This is a teacher speaking her mind.

There has recently been an article floating around that has really gotten me riled up.  I don't usually post political things, but for some reason, this has pushed be over the edge and I can hold back no longer.  Here is the article (i guess it isn't really an article, more of a picture) and my response:

Dear Frustrated Parent,

I don't think you need to feel bad for Jack in this situation.  I have a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education where my math equation complexity is long division and I do understand this problem and can get to the correct answer by using this number line.  And I'm pretty sure that if I gave this exact problem to my third graders, they would be able to solve it as well.  Why do you think this is?  Probably because we are the ones in the classroom, going through the learning process together.  Yes, doing the problem the way you did is faster, but could you as a third grader explain why it works that way?  I know I couldn't.  And I know, from teaching experience, that children don't either.  They know the steps of how to solve a problem but they don't understand why they are doing those steps.  The process in the problem above is not for students to take to the real world so when they are 40 years old and given a subtraction problem they draw out a number line; but this is the beginning part of the process so eventually students will be able to do these problems with a better understanding of what they are doing.  And eventually, because of this process, they will be able to do the problem in their head without having to write it out on paper to cross things out and remember each step to get to the right answer.  Doing a problem in their head would definitely not lead to any kind of termination I'm sure.  I too learned to do subtraction problems like you and I still struggle to do these problems in my head, but right when I started teaching this process, I thought to myself "Wow, if I would've learned this in third grade I would have understood things a lot better."  Eventually yes, students will get to the point where they can do the equation like you, but for right now, to help these students get to a better understanding of that, they need to start out with this process.  The number line problem above is a little part of the whole.  And if you were the one in the classroom doing the teaching and the learning, you would know that.

So I'm sorry that you are frustrated that your 8 or 9 year old is being able to do a higher level of thinking then you are at such a young age, but welcome to the age of independent thinkers.

Sincerely,

An annoyed third grade elementary school teacher.