Most students in the United States are failing at basic math. Maybe that's because we are teaching it all wrong. The New York Times article, "Singapore Math Adopted in More US Schools", talks about a method of teaching math that some schools across the country are now using. This teaching method called Singapore Math is based off the national math system in Singapore. Students in Singapore continually rank at the top on international math exams. Singapore Math teaches concepts at a much slower pace than we are used to. Students could spend an entire week on just the number 1! But the slow pace allows children to get a deeper understanding of math concepts and will help them master more difficult math much faster, saving time in the future.
So why aren't we already using these teaching methods? Money. Singapore Math can be expensive. With the costs of textbooks, new work books every year, and training teachers. One school district spent over $150,000 on textbooks and training materials. Training teachers seems to be somewhat of a chore, as well. Since most teacher's don't have a strong background and understanding of math, it becomes hard to train them to teach it this way.
So.. it's not a sure fix. But is a little money and extra effort from teacher's too much to ask for when we are talking about our children's futures?
Blumik. November 25, 2007. Calculator. Retrieved on October 2, 2010 from http://www.sxc.hu/photo/910922.
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