Common Core…Wait…What?

Ok, I am long out of doing maths in a classroom. And to be honest, I am a letters and pictures girl. I prefer to read and draw. When I was in school, a long, long time ago, I struggled with maths. Thankfully, I had some great teachers in high school that helped me see the problems my way, and find the logic. I never did come to love proofs in geometry but eventually I got there.

Later, when my sister went through school and needed help with polynomials, I found that math came a little easier. Maybe because the pressure was off, maybe because when you need to teach something you find different ways to understand it. Who knows. But math is no longer an evil horrible thing for me.

That being said, while math has always been a necessary part of my life, I still gravitate towards the letters and pictures. However, I no longer believe I am an imbecile in math.

The reason I think back to my math teachers in high school is because they worked with me to find a way that I understood the problems and could find the correct solution.

All things being equal, thank god they never tried to teach me using common core. It just doesn’t make sense to me. WHY ON EARTH WOULD I ADD A BUNCH OF NUMBERS TO FIGURE OUT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEM?

I’m sorry, it just doesn’t make sense. And I am exceptionally grateful that neither my brain-dwelling hamsters, nor my two cats, will ever be enrolled in a school where I have to explain common core to them so that they understand.

Seriously, why can’t 32-12=20. Maybe it’s just because I am a letters and numbers girl, but when asked what the difference is between 32 and 12, I immediately picture it in my head as if it were up on the chalkboard, just like in the old days:


Seems pretty simple to me.

What does not seem simple is:

To subtract 12 from 32, add the distance from 12 to 15, the distance from 15 to 20, the distance from 20 to 30 and the distance from 30 to 32. 3+5+10+2=20.



Clearly I am missing something, or perhaps I really am an imbecile when it comes to Maths after all, but you all can keep your common core, and I’ll stick with my chalkboard pictures.