Here’s a dilemma for a lot of parents and other people who are trying to teach their kids math:
The methods that many people use are far superior to the standard algorithms taught in elementary school, yet many benighted administrators and school policy-makers do not recognize this, and insist that students do things “the regular way.”
Of course they don’t realize that other cultures (besides the U.S.) have a different “regular way” that sometimes beat the poop out of our way – which is proven by our low ranking among most other countries of the world in most subjects.
I’m specifically thinking of math. I help teachers, parents and students learn math with methods that magicians have used for years. They are not “magic” – just more effective, which make them seem like magic. Some of these methods are the norm in other cultures (the ones outperform us by far in elementary math).Commonly, someone I am helping will ask, ” But what if we are not allowed to do it that way?” Recently someone wrote in: Continue reading What if we are Not Allowed to do it that Way? →
