Too Formal Too Soon.
"The new developmental research shows that this historical consensus about children was just plain wrong. Children are not blank tablets or unbridled appetites or even intuitive seers. Babies and young children think, observe and reason. They consider evidence, draw conclusions, do experiments, solve problems, and search for the truth." From "The Scientist in the Crib"
One of the things that always infuriated me was to observe children counting on their fingers when asked to perform a simple addition. It revealed so much about their lack of understanding of number. Like Jung these children have never really understood what numbers are. The root cause is almost always to be found in the first few years of schooling when children are exposed to formal math activities (sums) before they have grasped the underlying concepts.
In many countries including the USA and UK the majority of schools follow a prescribed curriculum that is subject to regular testing. Results are made public and the pressure this generates for schools has led to an increase in the practice of 'teaching to the test'. Coaching test related skills has generally become more important than creating an environment where children can 'solve problems' and 'search for the truth themselves'.
Some countries have chosen to buck this historic trend. Notably Wales, the smallest country within the UK, and South Africa who have boldly discarded the constraints of a prescriptive approach to teaching and learning in favor of a child centered philosophy.
Numbers pose a real problem for young children. The reason being that number is an abstract concept. What does this mean? Take any number you like, say for example 'five'. If I were to ask you to go and fetch me 'five' you would naturally respond, "Five what?" Numbers only exist in relation to something concrete... 5 gold rings, 6 French hens, or whatever.
Children are unable to perform simple additions to ten because they cannot perceive '5' as an entity in itself only as a series of individual objects. As one exasperated adult pointed out, their teachers were unable to help because...'they didn't understand why we don't understand.'
There are many superbly gifted practitioners in our schools but from the weight of my 37 year's experience I would say the majority of teachers of elementary and primary school children are not entirely comfortable with math themselves.
A confession - I was one of them - once! I hated math with a passion. Something I now trace back directly to the way I was taught by a succession of teachers who really didn't understand or care why I was so hopelessly lost. But, if I was to realize my ambition to become a teacher myself, I knew I had to confront my fears and master a subject that had caused me nightmares as a child. One thought motivated me more than any other, I was determined that any child under my care would not suffer as I had done.
This was the beginning of a journey that led directly to my passion for discovering the most effective teaching strategies based on research into the brain and specifically how it impacts the learning process. (See footnote)
Imagine my amazement when the realization dawned on me that I actually enjoyed math. I can still recall the day I finally grasped Pythagoras' Theorem. Geometry had always been an alien world from which I was permanently excluded so while this revelation was hardly a 'road to Damascus' experience it certainly felt like it to me. I was also overcome with anger for the unnecessary indignities and humiliations I had suffered because nobody had cared enough to understand why I didn't understand.
No more boring and repetitive worksheets! With evangelical fervor I set about attempting to transform the pedagogical climate in the school. All I achieved was to create an atmosphere of apprehension and panic in the staffroom. "What are we supposed to do if you take away our worksheets?" was a common response. Matters came to a head when one teacher openly challenged me, "If you want us to teach math in a more child friendly way then why don't you provide us with a program to do it?"
She was right. I was in danger of creating a black hole in the math teaching firmament. People need clarity, direction and a structure to work within if they are to achieve their goals. So I set out to write a program that would reflect the way young children learn best and would provide a clear framework for teachers and parents to follow.. It took several years of intensive research and hard work to perfect but at last I could say to my staff, "Here is the model I want you to follow."
Since retiring I've dedicated my time to ensuring that children like yours do not look back at their experience in school with a mixture of anger and regret.
Next we'll look at why your young child must be exposed to this specific learning style if he is to understand math and not end up counting on his fingers. And also, why it doesn't matter what curriculum or prescribed math course your child is obliged to follow.
Searching for reliable primary school maths enrichment school? Drop by eimaths.com now.
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