I'm a bit conflicted about all of this 'new' stuff. I suppose that it has it's place like anything else, but I think that parental involvement/support is less likely for ways that just don't make sense to them.
I love math and am not too shabby at it - I get it, much the same way my son does. I hate to pigeonhole him into doing math in a way that doesn't come naturally to him, because that's where the errors come in. Once he was shown the traditional algorithm (with proper explanation of what's what by DH, because I couldn't seem to explain it correctly), he got it. He still does math his own way in his head and for the most part is accurate, but he understands how to do it on paper now, too. His problem is in keeping everything lined up properly (turning the paper sideways is very helpful).
When he came home with the lattice method and partial products, there was so much writing on the paper that I couldn't make heads or tails of it....and DSs handwriting is an issue I'm pretty sure I've mentioned here before
. DS will learn the other methods as they're taught because at least the students are being told to use whichever method works for and is easiest for them, which I totally support.
Glad to know I'm not really as old as I was beginning to feel...
