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I think basic math skills are necessary. But, really, math should be taught by specialists, and even in elementary school, children should go to math lab, and recieve instruction by a qualified math educator.
To say that you Understanding long division and how to solve a problem using the algorithm is a cognitive gate keeper for understanding more advanced topics. I can't believe how many students make it to my class without even knowing their multiplication facts, let alone long division.
My principal regularly says, in staff meetings, I'm just one of those people that doesn't get math." I hear other teachers say it, or something similar, all the time. It makes me crazy. As if it's okay. I wonder how it would go over if I said, "You know, I just never been one of those alphabet people."
Rant over. To answer your question. I think every single teacher should should be able to pass college algebra. The college that I went to did not require it for non math teachers or elementary school teachers.
5th grade teacher here. We have finally convinced our 4th grade NOT to teach "magic 7" for division. We DO teach long division. And OH, how we lament the fact that many of them do not know their multiplication facts, despite the fact that they were introduced in 2nd grade. This, apparently, has come from the "kids no longer need to memorize anything...they can get there by reciting multiples..." line of thinking. I beg teachers not to use the desk name tags that have the 12x12 multiplication table on it.
And if I had a nickel for every time a parent said (IN FRONT OF THEIR CHILD), "Well, I'm not good in math, so that's probably why Johnny isn't good either"...
I do like your alphabet statement! I'm going to start saying it to my kids..perhaps they will get the message.
Last edited by pobre; 09-29-2013 at 08:52 AM..
Reason: plural issue
And I pose this question as a middle school math teacher myself, not some outsider that is here to bash teachers or teacher prep programs which I think are generally much better than the public is led to believe.
How much preparation did you have?
A good teacher can teach anything (provided they have a basic understanding of content) and a GREAT teacher convinces you to learn. (provided you have any desire to learn)
5th grade teacher here. We have finally convinced our 4th grade NOT to teach "magic 7" for division. We DO teach long division. And OH, how we lament the fact that many of them do not know their multiplication facts, despite the fact that they were introduced in 2nd grade.
Teachers are not doing their students any favors when use "mathemagic" tricks. If I hear Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally one more time, I going to throw up. We untrained our 6th grade teachers of that.
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This, apparently, has come from the "kids no longer need to memorize anything...they can get there by reciting multiples..." line of thinking. I beg teachers not to use the desk name tags that have the 12x12 multiplication table on it.
+1
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And if I had a nickel for every time a parent said (IN FRONT OF THEIR CHILD), "Well, I'm not good in math, so that's probably why Johnny isn't good either"...
Drives me nuts too.
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I do like your alphabet statement! I'm going to start saying it to my kids..perhaps they will get the message.
Math is a language. It's the language of numbers and symbols. Like any language, it must be practiced daily. Any person who can learn a language can learn advanced concepts in math.
There are so many cop-outs in math it makes me sick.
All non math teachers should be able to master college algebra. They need to know where the student is eventually going, at the very least. I would really be nice if there was some sort of survey class for teachers that illustrates the need for math in the work world.
A good teacher can teach anything (provided they have a basic understanding of content) and a GREAT teacher convinces you to learn. (provided you have any desire to learn)
I had to take six math courses including college algebra, introductory statistics, discrete math, geometry, and introductory calculus, plus a math methods course.
In regards to your second statement, as with any level it seems like there needs to be a balance of content knowledge and pedagogical practice. It's an age-old debate, but the methods for teaching math have shifted somewhat in recent years and the depth of math content has increased as well, even at lower grade levels.
I think they should be able to pass a high school math test to get their license but I think their education should focus on teaching math not the math itself. I don't think elementary teachers need a high level of math. Through algebra ought to be enough. What's more important is understanding how kids learn math. My impression of the lower grades is that they teach kids to follow the leader...do what I do and out pops an answer with little to no understanding. As a result kids don't recognize when things apply in later classes.
If I taught the younger grades, I'd use Singapore math. Lots of story problems and algebra like solutions. Lots of different ways to process math. Dd#1 started Singapore math in 5th grade and jumped 2 grade levels in one year. Dd#2 started Singapore math in 2nd grade and ended up testing out of algebra when she transferred back to the local school district in 7th grade. They tested her because they thought her math education would have been poor because she went to a charter school. Talk about calling that one wrong. She's a Junior this year and has to go to the local community college next year because she's out of high school math classes to take.
I think the way we teach math in this country just sucks. We don't ask our kids to think. They're little parrots who spit out prerecorded algorithms AFTER someone else tells them what kind of problem they're dealing with. They have to have an algorithm to follow blindly. For example: I'll give my chemistry kids X/2 = 3/4 and they'll ask "Is this where we cross multiply and divide?". They'll convert the problem to 4X = 6 and then divide by 4 to get the X by itself instead of just multiplying each side by 2. If I solve this problem by multiplying each side by 2, they're left confused. They don't get what I did.
MANY districts do now use newer math programs that focus on teaching mathematical thinking and reasoning and not just spitting out the answers. Everyday Math is a very popular curriculum that requires students to be exposed to numerous strategies and be able to justify their answers, not just "spit out" an answer. Math Investigations is another-Singapore isnt the only one. While many schools/districts do use "old school" math, many do what you say. However, to say if you were an el. ed. teacher you'd use Singapore doesn't mean you could. Most districts have a required math program/curriculum which teachers have to follow.
It's an age-old debate, but the methods for teaching math have shifted somewhat in recent years and the depth of math content has increased as well, even at lower grade levels.
Instead of being a mile wide and an inch thick now it's a mile wide and a foot thick.
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Originally Posted by goodbyesnow
MANY districts do now use newer math programs that focus on teaching mathematical thinking and reasoning and not just spitting out the answers. Everyday Math is a very popular curriculum that requires students to be exposed to numerous strategies and be able to justify their answers, not just "spit out" an answer. Math Investigations is another-Singapore isnt the only one. While many schools/districts do use "old school" math, many do what you say. However, to say if you were an el. ed. teacher you'd use Singapore doesn't mean you could. Most districts have a required math program/curriculum which teachers have to follow.
What I am finding is that there are all these programs out there that claim to focus on mathematical thinking and reasoning, but are not. The fact of the matter is that students need to have solid foundational skills first. You cannot effectively teach the problem solving until the foundation is there. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, percents, ratio, and proportion. They have to know this like they know their own name. It's unpopular because it does require them "spitting out answers" and the current in vogue narrative is that this is bad. The reality is that it is sometimes necessary. It's like trying to teach how to diagram a sentence without having learned a languages vocabulary first. Oh, wait a minute...we don't diagram sentences anymore, do we?
I think proficiency is much more important than scope, although the two are often correlated. For example, my introductory chemistry course does not require any math beyond algebra I, maybe algebra II in some high schools , but there is a ton of algebra. I would prefer a student that is very proficient in solving basic equations to one that has seen calculus and statistics but still struggles solving a linear system of equations.
For elementary school math teachers, I don't think it should be about their ability to "pass" any specific college course, but rather to really master the content that their students will be seeing in middle school and in their first few years of high school.
My own child took the Stanford last year and the results were not a surprise...she scored very, very well in the problem solving part and she was just on level in the computation part.
Her teacher rarely covered basic computation and focused on problem solving. So, this summer I helped her memorize addition, subtraction, and multiplication. We also did those old school worksheets with borrowing and carrying.
My own child took the Stanford last year and the results were not a surprise...she scored very, very well in the problem solving part and she was just on level in the computation part.
Her teacher rarely covered basic computation and focused on problem solving. So, this summer I helped her memorize addition, subtraction, and multiplication. We also did those old school worksheets with borrowing and carrying.
This seems to be the direction we've headed over the past decade or so. It's not terrible, but students still need to be taught computation.
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Talk about calling that one wrong. She's a Junior this year and has to go to the local community college next year because she's out of high school math classes to take. 
