Singapore math in Wentzville schools: What do you think?
Remember when your elementary math homework involved 60-some odd problems, including those two horrid story problems at the end?
Well, math class has changed this year in some Wentzville elementary schools, and it no longer involves the repetition of gads and gads of problems.
Last spring, the Wentzville School Board voted to change the elementary math curriculum to slowly incorporate Singapore math, a program that has been gaining popularity in the United States during the last 10 years. Although some private schools use Singapore math, Wentzville is believed to the first public school district in the St. Louis are to plan a widespread adoption of the program. About 125 teachers are using the methods in their classrooms this year after trainings this summer.
So far, the response has been good, administrators say. There only are few complaints, and hundreds of parents have attended meetings this fall to learn more. To learn more about how Singapore math differs from traditional math, read the story here and check out a video clip on the right side of the story. Try some of the problems in the graphic. A lot of parents and educators who struggled with math when they were young say it’s eye opening.
What are your memories of math homework as a child? What do you think of Singapore math? Talk about it in the comments below.
(1 votes, average: 4 out of 5)
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My memories of high school math were horrible. It was taught only one way. And, if you did not learn that way, they charged ahead and left you in the dirt with an F. I was convinced I was stupid and destined to struggle through math until I finally went back to school. I had a college professor who also did not learn in a conventional manner. Using different methods, he went over each of the lessons in a way that made sense. Once I had the mechanics down, I was getting 100% on all of the complex problems that would confound me as a kid. There may be better ways of doing things for some people. If the methods achieve the same goals, but are more understandable to millennials and possibly others, then I say go for it! Other nations are running circles around us in math, science and engineering. What we are doing does not work. Take those pre-boomer and boomer textbooks with the Dick and Jane, and “the train to Cincinnati is travelling at 35 MPH” math problems and put them up on the shelves where they belong so they may rightfully gather dust.