12. CHILDREN and MATHEMATICS

DO LABELS HAVE A PLACE HANGING AROUND THE NECK OF YOUNG CHILDREN?

I am very interested in the removal of labels from children who may have to arrive at school with so many, even when they are actually very close to being able in many spheres. Perhaps when they are young they may not have grasped the concepts at first, but may well do over time, and I call for intelligent control of prescription anti-depressants, in particular methyl phenidate, but also a host of other expensive, and to my mind completely unnecessary diagnoses and drug-centric treatments for children and young people. Should we not make every effort to leave children to develop naturally as human beings and leave any such ‘criticisms and formal assessments’ until they are formed humans?

In today’s world there are so many children and young people who are prevented from leading a stress-free and happy/normal life through labels that have been thrust upon them. It seems to be more and more that some parents choose to have these labels for their children, and are somehow comforted by them, even though a vast majority are completely unnecessary. One can buy on eBay a package of 100 labels for under £1, but the labels for children come very expensive indeed, and many of the often-generic reports from so-called experts on children’s disorders are in some way scandalous. I have taught a number of children who have been labelled as dyslexic, dyspraxic or dyscalculia, who were real stars in other ways, and often showed great academic skill in learning; and I think that is because I removed the labels!

This paper is written after several years of thought-out study combined with my educational experience, independent research and trials using human beings (not the Internet) to prove the theory of ACG. This paper needs to be carefully read and studied, and to be supported by a clear understanding of the physiology (functions) of the human brain, and the cognitive processing about which I refer.

No comments are needed, but please confirm receipt. I have sent this paper to a number of educationists who might find what I have written, useful in their mathematics teaching. This is the age when everyone hides behind social media and denigrates, criticises, judges and often takes part in ruining some children’s lives, and a raft of adults lives too. As an educationist I am opposed to unnecessarily labelling human being with their ‘assumed’ difficulties. Remember the world of the DUNCES, the children who were just not able to fit into the box that the government had contrived; principally young boys? The days when children (principally boys) who could not master mathematics or language were beaten (I was one of those) and humiliated publicly with that ‘physical label’ which lasted for life, dwelling tidily in their unconscious, many of who seek counselling and the eradication of such harsh and unintelligent punishment, when they are too old for it to matter! Those days are long-gone; thank heaven, so we must fight for the right of children to live their lives for who they are, and to help them (and enable them) to celebrate being different! GW

GENERAL STATEMENT – Mathematics teaching. Regarding children who (seemingly) cannot process number, it is essential for their teachers to be professionally able and completely understand (and monitor) the behavioural and cognitive processes of the children they teach that are often manifested in specific in-class behaviour; specifically by individual children who cannot engage easily in calculative mathematics. DO NOT RUSH AND POTENTIALLY FRIGHTEN AWAY A WORLD GENIUS! The teacher must carry out research in order to understand the physiological/psychological elements in the child that bring about the cognitive processes.

Many children have significant difficulty in processing arithmetical (numeric/calculative/basic) mathematics, and the vast majority cannot enter into abstract mathematics, not because they are unintelligent, but because their cognitive processing is encumbered, often by classroom noise, and because they may have been recipients of teaching that was taught far too quickly (and often the simplest method of delivery may not be chosen, so alternative methods may be necessary) for them to engage when they were on the first rung of the mathematics ladder). (POSSIBLY CONNECTED TO MEMORY OVERLOAD). This specifically affects children.

Teachers must bear in mind that THINKING begins to be formed clearly (although the birth of discernment in children becomes clearer at this age) from the age of fourteen, and at that time (the birth of individual thinking), many children will have been opened up to abstract number work far too early, given what I have written in my educational research, as they have an undeveloped intellect before adolescence. (NB. Rudolf Steiner 1861 – 1925). Every single one of the seven billion human beings on the Earth is different, physically, cognitively, practically, and each one has a different personality, which means that teaching each child mathematics as part of a group is seriously flawed and leads to the mis-education of a specific group of children, unless a school offers small classes for the younger children and the teachers can then manage to individually educate each child. Number is connected to almost everything we do in this world, and the human organism is paramount, at the front, as being a ‘pure example of numerical, autonomic cell-division, and therefore exemplifies number.

As the mathematics curriculum begins to unfold, some children are left behind because the teacher may have had success with the more able children and has chosen to forge ahead because of this ‘apparent’ success, surpassing and overlooking those who (apparently) struggle. This trait often manifests itself when children are taught a mathematical skill when they are young and never grasp (understand) it, so are still trying to get to grips (grapple) with such basics on the way to adulthood! It is not always the child’s fault, that they (the children) seem not to manage, or the fault of their processing skills, or a lack of understanding if what has been presented is too abstract and did not engage the child at that time. Teachers must make themselves much more aware.

It can also be that the teacher does not demonstrate the empathy and teaching-skill necessary for the child to take steps to engage with what is required of them by the teacher, by having at their (the teacher’s) disposal, the mastery of basic calculative mathematics teaching. If the teacher works to understand what I have written, this will stand them (the children) in good stead for their future calculative learning and teaching. It is my profound opinion that it is more important for the teacher to understand and practice what I have written, than to be a brilliant mathematician! Of course, a mathematics teacher must be skilled with number.

Many children have a history, from the very beginning of their maths. education, from the first class in which they were once a pupil, in their early years, when unprofessional/uninspiring teaching may have encouraged them to move forward before the previous step has been mastered by the class as a unit, when they were young and at the threshold of learning to calculate. This causes a ‘switching off’ and confusion, so the child then falls behind, and often struggles for the rest of their maths. education, and then gets labelled as being dyscalculia.

I do not agree with labels such as dyscalculia, dyspraxia and dyslexia, and I feel that too many teachers move too fast in the early concept stages when the child is young and relatively un-thinking, who then get left behind as the so-called smarter children move on, which causes instability and trauma in the presumed ‘less able’ children. The problem is often not the individual child, or a class of children, but can be laid at the door of the teachers’ inexperience and lack of understanding of human nature and child development, specifically teaching ability. I feel that if an alternative name is needed for children who have been labelled dyslexic, I suggest – SUFFERS FROM ACG. For dyspraxia use LACKING IN DEXTERITY and coordination at this age, due to the lack of practical education and activities in modern society, and for dyscalculia I suggest the heading could be SUFFERS FROM ACG.

(There must be SPECIFIC laid-down processes for teaching the four basic rules (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division), which must be practiced throughout a child’s education, with no new alternative methods/systems/short-cuts introduced. This is a key factor when teaching maths.) Graeme will go through the Acorn methodology with you if asked.

Some children have become switched off throughout their maths. education because they missed just one rung of the ladder, and so may have been incorrectly labelled; perhaps for life! Such children often disrupt and are then labelled as being hyperactive as well as dyscalculia (also ADHD), and are then sent off to the educational psychologist and onto the psychiatrist, who can medically diagnose ADHD! Poor parenting can also be a difficulty! (research methyl phenidate – Ritalin).

Sometimes, these traits/labels can be (and often are) indicative of a child who is actually very intellectually able, but their intelligence may be hampered by unskilful teaching by teachers who do not have sufficient understanding of the brain’s processing systems, and have tried to teach too fast, maybe to the highest level of the group. (NB. Could there be a connection between sometimes unnecessary and unskilled labelling by professional educational psychologists or teachers, who may then be guilty of hindering some children’s true educational potential? After all, the charges for such formal assessments are high and maybe some educational psychologists rely on formally assessing children for their living, which can be very dangerous and could contribute to the generally lower standards of mathematics and English grammar in our schools, which have been most noticeable since formal assessment systems have become more common, often a ‘must have’ (formal assessment) as common perhaps as prescribed methyl phenidate (RITALIN) prescriptions for hyperactivity! Why is formal assessment so important? It is not a panacea!

Forcing children to be assessed and tested throughout their school-life is often counter-productive to harmonious individual child/human development, and is ‘like a surging wave of negativity’ for children of all ages who struggle to perform, and now, even many talented undergraduates (who too are often stressed) are not at all ready to be the subjects of such outdated systems! Formal assessment must be the task and prerogative of the teacher of the subject, who knows the child best. That statement bears fruit today, when we are in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic and all schools are closed. In their wisdom, the government are allowing the children’s GCSE and A Level tutors to assess them and award grades, as examinations cannot take place. It took such a lockdown to encourage the state to be wise and sensible about who should and who should not assess educational work. How can the future assessment system be, to continue to sit large numbers of young people in a hall in silence, to answer the same set-questions when the teachers can do a much better and more honest assessment. Long may this last!

There could be elements in the life of a specific child (parenting?) that could have created hyperactivity and attention seeking, and perhaps a desire to demonstrate subconsciously, their lack of ability by unacceptable behavioural traits in class, often bringing negative attention to them.

It is incumbent on us to review the criteria for suitability to teach, which is currently based on GCSEs and A levels/degrees. This is not the right approach for the future of education. Too many teachers can’t teach well enough to meet the true needs of the modern child! GW

IMPERATIVE : In-class guidance. All children, especially those with (apparent) difficulties, need to be awakened and made ready for the maths. lessons must be ‘warmed-up’ with simple calculative maths. questions (that are easy for all the children, so it creates a positive attitude and class-atmosphere) that are solely arithmetical (mental arithmetic), and are always age-appropriate or below, so that they are moved away from their previous lesson’s consciousness (the one before the maths. lesson they are currently attending) so they are ‘prepared and made mentally ready for number’. Without this warming-up it is like asking a coal miner to dig for coal in a dark mineshaft without a light! This warming-up phase should be the first 20% of the lesson!