introduction:
Today, I’ll be unveiling a pivotal error which is the hidden premise in the majority of mathematics curriculums in educational systems across the globe. This overlooked premise serves as a major contributor to the underwhelming performance and disenchantment that countless students encounter while studying mathematics. Fortunately, as home-educators, you’re largely immune to this inherent shortcoming. Once you grasp this mistake, it will definitely change the way you choose your child’s math curriculum
The common Misapprehension:
The common misconception lies in assuming that children cannot independently learn anything instinctively. There is no doubt that this is not true. As a parent you saw many examples abound in their instinctive mastery of walking, talking, and numerous other tasks.
The traditional curriculums belief is that we must instruct them in everything, from the basic act of counting, solving verbal math problems and beyond. This is a flawed assumption. Children possess an inherent ability to learn autonomously.
An Example:
Consider hypothetically a 12-year-old boy whom we’ve neglected to teach verbal problems. We then present him with a problem scrawled on a board: “If you have five apples and you give 2 to your friend, how many apples do you have left?” What do you think? Will the boy be capable of tackling this problem, even without explicit teaching? Undoubtedly, he will! He may even wonder why we’re asking him such a straightforward question.
Conclusion 1:
If children can independently acquire certain subjects, why bother instructing them? There’s really no need for that. It better focusing our teaching efforts on only a select few primary subjects. I encourage you to view our video, “The only 7 subjects a child need to learn the first 6 grades”. Spoiler alert – it’s fewer than ten topics.
Conclusion 2:
The study method should change the focus from teaching to learning. This is called the constructive learning method. This requires an article on its own. As far as I know, our site is the only one that fully implements the constructive method.
An Advice for Homeschooler parents
If your children are not required to undergo national benchmarking tests, concentrate on imparting only the fundamental subjects. Should they (or you) desire to extend their learning, to make it a journey of discovery and exploration they can delve into an array of amazing and demanding exercises and assignments.
Conversely, if they must sit for national benchmark tests, you will need to guide them through the requisite subjects for the test. Nonetheless, I advocate for delaying this specialized instruction as much as possible. If the exam is at the end of third grade, for instance, start preparing them about six months in advance. This duration should suffice. They’ll likely grasp the content for the first two grades with ease, fostering a sense of achievement and confidence.