This is the graphic organizer that my sons' parochial school has implemented in all grade levels, beginning in first grade. It is called "Four Corners and a Diamond," and its most prominent feature--the fourth corner where students have to explain in multiple sentences every step of the mathematical process--is designed to prepare students for the written component of the new state tests inspired by the Common Core Standards. The explanations are extremely tedious, very time consuming (especially for my oldest son, a third grader), and utterly unnecessary. Once math on the elementary level in Catholic School was about computation and memorizing facts. Now, thanks to the diocese's decision to implement Common Core, math is about "understanding the process," even though elementary school students do not possess the cognitive abilities to understand mathematical processes in the way Common Core dreams.
Here is my third grade son's "critical thinking word problem." Educators are obsessed with "critical thinking," believing that they can turn any kid into Socrates or Descartes. The trouble is that they skip the basic memorization of the foundational elements--too boring for kids, they tell us--and jump to the more difficult problems that they are not equipped to handle. This is why we have generations of poorly educated Americans.
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The "Critical Thinking" word problem
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A third grader solves the problem on the "Four Corners of a Diamond" graphic organizer
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| The teacher's typed comments, along with a model for what the response should say |
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