Learning math facts

We here in the US do a poor job of teaching our children math - starting right off with teaching the elementary addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts.  This was brought home to me again when I visited my granddaughter's school for a curriculum meeting for parents.  Most of the education administrators in the room admitted they were not very good at math.  None of them used the word "proof" when trying to say they didn't understand (and were not taught to understand) what they learned in math in their school days.

They all agreed, though, that children need to struggle to figure out the answers on their own.  They, as teachers, shouldn't help them or "give them the answer".

My granddaughter doesn't know her basic addition facts.  She is certainly smart enough to learn them, and she understands what they are and mean.  She just doesn't practice them and she has no fluency in them.

I remember the terror of  math work sheets.  All those math facts - incomplete - for me  to complete, sometimes incorrectly, to be graded by the teacher. Never do I remember being shown a sheet of completed math facts for me to learn from.

People learn best when there is very little pressure.  To reduce the pressure have the children first see the
math fact completed. 1+1=2.  Post the math fact around the classroom.  Make it the bulletin board of the week.   Then ask the children to say and write out the complete math fact.  Have the children practice the math fact in games, such as with dice and on the computer.  Only once the children know the math fact should they be confronted with it on a math worksheet.  That way, the worksheets won't be intimidating. More American students would get mastery of their math facts, feel competent at math, become competent at math, enjoy math, and enjoy teaching math.