to arrive at the same answers.

On a side note, what's funny is that I learned the "old-school" way, yet I somehow managed to comprehend and am now trying to help my daughter understand the "new school" way. Something ironic about that.

Taking the problem in the illustration, subtracting 12 from 42, the four-step process is ridiculous. The way an adult would look at it in a real-world situation is to recognize that the 12 neatly coincides with part of the 42. The relevant concept is units of 10 and of less than 10. One might use a somewhat different concept for a different question.

I'm not sure of the best way to teach the concepts - cover base 10 and places first, I guess, and then talk about how and why adults who are good at math perceive problems in certain ways. "Common core" looks like about what I would expect when the USG takes a basically good idea and mashes it thru a bureaucracy.