In a way I agree that the concepts taught the new way are important ones. In fact in the primary grades I and many others used those methods.
But in the end there is the real world. So many students simply get lost in the maze of the new math that they end up thinking they don't understand something that could be done simply and quickly as in your example above of 32-12.
There is a fine line to walk unless the "old" way is presented so the "new" way challenged ones can get it and deal with it in real life.
Teachers don't mind standards, but they want "good" standards. Actually it is the testing they are demanding that is going to be destructive.
Some of the best students are not good test-takers. They read too much into the questions, they over think them.
With these new standards the non-educators are moving in with an overwhelming number of new tests to give. There will now be testing most of the year at many grade levels...EVEN Pre-K and Kindergarten.
AND that testing is not teacher made testing...it is testing made in secret by conglomerates like Pearson and graded secretly as well. If parents want to see a test to understand why a child fails a test....they might as well hire a lawyer up front.
The old way is still going to be needed in real life. Many children with disabilities can grasp the concrete thinking in involved in 32-12. But they can not dissect the problem like the new math requires.
What happened to individualized teaching? We were always taught to take the child where he is and then take him as far as he can go. Some can go a long way, some can not.
Arne can NOT just magically make all children capable of the same degree of learning. He is not God though he thinks so.
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