A frustrated parent responds on a Common Core assignment. Looks like it's back to the old New Math.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. You know what is amazing

Back in school (junior high) we got one kid from Israel. He was the son of a Hebrew teacher that came for a three year stint. This kid,Ilan was his name, drove most of the teachers batty...and the rest of us. The way he was taught long division reminds me a tad of this. The way we were taught would look very familiar to you. So this is not new, just bringing something that I suspect is used somewhere else, but ramming it in.

I saw one exercise on FB and literally was racking my brain where I saw something like that. Well, back in school.

Mind you, our algebra teacher was older than Moses, but had quite a keen eye with chalk to keep kids in order. He was the one who had the least trouble bridging the gap. He went to the German Lyceum with Noah. I should not make those jokes, but when you are 11... An 82 year old (who loved to teach, the school allowed him to teach, private school) looks down right ancient.

By the way, this teacher, we all called him professor and sir, taught until he was 95. He never had kids, so his will went to the school. He wanted to create mathematicians, physicists and scientists. And while math was his...never ever get into a logic argument with the man. Of course, as a kid we just thought he was odd...we're pre-Tweens. These days I know he taught me a lot beyond algebra 1

As to Ilan, after three years he went back home, where our strange math...did not exist.