School Math Curriculum Russian, Singapore, American?
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Hi. Thank you all for your help. She is 6. Not sure how good she is compared to peers and she is my oldest so I don't have much previous experience myself there either. Doesn't seem right that a teacher wouldn't accept a certain style of solution. I think the more ways to face a problem the better. It says more about the teachers themselves than about the kids.
You can teach your kiddo the basics of Singapore math at home for free or for cheap via an in-home program.
Russian math books that I've seen are very terse, and not very palatable unless you have a natural intuition for maths.
I'm not sure about teaching style, but whatever they're doing does seem to work though. Russia still ranks within the top three for the math olympiad. Russian universities also place very well in the ICPC, and those problems require a good bit of creativity to solve. So, I don't think it's the case that Russian students are studying to the test in a way the way that you might think.
I recommend you checking out Beestar.org. It is an online math program that uses adaptive learning technology to tailor practice materials to each student's skill level. This personalized approach can help students progress at their own pace and focus on areas where they need more practice. It also provides weekly exercises and quizzes that encourage students to engage in regular practice. Consistent practice is crucial for reinforcing learning and improving retention.
If you don't have time to tutor her, yourself, and you don't mind more screen time, Khan Academy is decent for a self-motivated kid. You'll need at least cursory supervision or a nanny computer program to make sure she doesn't go off youtubing instead.
DS is learning Python from Khan Academy and I use it to keep my twins at least at parity with their Asian counterparts.
Unless you are in a major city (or area with a lot of Indians or East Asians) and can access really high-end cram schools, most of the Kumon-esque afterschool programs are garbage.
Sadly, we live in America, not Singapore, and the instructors at those franchises (in most places) are just temps reading from a manual. Our society doesn't have a pipeline of maths students/instructors/tutors like you'll find in Asia. At least not outside of heavily Asian enclaves or big tech-oriented city centers.
Hi. Thank you all for your help. She is 6. Not sure how good she is compared to peers and she is my oldest so I don't have much previous experience myself there either. Doesn't seem right that a teacher wouldn't accept a certain style of solution. I think the more ways to face a problem the better. It says more about the teachers themselves than about the kids.
No, the teacher needs the class to learn how it is taught. Early math is a series of steps. You child needs to learn the steps in order. It's from these steps that the teacher builds up to higher math functions. It is like the older students must show their calculations for their answer on an exam. Following steps or logic is important.
Don't fight with the teacher in the first grade over math assignments! It's your first kid, not your second or third, so learn the ropes first. You will not win! You'll be know as the difficult parent of the school.
If you don't have time to tutor her, yourself, and you don't mind more screen time, Khan Academy is decent for a self-motivated kid. You'll need at least cursory supervision or a nanny computer program to make sure she doesn't go off youtubing instead.
DS is learning Python from Khan Academy and I use it to keep my twins at least at parity with their Asian counterparts.
Unless you are in a major city (or area with a lot of Indians or East Asians) and can access really high-end cram schools, most of the Kumon-esque afterschool programs are garbage.
Sadly, we live in America, not Singapore, and the instructors at those franchises (in most places) are just temps reading from a manual. Our society doesn't have a pipeline of maths students/instructors/tutors like you'll find in Asia. At least not outside of heavily Asian enclaves or big tech-oriented city centers.
Every city of any size will have math talent willing to tutor. The basics of Singapore math are learnable by any willing adult or teen in about 2 hours bundle that with what they mean by concrete, pictorial and abstract and it's off to the races.
No, the teacher needs the class to learn how it is taught. Early math is a series of steps. You child needs to learn the steps in order. It's from these steps that the teacher builds up to higher math functions. It is like the older students must show their calculations for their answer on an exam. Following steps or logic is important.
Don't fight with the teacher in the first grade over math assignments! It's your first kid, not your second or third, so learn the ropes first. You will not win! You'll be know as the difficult parent of the school.
I get that logic and it makes sense for most kids. The same is also very, very limiting and frustrating for many kids with legit math talents.
For this reason most countries for about the last 125 years have poached math talent out of regulars into talent centers - Hungary, Romania, Russia, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, China etc. all have a play on this.
As a kid a Hungarian guy who once worked for my wife wanted to be a doctor. He excelled in math was prodded to take some tests. Before he knew it he was swept off to a Gymnazium (SP?) high school that was literally 25% foreign language, 25% IT and 50% IT related math an nearly nothing else.
I get that logic and it makes sense for most kids. The same is also very, very limiting and frustrating for many kids with legit math talents.
For this reason most countries for about the last 125 years have poached math talent out of regulars into talent centers - Hungary, Romania, Russia, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, China etc. all have a play on this.
As a kid a Hungarian guy who once worked for my wife wanted to be a doctor. He excelled in math was prodded to take some tests. Before he knew it he was swept off to a Gymnazium (SP?) high school that was literally 25% foreign language, 25% IT and 50% IT related math an nearly nothing else.
It's very limiting and frustrating for many kids with legit math or verbal talents.
The US education system is not based on results. It's based on educational fads or trends. "What's the new hot idea?" Frankly, I think it's the worse of capitalism by increasing profits with new textbook sales based on today's very sketchy research.
BTW - Many teachers know better but have no say in lesson plans or textbooks used.
Give your child as many tools as possible and integrate it into his school education. When my children learned to read, phonics was out of fashion! It was all sight reading. I taught them phonics at home. So is anyone here surprised by: https://www.city-data.com/forum/educ...ores-have.html.
Read the "What your child needs to know" book series. https://singinganewsong.com/what-you...s-book-review/. Make sure your child is on track, and if so, jump ahead! You don't need any fancy program in the early grade. Start to reinforce simple math facts (1+1, 1+2. 1+3 & 2-1, 3-1, 4-1, etc). Hopefully your child has learned multiplication by 1's, 2's, 5's and 10's. Get all the basics down.
Further on - your child's ability to do advance math depends on his brain development. Some children's brains are ready in third grade and some are ready in fifth grade. Developmental brain dynamics of numerical and arithmetic abilities. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41539-021-00099-3.
So my two cents is we know for a fact that math and language skills are connected in the brain - start your child on an online language program. And, we know that music and math are connected in the brain. Exposure to classical music and instrumental lessons helps will math ability. Just keep it all in perspective - language and music skills is not going to make an average child into a math genius no matter how many times you use a foreign word or how much Mozart your child hears.
Last edited by YorktownGal; 08-15-2023 at 02:26 PM..
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by YorktownGal
It's very limiting and frustrating for many kids with legit math or verbal talents.
... Give your child as many tools as possible and integrate it into his school education. ...
Further on - your child's ability to do advance math depends on his brain development. ... So my two cents is we know for a fact that math and language skills are connected in the brain - start your child on an online language program. And, we know that music and math are connected in the brain. Exposure to classical music and instrumental lessons helps will math ability.
Just keep it all in perspective - language and music skills is not going to make an average child into a math genius no matter how many times you use a foreign word or how much Mozart your child hears.
Stronger correlation to math, If your child competitively performs Classical Music (rather than just hearing).
Enjoy the daily podcast "From-the-Top" and your kid might be motivated to keep up the pace. https://www.daily-joy.org/
BTW: we used Saxon Math in our generation, but would use Singapore math today, or just move to Singapore and have my kids attend a highly competitive public primary school. (this worked for several friends & coworkers. Their kids learned a LOT (including performing classical music + 3 languages). They got free rides to college of choice upon return to USA.)
Location: Was Midvalley Oregon; Now Eastside Seattle area
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We used wooden blocks and abacus. The blocks was better because he could actually build something from the blocks/Legos rather than to use them as symbology.
Other than that, he was a genius at Lake Wobegon, Oregon.
YMMV
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