OK, that’s a big title, and I’m not a researcher so I really don’t know the answer to the current state of math in this country. Or in Tennessee. Or even at our school. But I do know the current state of math with the kids in my classroom.
I really thought we were doing great. I have kids from all 6th grade teams, and even though some of them are a little slow with math (and I’m talking about mental math here), I didn’t have any real issues until today.
We have added, subtracted, and multiplied with little problems. Today, we dove into the Wide, Wide World of Division. Not just any division. Division involving decimals. Suddenly, the world stopped spinning on its axis and everything in my classroom went flying around the room much like that tornado scene in the Wizard of Oz.
I had to rethink my strategy, and I had to rethink it quickly.
I decided to stand in a chair and talk to them from my soap box. It got their attention at least. I talked to them about how we have crippled them from an early age by allowing them to use their calculator for everything. I talked about how the state of TN was going to surprise them on this year’s TCAP by adding a lot of information on the test that their teachers won’t have had time to cover. I talked to them about the fact that graduation requirements just increased from 3 maths to 4 and from one high stakes test to 4.
And I talked to them about how they needed to know that no matter how well they could use a calculator, if they didn’t understand how to interpret a word problem they would probably get it wrong. I threw up 6 word problems on their screens and asked by a show hands how many would multiply and how many would divide. Nearly everyone in every class got every problem wrong.
I asked for a show of hands in all my 6th grade classes to see how many kids would admit that they struggled with multiplying and dividing if they didn’t have a calculator. I counted. I did the math. 80% of my kids raised their hands.
Kids in elementary grades must learn how to think in abstract math terms. They need to learn how to struggle and fail and get back up and struggle again and again until they win.
What is the current state of math in my classes? Rough. I’m not a math teacher. I don’t know all the cutesy, artsy stuff math teachers do with manipulatives and games and songs to help their kids “get it.”
Ask me tomorrow what the state of math is in my classes. I’ll guarantee you it will be improving.
What about you? What’s the state of math where you are?