My letter is as follows:
Good evening.
I am concerned with this math my son has brought home. I'm sure you here constant complaints about common core. This will be one of those complaints and it will probably sound very rude. I apologize in advance.
My son has been working on his math for hours. HOURS. He has to do mental math. Then he has to make some sort of break down? At what point do we do math facts? I've never seen anything where they practice math memorization. If he doesn't know his times tables, how can he break them down? Why aren't we teaching these? Yes, I need to get him flash cards, that's obvious at this point. But why can't we line up the numbers, multiply & carry? Because as you are well aware, you will never use this common core method in the real world. I have taken business math and accounting classes. Guess what? No mental math. No common core. It is cut and dry math. And you have to figure it out manually or with a calculator, but you don't have to break it down because no idiot in the real world is going to do that. No one has time for that. Time is money. And if it takes hours to do the work, then you are losing out on money.
Is he a top student? Nope. Does he struggle anyway? Yes. But he's sitting at the table crying. Now I'm yelling at how stupid this is and my husband is complaining about how stupid this is. And now I'm annoyed with Raul for crying and our entire night is wrapped up in this stupid math.
If we do not understand how to do it, how are we supposed to help him? And before you suggest that we attend the math night, know that my work schedule will not allow me to attend. And it wouldn't matter because common core is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of. I've tried to ignore the excessive steps it takes in common core through these lessons. I've tried to adapt and learn what you're asking. Math is hard enough on its own for people who struggle with math. But now you've thrown all these curve balls and confused the kids and the parents. (NOT YOU, obviously, the "system").
I'm so pissed off right now. I'm frustrated at this way of learning, which still doesn't make sense and he's not my first kid to learn it. Luckily my other kids are more gifted at math than I am, or than Raul is. I yelled at my son for crying about homework. How ridiculous is that? But that's how frustrated he and I are.He's crying because he doesn't know what to do. He's crying because he knows he's going to get in trouble for doing it the "wrong way" but his parents only know a normal way. You want him to "mental math" and guess at how to do it. THEN once he's spent time doing that, he has to break it down? Why can't he just do regular math????
My husband is helping him the only way WE know how. So hopefully he doesn't get in trouble for not completing the work the right way. Because we've had just enough of this idiotic math for the day. We're all beyond frustrated. It should not take him hours to do his homework. He's in 4th grade, for God's sake.
My understanding was that common core was going to teach kids that there's not only one way to learn. Which is true. Some kids might understand it. But if it is taking hours to do it that way, then obviously, for this type of problem, it's not the way for Raul. That being said, he should be allowed to use the other methods that make more sense. Usually he can power through it but not right now. So he's trying to figure it out while I sit here writing this angry message because I can't seem to help my 9 year old with his homework!
Signed, a Very Frustrated & Fed Up Parent
**RESPONSE FROM TEACHER**
1st, immediate response: Thank you for sharing your frustration. Please, take his paper and put it away. He is done with it. I will respond with more but homework should not lead to this much frustration.
2nd, next day response: I appreciate you letting me know Raul was struggling with the mental math strategy, and completely understand your frustration. At no point do I ever want homework to get to this point for any of my students or their parents. If this should happen again and he brings home something that he isn't understanding after you have worked on it for at most a half hour, send me an email, let me know you have tried, but he needs more help on it in class. Initial the page so I remember when I am recording the work that we talked about it and I will help him on it more at school. He will not be in trouble for the assignment being incomplete, he tried, but needs more help, and that's ok.
I will try to address some of your concerns on common core, but we can also talk a bit more about them at conference too. I do understand your frustration with all the different strategies and how they are very different than how we were taught to do math using one algorithm. We will get to the algorithm. Since the beginning of the year we have been encouraging the students to memorize their multiplication math facts as they were suppose to know them at the end of third grade. Most of the students didn't, so we have been doing almost weekly fact tests to monitor student progress in learning those facts. Along with that we have been teaching different strategies that a student can use to solve a multiplication problem. Personally I agree with you mental math or compensation is not the strategy I would choose to use, however it is a strategy students need to be familiar with based on what we are required to teach. Yesterday when I taught the lesson most of the students, Raul included, seemed to be doing fairly well with understanding how to use the strategy so I did not for see a problem in sending half the page for homework last night and the rest tonight. I was not in the room today during math as I was pulled for a meeting so I did not review it in class today, which may be part of the problem and frustration. For that I apologize. It is my intent to send homework that the students can do independently or with minimal parent help. I will check in with him tomorrow and see if we can work past his frustration.
As far as using different methods you are correct, the point of common core is to teach students there are multiple ways to solve a math problem and to teach them to think their way through a problem not just rely on always being able to plug numbers into an algorithm. After we teach a few different strategies, we will teach the algorithm. We teach the algorithm last because we want students to understand why the algorithm works. If they understand the longer process of breaking it apart into groups they understand why the algorithm works, why we carry numbers and that what we are carrying is really a ten or a hundred, not a one.
I know math is an area at is harder for Raul and I definitely do not want to confuse him with what I am teaching. You are correct, he will find one or two strategies that he likes and that he will use and others that he will not use or not like and that is ok, but at this point we need him to understand how each of the strategies work so that he can decide if that is a strategy he wants to use or not. We will do some more work with this strategy in class so hopefully he will feel less frustrated with it and can hopefully be comfortable enough with it to explain it to you too.
Again, I apologize that homework was so frustrating tonight. And please if this should happen again, please stop after a half hour put it away and send me a message. I will reteach the next day. Homework is not intended to ruining a family evening.
**RESPONSE FROM TEACHER**
1st, immediate response: Thank you for sharing your frustration. Please, take his paper and put it away. He is done with it. I will respond with more but homework should not lead to this much frustration.
2nd, next day response: I appreciate you letting me know Raul was struggling with the mental math strategy, and completely understand your frustration. At no point do I ever want homework to get to this point for any of my students or their parents. If this should happen again and he brings home something that he isn't understanding after you have worked on it for at most a half hour, send me an email, let me know you have tried, but he needs more help on it in class. Initial the page so I remember when I am recording the work that we talked about it and I will help him on it more at school. He will not be in trouble for the assignment being incomplete, he tried, but needs more help, and that's ok.
I will try to address some of your concerns on common core, but we can also talk a bit more about them at conference too. I do understand your frustration with all the different strategies and how they are very different than how we were taught to do math using one algorithm. We will get to the algorithm. Since the beginning of the year we have been encouraging the students to memorize their multiplication math facts as they were suppose to know them at the end of third grade. Most of the students didn't, so we have been doing almost weekly fact tests to monitor student progress in learning those facts. Along with that we have been teaching different strategies that a student can use to solve a multiplication problem. Personally I agree with you mental math or compensation is not the strategy I would choose to use, however it is a strategy students need to be familiar with based on what we are required to teach. Yesterday when I taught the lesson most of the students, Raul included, seemed to be doing fairly well with understanding how to use the strategy so I did not for see a problem in sending half the page for homework last night and the rest tonight. I was not in the room today during math as I was pulled for a meeting so I did not review it in class today, which may be part of the problem and frustration. For that I apologize. It is my intent to send homework that the students can do independently or with minimal parent help. I will check in with him tomorrow and see if we can work past his frustration.
As far as using different methods you are correct, the point of common core is to teach students there are multiple ways to solve a math problem and to teach them to think their way through a problem not just rely on always being able to plug numbers into an algorithm. After we teach a few different strategies, we will teach the algorithm. We teach the algorithm last because we want students to understand why the algorithm works. If they understand the longer process of breaking it apart into groups they understand why the algorithm works, why we carry numbers and that what we are carrying is really a ten or a hundred, not a one.
I know math is an area at is harder for Raul and I definitely do not want to confuse him with what I am teaching. You are correct, he will find one or two strategies that he likes and that he will use and others that he will not use or not like and that is ok, but at this point we need him to understand how each of the strategies work so that he can decide if that is a strategy he wants to use or not. We will do some more work with this strategy in class so hopefully he will feel less frustrated with it and can hopefully be comfortable enough with it to explain it to you too.
Again, I apologize that homework was so frustrating tonight. And please if this should happen again, please stop after a half hour put it away and send me a message. I will reteach the next day. Homework is not intended to ruining a family evening.
