Still Doing Old School
This blog post is a vent post! Please excuse my ranting. I don't understand why some teaching practices in early childhood and elementary mathematics have not evolved. I have had preservice teachers talk to me about witnessing antiquated teachings mathematics practices for younger children and special needs children. The frustration comes from that part of me that wants to advocate for professional development for teachers to learn new pedagogical methods. The other part of me thinks it's just a waste of time. One crucial aspect of being an educator is to become a life long learner. Teaching and learning both go hand in hand. However, if a teacher is used to one method and that methods is not working with students, shouldn't that teacher want to research and learn better practices. The excuse for using old practices should not be "I'm old school and this is how you are going to learn". If students are having a hard time with making tens, teachers should us