Education "horror stories"

When parents of public school students deal with the education system they can get into frustrating situations. Sometimes they think they are the only ones having this problem. In fact, many families may have faced the same situation. Hopefully, by posting some true stories, other parents won't feel alone and they can feel more confident about confronting their school officials.
Here is a true story.


The Beginning of the End of Math Education
by Mère Fâchée

In the mid 1990’s, my oldest daughter was in 4th grade in an elementary school in a large district in south King County. She was struggling with her math homework and asked for help. It turned out to be long division, a three-digit number divided by a one-digit number. I began to help her by covering up the last of the three digits in the three-digit number with my finger and asked, “How many times does nine go into twenty-nine?”

She shocked me with her response. “I don’t know. I forgot my sheet at school?”

“What sheet is that?” I said.

She explained that the teacher had given them a chart – zero through nine across the top and also down the side, with the multiplication products filled in. The students were not required to learn their multiplication tables. They were allowed to use the chart as a crutch, with the idea that they would eventually learn by use of the chart. Learning by osmosis, I guess.

This was not just this teacher’s weakness. When I brought up the subject, she said they no longer required the students to learn their multiplication tables. It was the way the new curriculum was designed.

I remember drilling multiplication tables in class in 3rd grade when I was a child. Without that basic skill, long division is difficult at best. Moving on to higher math such as algebra and calculus would be impossible. Try figuring out least common multiples, least common denominators, or greatest common factors with just a multiplication chart or a calculator. Lack of facility with this very elementary skill is crippling.