It’s off to a modest start, but I’ve just started a new website, MathDoctor.net. Obviously, I still have a lot of work to do, but I hope this new site meets a need.
Undoubtedly, other parents have encountered Common Core standards. Of course, if you listen to the conspiracy buffs, Common Core is to blame for everything that’s wrong with education. I don’t go quite that far, but I think I have identified a serious problem with Common Core. There is a certain amount of material that every student is expected to master. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that principle, and I agree with it completely.
The problem with the concept is that every teacher at a given grade level is expected to teach those concepts, whether or not those concepts are within that particular teacher’s area of expertise. The teacher is in an unenviable position: He or she is presented with a certain set of material and is expected to teach it in a particular way, even if teaching slightly different material in a slightly different way would have a better outcome. It’s another case of social problems being “solved” by taking discretion away from the very people who are best able to solve the problem. In short, the teacher isn’t really allowed to use his or her expertise to teach. Instead, he or she is asked to carry out directives handed down from politicians and bureaucrats.
So it’s not really the teacher’s fault, but the end result is that the teacher delivers poor instruction. My son is facing this as he is expected to master the material that bureaucrats have mandated as being required for sixth graders. And he’s expected to learn it in the manner dictated by those bureaucrats. The net result is that he’s not learning the material unless I step in and teach it to him.
Some students undoubtedly thrive with the mandated instructional methods. But not all of them do. My son, even though he has a firm understanding of mathematical concepts that are far above his grade level, was not understanding instruction about elementary concepts, even though he had mastered the actual material years earlier. He needed an approach different from the one mandated by Common Core, and I stepped in to provide it.
Since my son didn’t understand the material until I explained it, I assume that there are others in the same situation. And since I need to explain it anyway, little additional effort is required to put my explanations on video and make them available to others, and that’s exactly what I decided to do. The videos themselves are hosted on YouTube, and they’re all available at my new site, MathDoctor.net. For now, there’s just one video, but as the school year progresses, I plan to create a comprehensive resource that will be useful for parents and students.
Not every student will thrive with my approach. Some of them will prefer the mandated format, and if they do, they should continue to follow it. Common Core works for them, and that’s a good thing for them.
But for those for whom Common Core is not working, I encourage you to seek out other approaches. Perhaps MathDoctor.net will be the approach that works for your student. Or perhaps it will be something very different. But one size does not fit all, and it is my hope that I’ll provide instruction of a size that will be suitable for at least some.
This introductory video for parents explains more:
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