Journals are fine, but you have to give the kids methods that are so well laid out that they can't fail. Half the Jump students are now performing above their grade. The neglect of foundation skills is just part of the problem. The new curriculum also introduces kids to complicated concepts they don't yet have the tools to master, such as geometry and probability statistics. The curriculum is too overstuffed, and classes are always moving quickly on to something else.
Many children never get enough time and practice to consolidate their learning.
And everyone agrees that many classes are too large to teach the new-math way, even if teachers did understand how. Even he admits that this is difficult. It also turns out that most kids prefer certainty to guesswork. Those kids will be all right. Many boys have weak language skills, and they'll suffer too.