The Federalist – Jennifer Doverspike
“I’ve seen articles before about how we teach math in America. I’ve seen memes lampooning Common Core problem-solving. But I never made the effort to put the concepts together until that day, the day I watched my daughter gleefully and voluntarily work her way through a Kumon math book. I watched her, so thrilled to do worksheet after worksheet, and realized, “Baby, one day you’re going to hate this.” So, as I’m wont to do, I began to fret. Some would say it’s too early to fret. She won’t be beginning formal math in school for a few more years. Who cares what curriculum they use? Who cares how they teach her? She likes math enough to seek out how to do addition problems—she’s obviously a “math person.” Right? A few years ago, I wrote about the pillars of literacy. One of the key takeaways in teaching literacy is that it’s not all about phonics and rote memorization of sight words, although they too, have a role. Imaginative play, for example, is a key component of literacy because it increases situational vocabulary, and teaches that stories have a beginning, middle, and end. The last thing I’d want is to have my daughter’s love of reading beat out of her through endless phonics drills and spelling tests — which is why I choose her education based on the amount of play her curriculum allows.”(more)