Look at that picture, then look at the following video:

[G+_George Kozi]

Look at that picture, then look at the following video:

 

Now, you may start being worried. And by the way, well done Bangalore!

(sorry the link did not work .... it's fixed now)

 

Originally shared by April Smiley

 

Uhmmmmm...

 

I don't even see how they did this.  My kid looked at this like what??? and he plays Academic Games.  

 

Dan Finkelstein Mercy Mensah Lamont Dozier, Jr. Diana Prince 

[G+_Jacob Fulbright]

But how...

[G+_Tim Payne]

It's how you count change from a cash register. Congrats, your kids are being trained to work at Target.

[G+_Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ]

Ummmm.... my order runs 28 Universities, 85 high schools and 30 grammar schools... this is NOT the way we teach math. 

[G+_Rick Moore]

It looks like they are counting how many units there are between 12 and 32. Use your fingers and toes.

[G+_Bill Brandt]

Rick Moore No.  They arriving at the answer by going to the nearest 5, 10, etc. and then adding up the differences.  These quicker calculations are great, and most of the kids you would have called a "math whiz" in your class know how to do this sort of thing instinctively.  Having said that, the example here is horrible.  For starters, the example is not a difficult calculation.  If it were, it would make more sense to take this pattern:

 

32 is 2 more than 30

12 is 2 more than 10

30 and 10 differ by 20.  And the additional part of the two 2s cancel each other.  

 

If the second number were 14, the calculation wouldn't be as straight forward.  This is where the walk to a close easy number works best.  You would have a 2 and a 4 which subtract to 2, and you only have to take a half second to realize it should be subtracted.  As an alternative, you could take the 14 and say it differs from 15 by 1.  The  30-15 is 15 and the other parts you have to deal with are a 1 (15-14) and a 2 (32-30).  Since your calculation is short on both sides, they need to be added.  When you first think about it, it seems like more work.  When you learn to do it, it makes calculations in your head quite quick.

 

It looks like they are trying to get at something like this, but they are really messing it up and probably doing more harm than good.

[G+_Shaun Watson]

This entirely misrepresents the second method.  The correct use of 'counting up'  would be simply add twenty. I wonder how the child would approach 20,000 - 19,999? Also the image is clearly manipulative, a child able to form digits of even size and spacing  would be of an appropriate age/ability to draw on a variety of methods to solve any particular problem in the most efficient way.  They would also be expected to solve far harder problems than the example given here. For instance in the UK an average 10 year old (which the handwriting is indicative of)  may be expected to solve 203.64 -197.29 for instance

[G+_Randy Hudson]

The reason my phone (which I nearly always have handy) has a built in calculator is so I don't have to do math in my head.

[G+_Randy Hudson]

I never suggested that we don't teach kids math. I merely suggest that we live in a modern age. We have tools. Use them.?

[G+_Randy Hudson]

I'm sure your probably right about the calculators Kenneth Smith, but I think it's wrong. Most public schools don't require you to test proficiency at building a fire using a flint, because matches were invented. To prevent the use of commonly available tools is absurd at best. I can buy a pocket calculator on any street corner for less than $2.

 

What's wrong with the picture of public education and government interference? Isn't it easier to ask what's not wrong?

[G+_Roland Fox]

This method looks like something Intel came up with to justify the new generation of "Common Core" CPUs; fast enough to handle all the extra AddOp instructions.