Teaching Long Division

Super Summer 2011 Kicks Off In Newark

Mayor Cory A. Booker, Municipal Council Members, Deputy Mayor of Neighborhood Engagement Margarita Muñiz, Neighborhood and Recreational Services Director James Souder, Newark Now President LaVar Young, and hundreds of Newark youth were joined by World Tumbling Champion Rayshine Harris to kick off the City of Newark’s 2011 Super Summer celebration. The kick-off celebration took place at St. Peter’s Recreation Center, located at 378 Lyons Avenue. Also in attendance were Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn D. Murray, Essex County Chief of Detectives Anthony Ambrose, Essex County Freeholder D. Bilal Beasley, Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker, Newark Business Administrator Julien X. Neals, Esq., and Former WNBA Liberty player Kym Hampton, currently WNBA Fan Development Leader. Deputy Mayor Muñiz served as mistress of ceremonies. This year’s initiative is themed a “Super Safe Summer” and is focusing on protecting and supporting Newark children, providing them with summer safe havens and positive recreational activities. These include tumbling classes, aerobics, tae kwon do, summer camps, swim classes, training in the performing arts, academics, arts and crafts, outdoor activities, and healthy eating classes. There are a variety of health, fitness, and education programs, as well as events and exhibitions at The Newark Museum, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and the Newark Library.

“I’m very excited today. This summer we have a full slate of positive recreational activities. We are teaching hundreds of Newark children how to swim through our ‘Make a Splash’ program, are sending dozens of kids to Camp Watershed, and are hosting all kinds of leagues and activities. We can’t let our kids be part of the headlines of violence.  Our City is coming together to provide a Super Summer experience for Newark’s youth. From our incredible tumblers to our raffle organizations, I want to thank all of our community partners who made today’s Super Summer kick-off a great success,” Mayor Booker said. “We have activities for all ages all summer long, in healthy, safe, clean environments in which to build strong minds and strong bodies. Our recreation centers will strengthen and empower the community. Our pools are open. We have free breakfast and lunch for children and all kinds of leagues for children to take advantage of them,” said Director Souder. This year’s Super Summer special guest was 10-time World Cup Tumbling Champion Rayshine Harris, a Newark North Ward native. Mr. Harris is the current captain of the NY Knicks AcroBack Tumbling Team, and travels the globe performing acrobatic and tumbling shows. Mr. Harris kicked off the event with a special performance. He is also teaching a class for youth aged 7-17 on tumbling and acrobatics at the John F. Kennedy Recreation Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. and from 5:15 p.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information about this program, contact the Kennedy Center at (973) 733-6550. Mr. Harris has a lengthy career as a tumbler, winning national and international championships during the 1990s. He was one of six American tumblers asked to perform in the 1996 closing ceremonies for the Atlanta Olympics. He has also performed exhibitions on “Good Morning America,” during half-time ceremonies for the New Jersey Nets, and for President George W. Bush.

Teaching long division

The way they are trying to teach is, I think, a more intuitive way of looking at numbers. your way is an easier algorithm - a set of steps that always gets you the answer. The other way is more based on estimating first and then working your way towards the details. I think the idea is that that way helps you really understand how the different number fit together, rather than just the steps. I've never used MUS, but i assume they eventually teach the other method? Does MUS have a forum for their products? I struggle with "new new math" too! DSS spent a few months in2nd grade PS where they were teaching it (the point being that the children understand the concept). When I brought him back home... he was pretty much unable to do ACTUAL math problems... I am not sure how to explain that properly... He could manipulate the numbers around.. but not do the math.. or something.. Anyway.. it was all well I think maybe it is just me. I am no maths idiot nor do I struggle with math either. I can see the point of what they were trying to teach, but the end product just seems to suck. I have gone back to teaching him math old school style. Alas, manipulating those numbers like what you have stated is the exact same thing they are doing for addition and subtraction. To me, and perhaps only to me, I think this system is just not a good one. Have you checked further along in the manual.....you know how they always seem to give every possible way to work things out and the first way always seems to be the longest way ;-) is it possible that they are simply doing that? I just remember with the initial addition/subtraction with regrouping problems they were shown a couple of ways that's all. I think both systems have value. One of the problems with just knowing the algorithm is that many students never learn what they're doing. All they know is the procedure - this is how you line up the numbers, when to add, when to subtract - but not what it really means or why it works. The problem is that then those kids will be presented with a problem like 1000 / 50 and they'll think that the only way to do it is to set it up a long division problem and slowly divide the numbers - when obviously that's a problem they could do mentally if they understood what division is. In the problem you suggest, the old method is clearly the easiest, but for other problems I can see that MUS's method would work better.

A dual-algorism approach to teaching long division

The teaching legacy of O.B. Hardison, Jr, with selected writings on education

School devices, a book of ways and suggestions for teachers

Teaching long division to a brain-injured adolescent

Second handbook of research on mathematics teaching and learning, a project of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics