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For a child, as others have also posted, the need to understand estimation is a great tool to understanding math. It's also a lesson to be taught just like time, fraction, percentages etc.
I imagine you use it far more than you realize, but just don't think of it that way.
We use estimation for all kinds of things that have no need to be exact.
For instance, when you order pizza for a large group are you going to go step by step figuring out exactly how many slices you need and how many pizzas, or would you estimate that? For instance 2 feeds your family and you are having 3 other families so maybe 8 will work...then, nah let's make it 10 to be safe.
Or, you are driving somewhere and it's 360 miles so if you were to average 60 mph it should take around 6 hours, altered by known traffic issues. It's a good basis for time management.
Now perhaps if someone was never taught estimation or not taught it very well, then they would be less likely to see the benefit of it all or be able to use it later in life. It's a good thing to learn early on.
I guess I just think it is something that would come naturally as you understand math more. I mean we never did estimation in school, but I can estimate things just fine, and I'm sure I always have. It just seems like a bit of "overteaching" when its something that will automatically come to the kids as they go on. Its just confusing them more than anything, when you have to figure out the estimate, then the actual answer. It just seems like if you put the energy into the actual answer, it will come soon enough.
It's a way to get the kids analyze and double check their answers. Sometimes exactness is not as important. For example, when travelling in other countries, the currency exchange is crazy. We had to quickly estimate how much things cost. It's the same principle for figuring sales discounts. Learning to calculate quickly is a good thing, IMO.
I guess I just think it is something that would come naturally as you understand math more. I mean we never did estimation in school, but I can estimate things just fine, and I'm sure I always have. It just seems like a bit of "overteaching" when its something that will automatically come to the kids as they go on. Its just confusing them more than anything, when you have to figure out the estimate, then the actual answer. It just seems like if you put the energy into the actual answer, it will come soon enough.
In reality, math is a very complex subject to learn and to teach. It has as many intricacies as the English language. So, all subjects within math should be taught and all things learned should be used to solve problems.
Estimation is a subject taught here and has been since I was a child. I would guess that some teachers are better at teaching it than others and that some teachers spend a short time on it while others spend a short time. Perhaps you were taught it but maybe not so that it was a major focus, but a footnote approach instead? I say that because percentages were not taught in depth to me way back when. Math was my subject and I had no problems ever learning/applying it....except with percentages for a while. I found I had to start with fractions then work it into percentage. That stunk big time since I was in retail for my first career! After a while it became second hand and now I don't have any issues with percentages.
Math is a big deal in my family, if you couldn't tell. haha My oldest daughter teaches 4th grade math. My second oldest daughter teaches high school Algebra II and Geometry. My third daughter is in 5th grade and my son is in Kindergarten. The 5th grader excels in math, though it's not her favorite subject. My K son is currently doing 2nd grade math...so he's keeping up the tradition of a love of math.
It's a way to get the kids analyze and double check their answers. Sometimes exactness is not as important. For example, when travelling in other countries, the currency exchange is crazy. We had to quickly estimate how much things cost. It's the same principle for figuring sales discounts. Learning to calculate quickly is a good thing, IMO.
I understand, but isnt it something that will just come naturally? I mean most of this stuff they will not use right away, so like when I grew up...it will just come naturally as you go on. I mean, I get that it might be good to teach it, but I am more inclined to think that estimating will just come along as you actually learn to do math the way it has always been taught.
I am most concerned that it is just too confusing to come up with two answers for every question, when he could just be coming up with the actual question. And if they do not like math in the first place, it could put them off even more. Its getting harder and harder to get him to do homework because of all the extra estimating he has to do. When he has a paper with 20 problems to do, which turns into 40...then he has to do reading also, its quite a bit of work for a 4th grader.
I didn't learn math thru estimation. I memorized the multiplication tables up to 12 and when I need to do higher numbers than that, I used to just do it in my head or a piece of scratch paper. My dh however - this is just how he thinks. I have since learned to use his method and it IS easier and faster.
I'm not sure why estimating the answer makes homework so much longer for your son though. It's a process and if YOU think of it as 40 questions, so will he. If you treat it as 20, so will he. As for the reading... I don't get this. 20-30 minutes of reading daily should not be a DIFFICULT thing to fit in. Reading before bed has always been part of my kid's bedtime routine. Doing it now on their own isn't a stretch and we don't look at it as "extra". Some of it's in attitude... from the parents, not just the kids.
Before I pulled my kids out of the brick and mortar schools in Dec, the other parents were putting around a petition about the "too much homework" thing. I didn't sign it. Neither of my kids had more than 10-20 minutes of homework each night, except for special projects - and the kids enjoyed those. The parents I hear the most complaints from are the same ones who pick up their kids from our house on Sunday afternoon at 1 instead of 4 (after a sleep over) because their child has a "major" project due the next day. Yeah, my kid was in that class too. We worked on it every night for 20 minutes for the first 3 nights... he finished two weeks ago. They were starting the night before and GOING OFF about how the teacher just loads these kids up... whatever!
I didn't learn math thru estimation. I memorized the multiplication tables up to 12 and when I need to do higher numbers than that, I used to just do it in my head or a piece of scratch paper. My dh however - this is just how he thinks. I have since learned to use his method and it IS easier and faster.
I'm not sure why estimating the answer makes homework so much longer for your son though. It's a process and if YOU think of it as 40 questions, so will he. If you treat it as 20, so will he. As for the reading... I don't get this. 20-30 minutes of reading daily should not be a DIFFICULT thing to fit in. Reading before bed has always been part of my kid's bedtime routine. Doing it now on their own isn't a stretch and we don't look at it as "extra". Some of it's in attitude... from the parents, not just the kids.
Before I pulled my kids out of the brick and mortar schools in Dec, the other parents were putting around a petition about the "too much homework" thing. I didn't sign it. Neither of my kids had more than 10-20 minutes of homework each night, except for special projects - and the kids enjoyed those. The parents I hear the most complaints from are the same ones who pick up their kids from our house on Sunday afternoon at 1 instead of 4 (after a sleep over) because their child has a "major" project due the next day. Yeah, my kid was in that class too. We worked on it every night for 20 minutes for the first 3 nights... he finished two weeks ago. They were starting the night before and GOING OFF about how the teacher just loads these kids up... whatever!
Well, it makes it longer because he has to work out all the estimation problems on a piece of paper. For instance 155 x 23 he will have to do an estmation problem of 160 x 25 all worked out and shown how he got the answer, then do the actual problem all worked out on a piece of paper. thats a ton of work for just one problem. Then a lot of times, they will ask him to explain how he came up with the estimation, so on top of all that...he has to write a sentence. The reading is no problem. Again....I just think this is a bit of overteaching. I look at it kinda like spelling or reading. Take the word ant. It can also sound like the word aunt, but spelled different and have a different meaning. You dont go into a long explanation of why, its just something that will come naturally.
Last edited by michmoldman; 03-10-2009 at 08:48 AM..
Well, it makes it longer because he has to work out all the estimation problems on a piece of paper. For instance 155 x 23 he will have to do an estmation problem of 160 x 25 all worked out and shown how he got the answer, then do the actual problem all worked out on a piece of paper. thats a ton of work for just one problem. Then a lot of times, they will ask him to explain how he came up with the estimation, so on top of all that...he has to write a sentence. The reading is no problem. Again....I just think this is a bit of overteaching. I look at it kinda like spelling or reading. Take the word ant. It can also sound like the word aunt, but spelled different and have a different meaning. You dont go into a long explanation of why, its just something that will come naturally.
I understand your concern. It takes him longer to the work, and it takes away from his kid time, which I believe to be as necessry as school. However, here's something to consider. By explaining his thinking process, he can come up with faster solutions or learn other methods. Let's use your example of 155x23. You can estimte 16x2 and figure out the zeroes. It's really fast.
Besides, I know in other countries Math is very difficult early on, with hours and hours of homework. I think maybe your projecting your concerns onto him. I hope you come to think of it as a positive, at some point.
. By explaining his thinking process, he can come up with faster solutions or learn other methods. Let's use your example of 155x23. You can estimte 16x2 and figure out the zeroes. It's really fast.
THIS is EXACTLY why they teach estimation. . .
I guess we could "lazy up" the kids some more and give them a calculator.....Plaaaaeeeeezzzz
I guess we could "lazy up" the kids some more and give them a calculator.....Plaaaaeeeeezzzz
Well, everything has its use. Does one use a calculator for every discount pricing or exchange rate value for dollar? It's not dumming kids up; it's learning to think. Besides the children are asked to give exact and estimate amount...it's not lazy at all.
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