Although the title of this post sounds questionable, it makes sense with the content. I was wondering about the many ways to teach my kindergarteners easy addition. I have never forgotten the way I was taught. Although way back in the early 90's, this method has never left my brain. The "touch point" method has been engrained in my memory to this day and is what I use with the simplest of math problems. To this day I have thought of it as a genius mathematical method. However, while doing some researching today, I ran across a series of articles discouraging its use in schools today. The articles stated how many who were taught this method are slower in math, having to use the "touch method" rather than raw memorization. I finally realized how true these statements are! I feel robbed of what I believe was a fantastic and authentic math trick! It's like realizing Santa isn't real!
Needless to say, I will spare my students to embarrassment of counting using fingers and touch points, and open their eyes to a more speedy form of math...memorization.
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