Be sure to request the 1998 edition which reflects the board's 1997 decision on math standards and instructional methods. After you have reviewed and talked with other parents, ask the principal to schedule a parent's meeting to review the curriculum. These sessions help anxious parents support their child's learning, by modeling appropriate questions and providing strategies for parents to help with their child's homework. You're clearly not the only parent who's hopped up about math. Even school board meetings on the math curriculum can turn into shouting matches.
Rote memorization is the surest way to kill any interest in the beauty of math.
The Palo Alto dispute can be heard in districts throughout the state and country, as anger that curriculum innovations that promise so much seem to leave their children behind. Incidentally, the new math standards emphasize basic computational skills. All rights reserved.