Kriston, et al, you might find this interesting; right now in our elementary school system there is a struggle between folks who have instituted a new system of math based on the whys and what fors behind math (pattern recognition, estimation, etc.), and parents who feel their kids are not getting enough ROTE math work to reinforce concepts. Really, I think we are lucky they are at least trying to go broad, and when Dh and I feel ds8 needs more rote work on an area, we cover that at home. - The repetitive work is the easiest part to work on at home, imo.
I mean literally I see ds8 coming home with work dealing with concepts applicable to computer science, science in general, pure math, (math for funs sake!) etc. In 1st grade he was inspired to make up a game involving tallying up various truck types as we drive. We still enjoy playing this one on the road together, and the accompanying discussion of why in this area or city there might be more of one type... Maybe the whole system will be a bust, but I see my son still enjoying math, so I think that is ok.
Last edited by chris1234; 08/08/08 03:16 AM. Reason: typo
