Reprinted from Hartford Courant May 25, 2002

Title: The New New Math
May 25, 2002 Writer: Karen A. Zott

Math. As a youngster, I never was good at it, and it rarely held any
interest for me. My parents, both of whom were wizards at math,
tried to pique my interest and improve my skills by playing math games. I
hated these.

Memories of my early academic career are filled with unpleasant
images of trying to finish math homework. Somewhere between high school and
college, the anterior portion of my frontal lobe - the part
involved in higher intellectual reasoning - developed. I earned a respectable
grade in college algebra and entered a career requiring good math and
critical thinking skills. For that reason, my lack of math acumen has not
haunted me for some time - until my son's second-grade math class.

When my son came home from his first week of second grade with a
folder to hold parent letters, I became suspicious. The note in the folder
informed me that reading upcoming letters would assist me greatly in
helping my child with his math homework. OK, now I was worried.
Kindergarten and first-grade math did not hold any surprises. Those
years were spent learning and practicing basic facts, a trend I
thought would continue into the second grade. My biggest obstacle at that
time was hiding from my son that I still counted on my fingers. But
second grade brought "Everyday Math."

At first, "Everyday Math" was just mildly annoying. Basic math facts
were taught with "fact triangles." These small triangular flash
cards were considered a more effective teaching method because the
triangles contained a fact "family." I went to my parent letter and found
that a fact family is a collection of addition and subtraction facts that
use the same three numbers. I wondered what was wrong with basic flash
cards; they fit nicely into a box, and their use did not require a
family letter

As the math became more complicated, I grew thankful that I had a
child who was math-friendly. I found myself spending more time with the
parent letters, wondering how I ever passed second-grade math. It was not
the math that was difficult, but the complex methods of math computation
that were being taught. Puzzles with names like "What's my rule?"
were used to reinforce addition and subtraction skills. The puzzles took
me awhile to understand before I could check my son's homework.
Thankfully, most of the time he could explain the rules to me.

My frustration with math peaked when my son began adding and
subtracting multidigit numbers. He learned several strategies of addition, none
of which I knew. Adding vertically - my grade-school method - was
discouraged. When I proceeded to correct a subtraction problem, my
son would tell me: "That is not how you do it, Mom. You have to use the
trade-first method." Huh?

Pretty soon, I found myself aligned with parents complaining that
school was doing less to help kids truly understand and remember basic
facts, and focusing more on creative teaching techniques. As I expressed my
frustration to another parent, she explained that this was the new
math.

No, I replied. I learned new math. I know this because my father
complained about teaching me new math. Maybe the reason American
children are behind in mathematics, compared to other industrialized
countries, is because each new generation is being taught different
methods of computation.

We are close to the end of the year, and I have a secret: I am
actually having fun with math. I find myself making up my own puzzles to
solve. Although the hows and whys of this program are requiring me to
shift my math paradigm, I find the change rewarding. I realize that this
program will give kids an opportunity to interact with math, to understand
the relationships of numbers. They have to think rather than just
memorize.At the tender age of 7, I memorized operations; I was never
expected to actually understand the process. The expectations are higher today.
By introducing geometry and basic algebraic concepts early, educators
take advantage of nimble young minds. It is the same concept that drives
teaching children a foreign language at a young age.

This is the new math, and I hope it is here to stay.

Karen A. Zott of Glastonbury is a registered nurse.