You are completely correct. This has happened to most of us, when I was in grade school it was Old Math and "New Math" that threw us out on the edge of the grade curve. It took me and most of my classmates several years to get caught up again. There were always some kids in my Math classes that were just naturally adaptive and got onto the "New Math" bandwagon rapidly. There is a reason why this happens in our schools every ten to fifteen years. Take a good look at how text books are purchased and updated. You will find that there is a disturbing process that happens that dictates what the content and principles are and how core corses are taught based upon who the text book publisher is that wins the bid. Conceptually, if the next Math text book publisher that wins the bid bases their methodology on a group of ten stones on the students desk by which all math problems will be calculated, that is the way it will be done for the next ten to fifteen years; be it right or be it wrong. Those of us who were stuck in "New Math" are proof of this concept. Those of you who are fighting your way through "Reform Math" are going to be no different, just another experiment engaged by another text book publisher.

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After hearing that Seattle Public Schools are considering a reform math curriculum ("Discovery") that has already been tried and rejected in other school districts, I got to thinking...

What if the trend towards Reform Math has something to do with the rise in ADHD diagnoses?

Think about it: The term ADHD is basically just a short and sweet way of saying "this is how my brain is wired to work." Most ADHD/ADD students do best in curriculums that are "structured yet open," like what the older school of mathematics was. You know, the one where you could adapt your own method of solving the problem as long as you ended up with the right answer.

So what happens when you put a child with an ADD-type brain into a math curriculum that has absolutely NO structure what-so-ever?

My guess would be that the children who are already pre-disposed to ADD start exhibiting the negative symptoms of the disorder because they just can't wrap their brains around what the teacher is trying to get them to do because she's not specific enough.

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I think it is very important to have structure and yet allow some flexibility to support individual learning styles. I found out I had ADD along time ago however, my Mother would not put me on medication and my Father an educator told me nothing was wrong and that I was simply bored. I love science and enjoyed math but only if it pertained to work and yet in class I had a hard time with math. I would come up with the right answer but how I got that right answer was not the teachers way so I simply failed and fear of math took over. I am reliving this math drama through my children and interestingly enough I am enjoying math with my children. I am actually working on math books during free time and want to take another stab at statistics. My son is enjoying Math as well for the first time because his math teacher shows the students different ways of getting the answer and is quite creative in how she teaches. I believe we need both old-school and reform but old school must be taught first. I also believe computer software for ADD/ADHD students are beneficial. I told a teacher a while back ago that she should really look into creating software for the college student so they can be successful years ago.. When my son was diagnosed I thought it would benefit me to try the medication some worked and some did not. Adderall worked great but now as I look back did it? The first year it worked quite well I was able to complete tasks but in the last 2 years or so I believe I would have been better without it. In fact I became worse and could not tackle simple chores or complete a class.. There are serious side effects and I am tapering off the medicine. I need to know if someone has tried straterra because I was on it and it was a short lived experience. I was always sleepy and perhaps I did not give it a chance. Can someone give me their thoughts on Strattera or another non-controlled substance? I am not giving up and my children do not want to see their Mom give up her goals either I know I can do it but there has to be safer, non addictive medicines out there.

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I can't follow a set of verbal directions to someone's house. How the hell am I supposed to remember to "carry the 2" every time?

Haha, I used to skip Algebra class to go talk to my history teachers.

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Well, what helped me the most was the mantra of the older math:

"You will practice, practice, practice endlessly until you can eventually perform this type of problem without even thinking about it."

The memorization I remember doing in math, the kind that school administraters are so against, had nothing to do with memorizing specific problems the way they claim it did ("2+2=4" etc.). It wasn't the answers we memorized; it was how to solve the equation ("a+a=b").

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I take Strattera. I find it to be quite effective at improving focus, but not so good with impulsivity. The effects are subtle, though. It may seem like there is no benefit, but then you stop taking it and discover that it was helping much more than you had been aware. It is the best ADD med I have ever had.

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