It is "Everday Math" and it teaches what is called a spiral learning. Some wing dings came up with this new method of teaching because it is to help children who have a had time understanding math, the problem is the children do not learn math or the concept of it from this "Everday Math". I just do not understand why we as a people can not understand that there is nothing new under the sun. We already new how to teach math but to justify are very excistance we need to keep coming up with new solutions to old problems

More than likely the math is "Everday Math" which is what is trying to be put in place in our school and the parents are fighting it - it is horrible. Nothing like wanting your kids to be "average" when it comes to computation skills, and when it gets difficult just reach for the calculator. It is big in "at risk\NCLB" schools as it brings the grades up, but doesn't drill the fundamentals.

Teri41, I don't know what math program your school is using, but I remember the concern from when my son was in elementary school and the district used this awful program of touchy-feely math called Arithmetwists. My son was bright and I felt like I had to reteach with flashcards and anything else when he got home. Perhaps you can talk to the teacher to find out what reinforcement they are using in addition to the calculator.

I think once a student learns how to do the problem, the calculator frees them to focus on deeper meaning. My first grader is fascinated by a dollar store calculator pen that I bought. She sits in the car and adds all sorts of numbers together and has begun to understand multiplication as it relates to addition.

Years ago, calculators were big office machines. And then they were smaller but very expensive electronic devices. Now they are ubiquitous. They are used by everyone and children are taught how to use them too. Children are also taught how to use computers and the internet. But I haven't heard of anyone being taught how to use a slide rule in decades.

They are also useful for kids with learning disabilities. they can still do the math even though they can't memorize those darn math facts. In the day of clunky adding machines, a child with trouble memorizing facts would be left in the dust at a very early age.

It is true that many people feel those math facts are no longer emphasized enough. If a child has them down cold, they can understand the patterns of math and see the path to the correct answer much faster. Many people in our school district supplement the school's math program on their own with extra work sheets and flash cards, or sign their kids up for private instruction like Kumon.