Can You Teach Children Too Much Too Early?

[ukanonymous]

I was babysitting the other night and I taught my 6 yr old nephew his 2-5 times table and taught him how to do basic algebra. He seamed to enjoy it anyway but my sister wasn't happy as she thinks learning too much at an early stage is bad for development as they will not listen at school. I guess they are her kids but I don't agree. What do you think?

[jno]

yes, teach him anything he takes on board quickly. Probably no point at that age trying to introduce him to string theory, but you can never know too much.

[woofgang]

children are like puppies, they are learning even when the grownups aren’t teaching. If he chose to stay with you and be interested in what you were doing then to him it wasn’t “study” but normal life. If he finds the teacher boring then he will find the teacher boring and trying to hold him back won’t change that. I would say that listening to a boring teacher would be worse for his development but what do I know!

[Maydup]

Your relationship with your sister is far more important than algebra. Teach the child if he enjoys it but not at the expense of her happiness.

[woofgang]

I wonder if your sis feels threatened by your teaching her son stuff that she doesn’t know?

[Buenchico]

All 6-year-olds do algebra anyway!

OK, they might not call it that but whether you write
x + 3 = 5 (and ask what the value of x is)
or you write
[empty box] + 3 = 5 (and ask what goes in the box, as teachers of 6-year-olds do)
it's the same question and it's still algebra!

As a former maths teacher, my only concern about getting young children (or, indeed, anyone) to learn their tables is that it's easy to overlook the actual meaning of multiplication. For example, children can end up happily knowing that 4 times 3 equals twelve but, if you tell them that Andrew, Sarah, Ian and Vera each have three sweets, they still have no idea how to work out the total number of sweets.

[Togo]

Yes Buen. They know the tune but not the words.

[Buenchico]

Nicely put, Togo ;-)

As a post script to my post above, I'll add that (for the reason I've given) it's better to say 'lots of', rather than 'times', when introducing children to multiplication.

[Togo]

I'll never hear Bobby Darin sing Multiplication again without having to sing lots of instead. LOL.

[sherrardk]

I think you can teach them too much too young, what's wrong with kids being kids? You could also be teaching him wrongly (they do maths differently now) and no one is going to thank you for that.

[zebo]

If children realise that much of Maths is really puzzle solving, what I use to call airport Maths, they will be less afraid of it, especially Algebra.

John buys fish and chips, and pays £4
Ann buys a fish and two lots of chips, she pays £4.80.
How much is a fish and how much are the chips

Much simpler than
x + y = 400
x+ 2y = 480

[Togo]

There was me thinking that maths had been the same since the dawn of time.
All 'kids' are natural mathematicians! It is parents who dissuade them.

[sherrardk]

Maths is the same - just some one decided to change the way it's done (before you can help kids these days you have to learn the 'new' method for doing maths).

[DTCwordfan]

mine loved algebra at that age...simple problem solving....my youngest was multiplying before she was 4 and had the logic buttoned down, 'Dad, 7x5 = 35 and that's seven groups of five (and I nearly crashed the car)' Today, she's a young teenager and doing differentiation/calculus etc and beyond, a gifted mathematician that she is - she wants to be a maths teacher.... though I think she will go further with it.

[Peter Pedant]

I did my two times table at 6 - 1955 basically
I remember it - year two - with Connie
who wasnt afraid of hitting us locking us in a cupboard and duffers were locked in the little room

algebra - seven - then form 3 the next year

I think it is OK - esp for math amazingly - I gorra an A in single math

Mr Brown ( not an altogether 'good' PM took his A levels at 16 - there were a few of us around TBH - and felt he had been forced 'hot housed' in some way educationally mismanaged and he has suffered as a result) - this is I think the current view.

in my generation altho the early A level getters learnt to keep mum about it later we were generally relieved that we were extended in school hours which if we had done at a slower pace - we would have found boring I mean you know really tedious and draggy

It may be a girlie thing - if the kid doesnt do well or comes out with two times six is thirteen then it is the uncles fault and if only he had done the decent thing and played tiddly winks this would neva have happened


I was talking to my brother and said my nephew who read math at Cge - that when he looked at numerals and they had coloured tops ( synaesthesia to synaesthetes ) - so calculations took on a colour aspect which led him to know if they were correct or not - and he my bro said christ when do you talk to him about Math ?
and I said whenever we meet I ask where he is up to

Clearly his doting parents talk to him about girlfrenz and sex and all that sort of thing

[Peter Pedant]

// 'Dad, 7x5 = 35 and that's seven groups of five (and I nearly crashed the car)' // dtc

I asked my dad - dad is two months eight weeks ? - aged 6
I had spent absolutely ages doing it in my head

and he dropped his BMJ .... and looked at me

[Zacs-Master]

.....and said, "son, forget the math....do some English."

[Peter Pedant]

DTC try to get your girl into cambridge to read math
and she will neva starve

Mt brother had to bus my nephew around Darzet aaaaargh 1
to do the right courses - only one skool in the county did Step 4 what ever that is
and he has never regretted it
The math career may bot have panned out as we planned but what the hell we had a damned good try

[Prudie]

^ how many letters and do you have any placed?

[Peter Pedant]

// ...and said, "son, forget the math....do some English."//

English - torture - I got the pass mark in Eng Lit 50 + 51 then grade 6 and that was more important to me than 98 in unseen Latin translation

My English master regarded it as torture as well

[DTCwordfan]

she's in the States, Peter - if the choice of Oxbridge, it would probably come down if she was going pure or applied......