An F for Math

W. went to Sylvan on Saturday for his assessment. Mr. Schmitty took him because when it comes down to W., well, you just never know how he'll be. He might be wonderful, which he was, or he might be completely unmanageable. I've been so emotionally distraught lately, so dad going was the best idea.

The counselor at Sylvan said W. did really, REALLY well and that he is VERY smart. This I know. He is VERY smart that is why it is so frustrating and upsetting to see him having such a hard time with his schoolwork lately.

I am still looking for a psychologist. Unfortunately the one I found did not seem to ever be in the office. Red flag. So I am researching others, checking that they participate in our insurance, confirm they are taking on new patients, and hoping that the next appointment they have is a little sooner than W.'s 18th birthday.

Now I would like to hit on one of the apparent problems W. is having in school. Math. The Math program in our school is absolutely horrendous. It's called Trailblazers. I understand the whole concept behind their way of teaching, I really do. The creators believe that every child learns things differently, that their way of thinking differs from one to the next. For example, I, like many of you probably did, learned how to multiply by memorizing the times tables. According to the idea of Trailblazers, not all children can memorize, so multiplying is difficult for some. They teach different ways to compute the math problems all resulting in finding the answer. I get that.

What I don't understand is how teaching different ways at the same time isn't confusing in itself. I also don't understand how concentrating on finding estimates for an answer is better than teaching how to find the exact answer. This is something they do quite often. I also am completely beside myself when I see that one day they are working on 3 digit addition, the next day fractions, the next multiplication, the next division, and so on and so on. And what ever happened to starting on page one on the first day of school and proceeding page by page until you get to the end? No, they will be on page 10 one day, page 211 the next, then back to page 76.

Why does the Math have to change anyway? I learned it just fine. But now I can't even help my son because if I try to show him my way he gets totally mixed up. It's a losing battle.

Here is an example of a division problem my son had the other night. The first way is the way I learned how to divide. The second is the way they have taught him.

Now my way, is more compact and takes a lot less time. You need to know your times tables, which seems to be a problem for a program that doesn't teach basic skills. I use flash cards and such at home to teach the times tables, but if he isn't using them in school on a regular basis, he doesn't seem to retain it. I do as much as I can. I am a very hands on mom with schoolwork, but I must ask, what are the teachers being paid to do if I'm teaching him the basics?

The Trailblazers way. Quite interesting and a heck of a lot more time is taken to come up with the same answer I did. Do you see how the first is 100? I asked W. how he knows what to use. He said, "Anything that is lower than the number 786, just pick any number." HUH? Eeeny, Meeney, Miney, Mo?! Hence where I used the number 8 to give you an example. Does anyone else see what I do? Please don't tell me I'm just stressing about nothing.

I have heard that by the time the kids hit 8th grade they are lost. The teachers even will comment and roll their eyes ~ just as long as they are out of earshot of the principal, who is the ninny one that got this program into the curriculum in the first place. Does anyone else use this new age way of doing Math? Trailblazers, remember the name, if it comes to your school, boycott!

You have been warned!