A little concerned about ds1's teacher...long!

[marthamoo]

Now I know teachers are only human and they do make mistakes. Not a problem. But ds1 has just gone into Year 4 - what are we now, 4 weeks into term?

So far:

He came home with the word "traditionary" as one of his spellings. Now it is a word (I didn't think it was, I've never heard it used, but I looked it up) but I was fairly sure it was a mistake. I said he had probably copied it down wrongly and it was likely to be traditional or traditionally.

I went to parent's evening (just one where the teachers tell you what kind of thing they will be doing over the academic year). One of the parents asked the teacher about the word "traditionary" - at which point about 8 others piped up and queried it too. Mrs X looked completely blank - and said "well, do you have a dictionary at home?" It was fairly obvious that was what she had written on the board - and she couldn't see why we were querying it.

Anyway - that's not so bad. It did turn out to be traditionally in the test, btw.

So on to numeracy. I posted one of the questions of ds1's maths sheet which he had trouble with last week (which is why I asked for help finding the thread last night and QofQ kindly found it for me). The question was

4 = [ ] - 10

Ds thought it was 6 (reading it backwards) and I said it was 14. I wanted to check though 'cos I'm crap at maths Anyway I was right.
Ds1 came home yesterday and said "hey, Mum - I was right about that sum - it was 6. You made me put the wrong answer!" ???? Do they do maths differently these days? Incidentally, I didn't just 'tell' him the right answer - I explained why that was the right answer.

He had another maths sheet this week. One of the things was writing the time on a clock face. This sheet he brought back - he got it right, it's been marked wrong.

I don't know whether to go in and query all this, or whether to let it go. I feel a bit cross about it - you learn from your mistakes, but you learn from what you get right too, don't you? I mean, it's only 3 little things but - 3 in 4 weeks? Plus, from an aggrieved mother PofV, it is galling to be told that she must be right because she is a teacher - implication being that I know nothing

Shall I just let it go?

But how on earth are you supposed to know. It's got to be left to right. otherwise it makes no sense. How can an equation have two answers?

Thanks MrsMills

She's not young - I'd guess she's about my age (36). I mean,ahem, that is young - ykwim, not recently qualified

(Ds's reading link book had an instruction in it last week: "Finnish".)

Now you are making my head hurt! I'm an English graduate - I gave up maths after O' level, with great relief!

Maths for Morons!!! says always go left to right! The title appealed to me for this case!!!!

binkie, perhaps he was supposed to write it in Finnish?

Exactly, how on earth was MM's ds (and MM) supposed to know. But perhaps it allows for a discussion?

Pmsl, tortoiseshell, shall I print that off and send it into school with ds1?

I think it only allows for a discussion if MM states, graciously, in manner of mathematical expert, that of course it is a POV...

I love "mirror image" or "counter-intuitive" - feel like going back in just so I can bandy those terms around.

In my case "counter-intuitive" is a total red herring because I have no intuition when it comes to numbers - they just make my head spin.

and lets not forget that this is a 7yr old we're talking about - surely all of the this counter-whatever it is stuff should be introduced once they're much older and have grasped the basic standard way of doing things?

You can't confuse them at this age - it's this sort of thing that sticks with you when you're an adult and makes you have a sneaking doubt when you're trying to do some sum or other that is important.

Oh, totally agree she shouldn't confuse them.

Talking of confusing, I am trying to find you something on the Govt numeracy website that says Always Set Out Your Take-Away Sums Starting From The Left, plus the holy grail of WHY, and as soon as I find anything I will post it.

Thanks so much everyone for your help

Have to go and make dinner now but I will check back later.

I think I've just 'got' what she means - I think she has got confused, because if you read it backwards as -10 +14 = +4 then that's true. Where she's gone wrong is that the minus MUST be attached to the 10. If you move it across the pivot it becomes a +.

Another thought - the minus isn't an instruction, it's a description of the next number. Which is why the order doesn't matter, IF you remember to keep the assigned positive/negative attributes. On a number line it doesn't matter if you move 10 to the left then 14 to the right, or 14 to the right then 10 to the left, you still end up with 4. It does matter if you move 10 to the right then 14 to the left.

Say what, torty?

Am I being obscure?

Er, yes.

What I mean is you can read it backwards as -10 +14 =+4, you can't read it backwards as 10 - 14 = 4. Or even her solution of 4 = 6 - 10. because that is
+6 -10 = -4

I know what I mean!

I'm glad you do

DO you really not get what I mean?

Oh yes - well sort of - it's just funny watching you do it

I'm useless at explaining things!