02-05-2015, 03:01 AM
graylocks wrote:
how is it that Jennie knows 8*2 and 8*5 if she doesn't know multiplication tables? why are there such gaps in her education? is splitting into 2+5 the ONLY correct answer?
That's the problem I have with Common Core. My son is in 1st grade and is learning basic addition. Not only does he have to solve the equation, he has to write a sentence on how he solved it. And apparently, there is only one right answer: the way they want you to solve it. If he has memorized that 8+7=15, that's not good enough. He knows the right answer, but if he doesn't explain how he got the answer to their satisfaction, it is marked as incorrect.
Same thing with reading. He had to read a paragraph, and underline the main point of the paragraph. Even my wife and I couldn't agree which sentence it should be. I even thought there was a third possible answer. I asked the teacher how a 6 year old is supposed to get the answer when we couldn't agree. She told me that, at least as far as she was concerned, any answer was fine. But I'm sure once he gets in 3rd grade (which is when they start testing them on this stuff), it will matter.