Mom Shares Child’s Math Problem On Facebook, No One Can Answer Correctly. Can You?

If you are a parent of an elementary school-aged child, then there is a good chance that you know a little something about common core math. The topic has become one of great controversy since 2009, when the program launched. While the idea is simple, the result of the teaching method isn’t always that simple. The belief is that the creation of one set of challenging academic expectations for all students will improve achievement and college readiness. But, as we all know…not all students are the same and they all have different ways of learning.

When the common core program was officially launched, it had a great response, as all but four states adopted the program and willingly took on the new standards. But, by 2015, the response turned out to be quite opposite and several states reversed their adoption of the program’s standards. Almost half of the states backed out of their original promises to use the tests that are designed to measure success.

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Basically common core outlines the basic skills that are expected of students at each grade level, which follows them all the way up to high school graduation. The outline of the program is broad and teachers create their curriculum based on the standards.

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One mom shared her child’s first-grade common core math homework on social media and asked her friends to try and solve it. The problem is in the form of a letter-number puzzle that was placed in the student’s homework packet.

Give it a shot and see if you can figure it out…

 

The mom who posted to homework problem, prefaced it with the following post…

“Internet friends: solve this 1st grade math homework.”

As to be expected, the problem turned out to be quite the brainteaser and people shared the following comments and frustrations…

“Well no I cannot…because in my day math was taught with a very liner and rational approach! Not some abstract, third dimensional approach that coincidentally arrives at the same value… THIS is why so many people are against common core… it’s not at all common and it fails to teach the “core” value!”

Several found no value in the equation and they didn’t feel like it was teaching the child anything worthwhile…

“What purpose does this serve in life? Whatever happened to normal math homework?”

“No, but I can calculate the Standard Deviation of my investment portfolio, can a first grader do that?”

“I’ll tell you one thing. I wouldn’t have been able to solve this in first grade, and I sure as hell have never seen it used anywhere in the real world. Common Core has got to go. It’s a complete mess and a waste of resources IMO.”

“I’ve heard the argument that it helps develop critical thinking. Which is weird to me since I am an Air Traffic Controller and a complete idiot when it comes to common core. Especially since my career is based on critical thinking in stressful situations.”

Eventually, someone managed to figure out the problem and came to the following conclusion…

The answer lies in making the diagonally-arranged letters add up to the same amount using the key. The S-B-G adds to 40, so to make the other side equal, the answer would be: J (14).

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Mom Shares Child’s Math Problem On Facebook, No One Can Answer Correctly. Can You?