Haha thanks. If I could, I would take a flamethrower to the MoE and rebuild from scratch.

Sadly I am relegated to my classroom. I close the door and drill, practice, do rote, test, quiz and then do word problems long after the bases have been covered. I am pretty much a pariah at my school given my outspoken nature. I went in wanting to change things; now I can only administer for 8 months and remain content that I exposed kids to traditional methods. They aren't guaranteed the same approach in later grades. 

In what I have experienced kids in primary are very capable and resilient. After 4-5 months of daily, hour long math drills, activities and practice, they are able to perform mental math and it is at this point that you can see critical thinking and problem solving along with confidence appear. I base my teaching program on European and South Asian standards. I do not trust whatsoever anything that comes out of the government regarding education.