Welcome to a New Year

I had a wonderful Christmas season.  Full of good food, family and friends.  I guess that is why I haven't posted in so long.  The beast within has been kept quiet and content.  But the magic of Christmas seems to be ebbing and alas, the beast is restless.

It's been so long that my thoughts are being pulled by a dozen different issues, but the one on the fore front of my mind is mental math.   Mental Math is "new math", it is the math they are teaching in elementary schools now.  Essentially it is teaching a variety of different methods to regroup numbers to solve math problems.  So instead of teaching children
  358
+271
_____
 629    *carry the one*

the equation now looks like this
358 + 271=
300 + 200= 500
50 + 70= 120
8 + 1=9
500 + 120= 620 + 9= 629

now I ask you...which one is easier to do?

So I *get* that the idea behind this is so that the kids develop an understanding of how numbers work together, how they correlate, how they function alone and separately.  And that eventually they will be able to do this easily, and quickly, and in their heads.  But it strikes me as backwards.  Developing and understanding of numbers comes from practice and use of numbers, it doesn't strike me as something that can necessarily be taught.  It's a light bulb that gets switched on, a "duh" moment if you will.  I actually remember that happening to me sometime around grade 4.  I was doing these equations as taught to me, thinking I got it...getting the right answers, and then one day it just hit me BAM...69+41   is exactly the same as 70+40....but this one is just easier to add....Presto, the light turned on and I all of a sudden started making connections.  Nobody could force the connections earlier on me...it was like speaking a different language to me.
I see the same thing happening with my daughter...I see what she is being taught at school, and she is struggling with this method.  She looks at me like a 2 headed beast when I try and explain these number relations.  And YET...when given the cups with 10 beans each...and shown how to add them, and carry over a group of 10 (or 100 if such is the case) she understands.  I am not delusional enough to think she understands exactly why she is doing it, but I also know that she too will get that light bulb moment and go "OH, I SEE".  I just don't see why we are trying to force the light bulb moment.

*Stepping into politically incorrect, sensitive areas now...follow at own risk.  Please remember that I am not trying to spare feelings, and neither will I apologize for my views.*

This once again feeds my theory that schools are now catering to the lowest common denominator.  Math, with regrouping is difficult to understand by those with learning delays, and instead of taking them out of the classroom and teaching them these alternate methods; they are teaching these alternative methods as the norm, so as not to be exclusionary. 

While I am on the subject of not being exclusionary, let’s talk about chewing gum...which is something that is a BIG issue in my daughter’s grade 3 class right now.
She came home before Christmas with a permission slip to allow gum chewing in their classroom.  The note said something about learning alternate ways to help concentrate and learn, and how gum chewing is a way that they are exploring.  There was also a brief mention of a study done, showing kids who chewed gum while doing math scored 2% better than their counterparts. (For the record I looked up the study, and it was funded by the Wrigley’s Science Institute...so I am not exactly sure how accurate and non-biased those results are.)
Well, this note and its reason for gum chewing intrigued me and I asked my oldest daughter what this was all about.  The conversation we had would have almost been comical...if I hadn't gotten the slight impression that my daughter was brainwashed.  Well okay, not brainwashed, but she was spewing verbatim the things her teacher said, with no thought to how it actually applied to her.
Here is roughly the conversation we had.
Me: Can you explain to me how chewing gum is supposed to help you learn?
Her: Well, if I am having trouble concentrating, I can chew the gum and it will help me stay on task.
M: By concentrating on chewing gum instead?
H: No.
M: So how is gum supposed to help you stay on task?
H: Well, because my mouth will be busy chewing.  I won't be talking of topic. and *building in enthusiasm*  If I feel the need to yell, my mouth will be full of gum and I won't have to..I can just chew gum. *finishing off quite pleased with herself.*
M: Do you have a problem with randomly yelling out in class?  Are you sidetracked and easily taken off topic?  Should I be speaking to Ms. W about this?
H: *flustered and slightly indignant* NO.  Not me...but other people do.
M:  Oh, I see.  So this is a tool that is used for those boys in your class who have a hard time concentrating.  I could see how gum might help some of them.  And I guess some other kids thought it wasn't fair that these boys got to chew gum and they didn't?  So Ms. W decided to extend the opportunity to everyone?
H:*now looking slightly uncomfortable*  I guess.
M: Then my answer is No.  If chewing gum is not actually going to benefit you in any way I won't sign the form and supply you with sugar free gum.  I don't want you to create a habit and all of a sudden become dependent on gum for learning. 

It really frustrated me that this gum chewing thing was extended to the whole class.  And it bugs me for a couple of reasons.  First, if this is an actual tool for learning behaviours, then they are diminishing its value by extending it to the whole class.  Second, and this one I am having a hard time putting into words... but what is so wrong with telling kids NO? "No, John gets to chew gum because it helps him.  You don't need that kind of help.  But both ways are still okay."

Well, I know what's wrong with that...but that is a whole other rant for another day.