re: Louisiana records nation's highest growth in reading after switching to a phonics based sy

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There's a lot of people out there that have no understanding of math. As a CPA, it's exactly the way I think about number. The way our kids were taught before was not working. Just because you can't understand it doesn't mean it's wrong.

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When I was in elementary and jr high I had a knack of solving math problems in my head but I didn't have the same thought process as was being taught so showing my work was an issue. I remember trying to explain how I manipulated numbers in my head to my mother (undergrad degrees in Chem and Math so it wasn't she couldn't "math good") and it never made any sense to her, in particular, it seemed unnecessarily complex to her. Life got easier for me in HS and college where there was no penalty for not showing my work as long as the answer was right and I never tried to explain my process to anyone else. I just figured I was on my own island and went about my way. When the fuss over common core came out I read some articles designed to teach teachers and it struck me that this is what I have always instinctively done. I think it is a process that if taught early enough is incredibly useful but to someone who learned the typical way it becomes like trying to explain it to my mother, it just seems stupid complex, and silly to them.

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I think it is a process that if taught early enough is incredibly useful but to someone who learned the typical way it becomes like trying to explain it to my mother, it just seems stupid complex, and silly to them.

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This is exactly what it is. I’ve done similar math in my head to what you’re talking about & that’s exactly how they’re teaching kids. I asked my kids teacher why they are over complicating this & she said the whole purpose was to teach kids how to do it in their heads. It definitely works, my kid can rattle off some answers pretty quickly just using mental math.

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Fourth grade reading scores rank No. 1 nationally for growth, and 11th up from 42nd in overall proficiency for economically disadvantaged students. The overall state ranking climbed from 42 to 46, highest nationally since 2003.

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If this is true, it is a good start.

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didn't see phonics mentioned in the article. Assuming you are correct and I have no basis to say you aren't being I'm ignorant on the subject, what was the process that was in place beforehand?

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It was previously balanced reading. It’s not strictly phonics. It’s the science of reading which covers a lot of different pre-reading skills.

My mom taught us to read using Dr. Suess books.

We were reading before 1st grade.

Not sure if it was phonics or what, but to this day, I avoid green eggs and ham...

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This new math is retarded. Adding & subtracting 3+ digit numbers horizontally will never make sense to me.

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I have no idea. I tell my kids to use their fingers.

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So what’s so great and necessary about tape diagrams and number bonds for a quick addition calculation?

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EurekaMath at the lower grades takes longer to learn. But as the kids age, it makes complicated math topics easier to learn.

It’s about the long game here