High School History Textbook
Basic Math Skills Neglected In Schools
Quick! What is 9 x 12? If you learned it like I did, without even thinking, the number 108 pops into your head. In fact, whenever you hear nine and twelve mentioned together, two numbers automatically come to mind-21 and 108. The first is the sum of the numbers mentioned, and the last is their product. Because of the commutative properties of addition and multiplication, it does not matter in which order they appear; the sum, and the product will always be the same. Not so for subtraction and division, but that’s another story.
Nowadays, math is taught differently. Memorization of such facts is not encouraged, and in some cases, arriving at the correct answer isn’t even important, but high school graduates need solid math skills, whether headed to college, or to work, according to the National Mathematics Advisory Panel.
Why have teaching methods changed? I have my theories, and most of them center around the sales of text books to schools. When you teach facts-the very definition of which is always true; unchangeable-you need not buy new textbooks very often.
New math notwithstanding, memorization is still best when it comes to basic arithmetic skills such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of small numbers. And it’s that instantaneous knowledge of the interaction between small numbers that enables us to tackle the larger, more complex ones. Without command of the times tables, attempting to solve number problems will only lead students to discouragement, poor performance, and sometimes drop out, and even failure.
How many times in a day do we use these skills in real life? You balance your checkbook, measure a room, double a recipe, figure your miles per gallon, calculate cost comparisons while shopping, and more. Hot dogs come in packages of ten, and buns are sold in eight-packs. How do you deal with that to prevent someone from eating a bunless wiener? That may be funny, but the issue is serious.
Study after study shows the US lagging behind other countries in graduating scientists and engineers.
Basic arithmetic facts, such as sum and product number pairs are easily mastered by young children, and when they instinctively know the correct answers, they are rewarded with instant gratification, a sense of accomplishment, and the desire to continue learning. These are excellent qualities to foster in a child. They set the tone for future learning and future success.
A junior high science, robotics, and rocketry teacher at a Charter School in Arizona saw his students struggling with the math portion of his classes, the necessary calculations needed to determine rocket payload and trajectory, and traced the root of this problem to their lack of the basic math skills required. Determined to help these students, who otherwise had a bright future in a scientific field, he devised an audio CD to teach them the multiplication tables that they had not been taught, and soon, they were performing as expected in the science class.
Children who take a home-study course will find themselves far ahead of their classmates who may be struggling with math in school because they lack the proper foundation. And older students who missed gaining this knowledge at the elementary level will find it easier to solve more advanced math problems after using an additional tutorial program.
The news often reports how poorly American students perform in math and science when compared to other industrialized and emerging nations, proving that despite the sizeable cost we pay for education, our schools are not getting the job done. Parents must become involved and seek out supplementary tools if they expect their children to learn, and the areas most at risk are math, science, history, and critical thinking skills.
About the Author
Terry Lessig is the publisher of
“Easy Times: A Beginning Multiplication Tutorial”
a self-study audio program created to teach memorization of the times tables up through the twelves. $12 Post Paid when you buy direct from the publisher’s web site,
AudioBookMan
.
US Textbooks: Muslims Discovered America
|
|
Mouse Mats of Schoolbook page, 1870s from North Wind Picture Archives $14.99 Photo Mouse Pad, Schoolbook page, 1870s. Book illustration of children on their way to school, 1870s. Document containing a woodcut reproduction of a 19th-century illustration. Chosen by North Wind Picture Archives. Standard Size Mouse Pad 7.75 x 9.125. High density Neoprene w linen surface. Easy to clean, stain resistant finish. Rounded corners. This item is shipped from our American lab…. |
|
|
Holt World History ~ CD-ROM ~ Human Legacy ~ Differentiated Instruction Modified Worksheets and Tests with Answer Key $39.99 Holt Social Studies: World History, Human Legacy ©2008, Full Survey Differentiated Instruction Modified Worksheets and Tests CD-ROM with Answer Key Product Code: h93829-5 LEVEL: High School… |
|
|
Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream $7.99 Secular religions are fascinating in the devotion and zealousness they breed, and in Texas, high school football has its own rabid hold over the faithful. H.G. Bissinger, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, enters into the spirit of one of its most fervent shrines: Odessa, a city in decline in the desert of West Texas, where the Permian High School Panthers have managed to compile the winnin… |
|
|
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong $8.61 Americans have lost touch with their history, and in Lies My Teacher Told Me Professor James Loewen shows why. After surveying eighteen leading high school American history texts, he has concluded that not one does a decent job of making history interesting or memorable. Marred by an embarrassing combination of blind patriotism, mindless optimism, sheer misinformation, and outright lies, these boo… |
|
|
The Official SAT Subject Tests in Mathematics Levels 1 & 2 Study Guide $10.00 The best way to practice for the SAT Subject Tests in Mathematics Every year nearly 300,000 high school students take an SAT Subject Test⢠in Mathematics Level 1 or Mathematics Level 2. Many selective colleges recommend or require them for admission or placement. The Official SAT Subject Tests Study Guide: For Mathematics Level 1 and Level 2 is the only source of official questions and ans… |