Teachers know their math

Re: “Math shifts back toward the basics,” June 21 I nearly choked on my morning coffee when I read that Education Minister Jeff Johnson wants to ensure that Albertan students “learn basic math facts.”

I have taught or subbed for 40 years in Alberta and have seen many curricula come ... and go. Some decades the students had to memorize math facts and most teachers remember “mad minute,” a speed test for math facts. Some years, teachers were told that it was criminal to make students memorize anything. At times, the curriculum was so obscure that teachers had trouble following the dos and don’ts.

The good news is that capable teachers often ignored the mandates of the higher powers and did what they do best: teach. Good teachers knew what students needed and how they learned. They also knew that different students needed different approaches, but as long as they learned how to get the right answer, it was all good.

And, yes, teachers made students memorize basic facts, so that the students could cope in the everyday world, in spite of Alberta Education and education ministers past and present, who also come ... and go!