http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/03/13/have-you-finished-your-homework-mom/ Not all reform math curricula is well-designed, and not all of it is well-taught. Now, with that out of the way, let's read between the lines for two themes of this article: 1. Math is arithmetic. 2. Teachers and schools shouldn't use techniques not known by parents. I see #1 at the heart of this argument all the time, and it really exposes how people perceive the nature of math. #2 is, frankly, a bit depressing. Yes, the article mentions some frustrated, yet math-minded parents, but it's hard to see how we improve math education without going beyond techniques known by a prior generation (who often and freely admits they aren't good at math).