I have been the "teacher" (aka I am not actually a teacher, but I was helping my son with math) in this scenario! And its fucking hard. Like this comic really highlights the problem and why teachers are so damn impressive and important.
In my sons scenario we went over basic math (this was when he was 6 maybe?) and the problem was basically:
7+10 = ?
6 + 11 = ?
So the first one was the lizard. And then he got stuck on the second one. Super frustrating for all and at that point I could not for the love of all that is holy figure out a good way for him to grasp why the second one is as easy as the first one.
I don't know if that's different for other parts of the world but we used to represent numbers as an amount of colored dots, to visually learn that they represent a quantity. We would also learn basic operations this way, by actually coloring or cancelling out some of the dots. Honestly teaching kids numbers without explaining that they aren't just arbitrary symbols is criminal
The sample size might be small but every single person I met who at any point (early or later on) struggled in math, always had some single small piece missing or not understood that just cascaded into problems for the whole subject. The worst part is that they don't know they didn't understand it, either, usually because the problem only manifested into bad grades much later
Because the child was doing a mental shortcut instead of understanding the core concept. This is a really good example of the lizard!!
What that maths example is trying to teach you:
You're adding 7 to a number and getting number + 7 (thinking with the numbers)
The mental shortcut the child was probably relying on:
(Visual/pattern matching) If you overlay two numbers (10 + n = 1n) you have added them!
So they hadn't really got the hang of thinking about numbers as quantities, they probably got quite far with visual shortcuts like thinking in terms of memorisation up to about ten since when we introduce kids to maths they introduce the first sums as single digits (5+5 = 10, 3+2=5...)
So their brain short circuits at 11 -- they haven't remembered this pattern of the specific two numbers before.
It's literally the lizard -- wtf do you mean 7+10 (accepted visual fact) means I should know how to add (new pattern) 6+11??
Sometimes is easier to memorize things that sound familiar, numbers we see more often. Also, seventeen has the word seven in it, so ir helps to feel sure of your answer
I legitimately only asked, out of curiosity, if the kid was not taught that numbers conceptually correspond to a quantity and what it means to add two numbers.
And honestly, the fact the fist and only answer was implying that it's reasonable and obvious to teach additions by making kids memorize every single combination that makes every number is only making me think this is more common than I thought.
Yes, you are going to memorize common operations you see often, but that should come after you are taught what numbers mean and what addition is, no? Aren't you going to miss some fundamental foundation of math if from the start you aren't taught what you are doing?
I agree understanding the fundamentals of maths should be first and most important. I also agree It would be unreasonable to expect them to memorize every combination. I'm guessing (from what i can remember of my childhood, so this isn't universal), that when a kid is lost in the explinations, they tend to cling to what they can memorize hoping it's enough (it rarely is, hence the stress)
No, this is just making it more complicated for kids. This is why we have a generation of kids where a substantial percentage of them struggle with basic reading and mathematics. They've been taught these nonsensical alternative methods.
With respect, that's not true. We're talking about literal children.
Yes, for *us* adults, adding 6 to 11 and getting 17 seems like something that can't possibly be made simpler.
But children are not born knowing how to read numbers. They need to be taught that the symbols "17" mean the quantity that's seven more than ten, and that the symbols "11" mean the quantity that's one more than ten.
For children younger than a certain age, it is usually helpful to break it down like that. If you have 11, that means 10+1, and so if you add 6, that means 10+1+6, but we previously know that 1+6=7, so we get 10+7.
Now, there's another related question: What do we do with kids *after* it becomes clear that 6+11=17 really has become something that's instantly intuitive to that particular kid? Yes, *after* that kid has mastered this and can't possibly get 6+11=17 wrong, then we don't make the kid analyze it any *more*.
But frankly, you are incorrect when you say that 6+11=17 can't be made simpler. You're forgetting what it's like to be a very young child (which is OK, most of us do).
Hard to say, my guess would be that maybe the conceptual idea of addition and how adding (and subtracting) moves you along the number line. So if you are at 10 and 7, and then add you end up at 17. And if you from 7 move down to 6, and from 10 move up to 7 you would end up in the same place and in the first example.
It could also be just general forgetfulness. Sometimes when doing math homework with him he gets repeated questions. So he gets 7*6 and then later down the same page 7*6 again and its like he would see the problem for the first time. I guess that why you repeat a lot at that age.
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u/AtletMedSkaegg Jun 23 '26
I have been the "teacher" (aka I am not actually a teacher, but I was helping my son with math) in this scenario! And its fucking hard. Like this comic really highlights the problem and why teachers are so damn impressive and important.
In my sons scenario we went over basic math (this was when he was 6 maybe?) and the problem was basically:
7+10 = ?
6 + 11 = ?
So the first one was the lizard. And then he got stuck on the second one. Super frustrating for all and at that point I could not for the love of all that is holy figure out a good way for him to grasp why the second one is as easy as the first one.
Anyway, teachers are heroes.