How Koreans Teach Basic Math
By Sun Kyu Bae |
Published September 14, 2009 |
Articles |
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Here's a glimpse of how different teaching addition and subtraction are in Korea compared to the U.S.!
Subtraction
Now let's look at subtraction. Just like addition, Korean kids are taught that addition techniques can be used to solve subtraction problems.
Let's assume that the subtraction problem is 35 - 8. First, we need to address the ones digit to subtract the "8" from the "5". But of course, you cannot subtract a bigger number from a smaller number (at least not in 1st grade). So, you need to ask yourself, "how many more do I need to make the '8' into a '10'?" 2. Now, the "2" that is needed to turn the "8" into a "10" is added to the "5" to arrive at a "7" in the ones digit. As for the tens digit, since you needed to borrow 2 to make the "8" into a "10", that "2" needed to come from the "3" in the tens digit (i.e., 30). Therefore, you need to take away 1 from the "3" to get to a "2" in the tens digit. Combing the answers in the tens and the ones digits gets you to an answer of "27". Trust me, it's a lot easier trying it out and understanding yourself than reading my instructions above - try it with other numbers and you'll see.
So what does learning subtraction in this method teach the Korean kids? It teaches them that addition can be used to solve subtraction problems.
If anyone feels a little confused by all this seemingly counterintuitive "for-addition-use-subtraction" business and vice-versa, there is a method to all this madness. You see, it comes down to the philosophy of mathematics as the Korean student enters 3rd-4th grade. But before I move onto mathematical philosophy, the last thing I want to say about all this "simple" addition and subtraction is the following: remember when I told you that there were endless amounts of drills that the student solved when first learning all addition problems related to the number "10"? To be more specific, there are levels of these specific problems that the student needs to complete, with each level amounting to a small paperback volume. There are usually 4-5 volumes of books of problems that the Korean student needs to solve BEFORE SHE EVEN ENTERS THE FIRST GRADE.
What all this boils down to is that formal first grade math is really a review of the volumes of work that the student completed before even setting foot into the classroom! If the student does not perform well in class, the teacher will immediately contact the parents to discuss why she didn't complete her volumes during the summer. So as you can see, the parents end up teaching the student all the new concepts while the teacher is really reinforcing what the parents taught the kids in the first place.
OK. Sorry for that digression, but I think it was important to share how much effort is required to master addition and subtraction in Korea. Now let's talk philosophy.
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