If we can take one thing away from the many, many debates there have been on Common Core, it is that people care deeply about their children’s education. Understandably, when Common Core changed that education system, some parents were concerned.  A large part of Classroom Helper’s mission is to assist students and parents in understanding and adapting to these new Common Core standards.

Common Core was created to help improve the American education system and increase consistency between different states and school districts.  Common Core often draws comparisons to education standards abroad, including the Singapore Math System.  Singapore ranks highly internationally for its students’ math proficiency, and a large part of that success is attributed to the Singapore Math System.

In Singapore, students are taught less concepts with more emphasis and depth given to each concept.  Education is focused on students gaining mastery of a subject, not merely memorization.   There are many similarities between Common Core and the Singapore Math System.  Much like the Singapore Math system, Common Core focuses on teaching children mathematical reasoning and knowing not just how to solve a problem, but why that generates the correct answer.  Through visualization, students gain a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts. Additionally, Singapore and Common Core are closely aligned in what content students are taught at each grade level.

A large positive of this method of learning is that it helps build creative problem-solving skills, which can be applied to a variety of difficult situations and problems.   An obstacle is that it is different from the way many parents were taught.  This can create a disconnect between the methods used in class to complete daily work and the methods used at home to complete homework. That is why tools like Classroom Helper are so useful!  Since each product is up to date with Common Core standards and methods, both parents and students can use the techniques shown in the video to enhance subject matter comprehension.

To read more about Common Core or the Singapore Math Standards, we suggest these links:

An article from the 74 million, a “non-profit, non-partisan news site covering education in America,” about the advantages of the Singapore Math method. 

A PBS parents article explaining some details of Singapore Math.

An analysis of the impacts of Common Core by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, an Institute that works with American education.

A study comparing Common Core standards and the Singapore Mathematics Syllabus by Achieve, a bi-partisan, non-profit working towards building college readiness in American students.