You’ve probably seen this image making the rounds on social media. It shows a method of doing basic subtraction that’s intended to appear wildly nonsensical and much harder to follow than the “Old Fashion” [sic] way of just putting the 12 under the 32 and coming up with an answer. This method of teaching is often attributed to Common Core, a set of educational standards recently rolled out in the US.
But, explains math teacher and skeptic blogger Hemant Mehta, this image actually makes a lot more sense than it may seem to on first glance. In fact, for one thing, this method of teaching math isn’t really new (our producer Jason Weisberger remembers learning it in high school). It’s also not much different from the math you learned back when you were learning how to count change. It’s meant to help kids be able to do math in their heads, without borrowing or scratch-paper notations or counting on fingers. What’s more, he says, it has absolutely nothing to do with Common Core, which doesn’t specify how subjects have to be taught.
I admit it’s totally confusing but here’s what it’s saying:
If you want to subtract 12 from 32, there’s a better way to think about it. Forget the algorithm. Instead, count up from 12 to an “easier” number like 15. (You’ve gone up 3.) Then, go up to 20. (You’ve gone up another 5.) Then jump to 30. (Another 10). Then, finally, to 32. (Another 2.)
I know. That’s still ridiculous. Well, consider this: Suppose you buy coffee and it costs $4.30 but all you have is a $20 bill. How much change should the barista give you back? (Assume for a second the register is broken.)
You sure as hell aren’t going to get out a sheet of paper …