Have you Finished your Homework, Mom?

The debate over math curricula continues to grow in Canada, with  Maclean’s magazine now piping in.  

Maclean’s notes that over 30% of Canadians are now formally supplementing their children’s education outside of the school system.   Is the “new” public school math curriculum part of the problem?  The people at the Western Initiative for Strengthening Education in Math have some interesting things to say on the subject.

To paraphrase from the article, Anna Stokke, a math professor at the University of Winnipeg warns us: “If they (students) don’t know their math facts, they won’t be able to do fractions, which means they won’t be able to handle algebra, which means calculus is out, which means they can’t be engineers, doctors, pharmacists, economists, programmers, or any discipline that requires math, including skilled tradeswork.”

We think this is a very healthy debate that educators need to have and parents need to pay attention to.  The critical importance of mastering basic math concepts at an early age is common ground, but there is a real diversity of opinion on how to achieve it.