New new math, again, recalls the same old song

There’s a new way to teach and learn mathematics, replacing the old new way to teach and learn mathematics. The previous new method replaced previous previous new methods. NBC News 4, in Washington, DC, describes the newest of the new:

An Iowa woman jokingly calls it “Satan’s handiwork.” A California mom says she’s broken down in tears. A Pennsylvania parent says it “makes my blood boil.”

What could be so horrible? Grade-school math.

As schools around the U.S. implement national Common Core learning standards, parents trying to help their kids with math homework say that adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing has become as complicated as calculus.

The problem is timeless. It was best, er, summed up by Tom Lehrer, in his song called “New Math”:

(Thanks to Mike Leavell for reminding us of this.)