Let’s see if this helps…
Have you looked into your child’s textbook (and/or their computer screen) while they are attempting to do math? If you can get your eyes to focus, your brain might be able to follow but the distractions are endless and the flow of information is anything but logical. In fact, it leaves me begging the question, “Why must we take the simplicity out of something so beautiful as a written mathematical equation and turn it into a cornucopia of chaos?”
Yes, a cornucopia of chaos. Where did the simple, concrete logic go? After all, isn’t that what math is? Simple ideas detailed out in black and white. No distractions, no hidden agendas. Just good old fashion time-tested logic; concrete logic that is black and white.
Have you looked into your child’s textbook (and/or their computer screen) while they are attempting to do math? If you can get your eyes to focus, your brain might be able to follow but the distractions are endless and the flow of information is anything but logical. In fact, it leaves me begging the question, “Why must we take the simplicity out of something so beautiful as a written mathematical equation and turn it into a cornucopia of chaos?”
Yes, a cornucopia of chaos. Where did the simple, concrete logic go? After all, isn’t that what math is? Simple ideas detailed out in black and white. No distractions, no hidden agendas. Just good old fashion time-tested logic; concrete logic that is black and white.
If you know me well, you know that I LOVE math. It was not always easy for me but because it was logical and clear, I eventually mastered it. With that mastering, not only did my self-confidence ascend, a whole new world opened up for me. A world that can be figure out regardless of the way (or method) one chooses to unscramble it. You see, some of us might take different steps to get to an end but in math the answer is the answer and when the answer is achieved, no matter how it is achieved, everyone is on the on the same page. Math is unifying and it is universal. It allows for individuality while bringing us together in the end because, well, the answers are the answer; the answers are concrete; the answers are black and white.
But now it seems that math is just a picture story filled with colors and distractions. At what point will we realize that all of this chaos is only confusing our children. I firmly believe that without all these distractions, the teacher is able to utilize different methods to achieve the final answer without distracting the children from their primary source of instruction, the teacher.
But now it seems that math is just a picture story filled with colors and distractions. At what point will we realize that all of this chaos is only confusing our children. I firmly believe that without all these distractions, the teacher is able to utilize different methods to achieve the final answer without distracting the children from their primary source of instruction, the teacher.
Furthermore, not only are we distracting our kids, we seem to focus more on ‘what is on the test’ than we do the actual concepts. Do we actually think that the ‘tip for the test’ will help a future anesthesiologist determine how to calculate the correct amount of medication to administer to a patient or an engineer to determine the proper force bearing on a bridge?
Moreover, do we not think that all of this additional space in the textbooks (and/or websites) cost money? Money that today’s schools do not have; money that goes straight to the publishers that are linked to the tests that the books are ‘prepping’ our children for. Are we really helping the kids with these new methods or are we helping the corporations that create them?
Since our family’s focus is on the children and the knowledge that they absorb during our instruction, we thought it imperative to look not only at the content of the book they will be using but the book’s format as well. It is for this reason that our family has chosen Saxon Math. As we researched math programs, we found that Saxon Math has a strong reputation for being easily understood and applied; both from the child’s perspective and the teacher’s perspective. It works in a logical and repetitious manner to ensure that a child learns the importance of the right answer, the final concrete answer that is.
We chose to purchase all of the books from the 1990’s prior to the sale of Saxon’s company to Harcourt Publishers in 2004 in order to ensure that John Saxon’s philosophies would be followed. One by one as the books began to arrive, I was not only pleased with their content; I was amazed by their colors – black and white. Now that is the beauty of math!
Since our family’s focus is on the children and the knowledge that they absorb during our instruction, we thought it imperative to look not only at the content of the book they will be using but the book’s format as well. It is for this reason that our family has chosen Saxon Math. As we researched math programs, we found that Saxon Math has a strong reputation for being easily understood and applied; both from the child’s perspective and the teacher’s perspective. It works in a logical and repetitious manner to ensure that a child learns the importance of the right answer, the final concrete answer that is.
We chose to purchase all of the books from the 1990’s prior to the sale of Saxon’s company to Harcourt Publishers in 2004 in order to ensure that John Saxon’s philosophies would be followed. One by one as the books began to arrive, I was not only pleased with their content; I was amazed by their colors – black and white. Now that is the beauty of math!