The answer is simple: old math is greater than new math, according to the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.
The study, titled Math Instruction that Makes Sense, "demonstrates conclusively that traditional math education methods are superior to the highly ineffective, discovery-based instructional techniques that are in vogue now in educational curricula," said a news release from the public policy think tank.
The story generated a lot of thoughtful remarks from CBC audience members, many of whom shared their experiences as educators and parents, struggling to see the benefits of new math.
A few people couldn't resist commenting on the study itself.
•"Teachers have been saying this for years. But, nobody listens till some so-called expert does a study," wrote LarryM.
•"Wasn't it 'experts' that came up with the 'new math'?," joked D Bertrand.
However, most members in the CBC Community were anxious to get down to discussing the failings of new math.
•"If the new math is so great then why am I having to sit down with my gr. 9, honour roll student every night to google formulas and how-to's to find out how to do her homework? Not only do I have to explain it to her, but I have to learn the new math so I don't get her totally confused." said xtrabusymom.
•"This was obvious ten years ago. My older brother and I were taught 'old math' and my younger siblings 'new math'. They used calculators in elementary school... we weren't allowed to use them until we started doing trigonometry! They would speak of 'groups' and 'sets' and have to do math with pictures... we did ours with numbers," remarked starrydays17.
•"You don't need a lot of new fangled books to show what multiplication and division mean. You can use popcorn, peanuts, etc. My sister had 'new math' and to this day cannot do math. Never learned her tables," added livelylady.
Some felt the problem was far more complicated than the article suggested.
•"I'm a retired Math teacher. The fix is more complicated than this simplistic article states. First of all, the problem starts in the primary grades, where students are allowed to go on without memorizing times tables. You can't do long division if you don't know your times tables. So, students end up in secondary math courses without the basics," wrote bobbytwotwo.
•"So many people here are going on about long division. Why would anybody ever need to do this? I've only done it once in the past 30 years and that was only to demonstrate that I could.... Why waste our time teaching our kids an algorithm that they will never use? Spend the time teaching higher-level concepts than arithmetic," mused Dr. Genius.
Most commenters stressed the importance of teaching basic skills in all subjects, not just math.
• "I am a former educator and this story hits home... I could not agree more - more emphasis has to be put on the basics. I do not care how technological our society has become. Without the basics, society will not be able to use the technology," said redforever.
•"It isn't just math. When I was in grad school, I taught undergraduate laboratory courses and was constantly amazed how even 4th year students expected to be spoon-fed the answers," observed miss.elaneous.
•"And it's not just math skills," added CalgaryFlamer. "I know that when I interview a lot of people, a surprising number of them have extremely poor skills, both spoken and written."
Few people had any answers, though a few people had some suggestions.
•"Back to the 3R's? No, but we must ensure that basics are mastered and that also includes the life lesson of failure and how to deal with it," wrote teacher Kimberleytg.
•"It seems now the education system is more interested in results than the process to get there. Yet the process is the most important part," noted Carsie.
Lastly, bclion provided sage advice:
"What works is parents who pay attention and don't abdicate their role as teachers themselves. Parents who are actively involved in the learning of their children can mitigate whatever latest strategy is being tried on their children that is not best for them."
Thanks to all of you for your comments on this story.
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