I read further down, and I like this best of all

“Like it or not, arithmetic is the foundation of mathematics….Students must study arithmetic. The standard algorithms for whole numbers are the only really big theorems that students can be taught in elementary school. It is deep, beautiful, and powerful mathematics. Master these algorithms with understanding, and you’re ready to go.”

And meanwhile, they think standard algorithms are the opposite, boring old facts that cannot possibly lead to anything. I discovered that, while re-teaching my youngest, And now she is showing me how beautiful math can be. Pure and simple. And she still does not understand the fuzzy complicated math being taught. Thankfully she is in grade 10, where the fuzzy math is not as prevalent as it is in the elementary math.

Malkin,

You state, “... Is this too much to ask?”  - absolutely not.  In fact, the parents of Ontario ought to be banging down the doors of their children’s schools demanding:  a) properly qualified teachers and b) (as Nancy has mentioned) an appropriate math curriculum.

I never cease to be amazed that I have to spend time in my math classes teaching kids:  15 - (-1) = 16.  It shows up in so many areas in the Grade 9 curriculum alone.  For example, if they can’t do that, how can you expect them to be able to do:  15x - (-x)?

First discomfort is self-assesed.

On one hand since here in North America is culturally perfectly acceptable for anybody, including teachers, to say “I’m not good at math” probably the teachers did not minimize their evaluation of discomfort when answering, so in that respect the answers are relatively truthfull to their feelings.

On the other hand, how much would you trust somebody’s self assesment if the person has been growing up schooled in the “self-esteem” ethos and if that person - not being familiar with high performance standards - has no objective means to asses himself?

For elementary math teaching grade 1 to 4 I think that having the two serious grade 12 U math courses with over 85% should do. Or even better, make them past a tough high-school level math test.

I think for 5 to 8 you would need somebody with at least 2 university level math courses and ideally some science where math gets used.
Just so that person finds out from their own experience how extremely important it is to know the basic concepts correctly and fluently in order to be able to apply them and build on them!

You should be aware that prospective elementary teachers in Nova Scotia have had to have at least one undergraduate university course in mathematics in order to be licenced, and that requirement is about to be raised to two courses in mathematics.

Also in Nova Scotia, elementary education students must complete (at Mount Saint Vincent University at least) two separate mathematics curriculum and instruction courses (one in each year of their program) in order to graduate.

Great! It seems that Nova Scotia is one step ahead of Ontario in that area.

What kind of math curriculum do you have in elementary school?
Is the use of textbooks encouraged or discouraged?
Is the use of calculators encouraged, allowed, discouraged?
Are the students taught and expected to know the standard algorithms of multiplication, long division?