Highly recommended by C2M Edu CEO Han Heon-jo!
The power of mathematics, a thinking ability that is directly linked to good deeds and performance, and the high school credit system!

"The Decisive Final Stage of College Entrance Exams: Elementary Mathematical Thinking" was published to correct misunderstandings about mathematical thinking and to re-establish the direction of elementary mathematics.
The author, Director Kim Jong-myeong, is a first-generation thinker and developer of mathematics in Korea. For over 20 years, he has taught over 8,000 students in Gangnam and Bundang, cultivating their essential "thinking skills" rather than simply calculating or solving problems.
He analyzes the current college entrance exam system and the reality of mathematics learning with concrete data, and explains what critical mathematics is and why it is necessary.
But it goes beyond simply explaining the necessity of critical thinking math; it covers everything about critical thinking math that parents can put into practice themselves.
It contains all the practical and feasible methods, from selecting academies, textbooks, and teaching aids to parent-led programs.

"The Decisive Final Stage of College Entrance Exams, Elementary Mathematical Thinking" doesn't just talk about thinking math.
We present a roadmap for curriculum integration from elementary to high school and specific implementation methods.
We organize step-by-step everything from advanced progress and study methods, how to develop study habits, learning strategies tailored to your child's level and goals, and how to combine subject-math and critical thinking math.
There are many comments about critical thinking mathematics, such as, “It’s just advanced mathematics with a fancy name,” “It’s something that you finish in the lower grades of elementary school,” and “It’s better to do it in advance during that time.”
However, thinking mathematics is not simply playing with the curriculum, and it is certainly not another name for gifted education.
This is a training program that develops the ability to think for oneself and express oneself logically.
If academic mathematics is a study that follows a map that has already been drawn, then critical mathematics is a navigational practice that involves finding direction even on an unfamiliar road.
By breaking away from the framework of current math education, such as "Which is more important, advanced or advanced?", we can develop an integrated learning strategy that fosters children's thinking skills, habits, and emotions.

Through "Elementary Mathematical Thinking: The Decisive Final Stage of College Entrance Exams," parents of elementary school students can systematically respond to the rapidly changing college entrance exam system, including the high school credit system, absolute evaluation of school grades, and the expansion of performance and descriptive assessments.
In today's world where we need students who can explain processes rather than just memorize answers, critical thinking math is the math that children need most realistically.
"The Decisive Final Stage of College Entrance Exams: Elementary Mathematical Thinking" will serve as a solid starting point for establishing elementary school children's mathematical foundation.

As you advance in grades, the difficulty of your school grades and the college entrance exam increases rapidly.
Solving difficult problems that appear in school exams and the college entrance exam requires advanced reasoning and problem-solving skills.
But where in the curriculum is there a unit that teaches reasoning and problem-solving skills? There isn't one.

They are assessing thinking skills in the college entrance exam without ever teaching them.
So, even if you study hard, if you can't solve difficult math problems, you blame it on your innate intelligence.
At best, you can only learn problem-solving skills by looking over the shoulders of a tutor or through explanations in a workbook.
Even for difficult problems, I only started studying them a little bit when I was a third-year high school student preparing for the college entrance exam.

So, the unfortunate situation of most of the top students in non-educational special districts who faithfully followed the public education curriculum not even receiving a grade 2 on the CSAT has continued for decades.
--- pp.16~17, from “Mathematics is structured to fail if you only follow public education”

You've probably heard many times that in order to properly study math, you have to cover all the basics --- pp. stepping stone, pp. application, pp. top level.
In particular, "Highest Mathematics" feels like a kind of goal and bible for parents.
'If we do this, our child's math skills will improve!'
I realized that this idea was an illusion by comparing the cases where I studied the in-depth book with the cases where I studied only the applied book.
Among our academy's students who studied only up to the application level, the average score on the subject test was approximately 62 points.
However, the average score of children who studied the in-depth book was about 57 points.
The average score of students who studied only the applied textbook was higher than the average score of students who studied the advanced textbook, such as “Highest Level Mathematics.”
This is contrary to popular belief, considering that students studying advanced courses typically devote more time and energy to mathematics.
--- pp.36~37, from “Surprising facts learned after scoring 8,000 people”

The reason for the expansion of performance assessments and descriptive assessments is to develop students' inquiry and logical thinking skills.
And the problem now is that it's difficult to have this kind of experience with textbook math.
In critical thinking mathematics, you get experiences that you cannot get in academic mathematics.
Students guess, check, revise hypotheses, and research needed knowledge.
The resulting new information is integrated into the existing knowledge system and the new knowledge is logically proven.
Present your newly developed knowledge and discuss it with other students.
The cycle of inquiry learning—curiosity-reasoning-exploration-argumentation-presentation-discussion-learning—actively revolves around critical thinking mathematics.
This kind of training, which teaches students to prove the unique formulas of critical thinking mathematics and to logically describe all solution processes, is the perfect rehearsal for future college entrance exams, where descriptive and performance-based assessments will be widely expanded.
Beyond simply solving problems, it fosters the ability to think and explain.
This is the power of thinking mathematics.
--- pp.59~60, from “What are the benefits of thinking math?”

It says '1st grade' in the thinking skills workbook.
This means, 'You need knowledge learned in the first year.' or 'Solve this if you have at least first-year knowledge.'
But how did you interpret the sentence, "Knowledge learned in first grade is necessary"? Perhaps you thought, "A first-year student should be able to solve this problem!" The root of the problem lies in the fact that this is absolutely not the case.
It is difficult for a first grader to solve a workbook written for first graders.
If it says first grade, it would be appropriate to add one or two grades here, but even then, it is often not easy.
So, when choosing a thinking problem book, you should base it on the correct answer rate, not the child's grade.

--- p.112, from "There is no math academy for critical thinking in my neighborhood 1 | Choosing a workbook"

If you don't make a system of congratulations, parents will initially praise their children once or twice for doing well, but soon become indifferent.
I'll just keep on pointing out things as I always did.
So, in order for our parents not to forget, we need to systematize it to go against our nature.
What I recommend is creating a compliment journal.
Write down what they did well in a small notebook and draw a flower or put a sticker on it.
In this praise journal, simply write down facts in a few words, such as “I solved 3 pages” or “I corrected 10 incorrect answers myself.”
It makes me feel good to look back later and think, “There were so many things to celebrate!”

--- pp. 170-171, from “There is no math academy for critical thinking in my neighborhood 4 | Parents’ attitudes and strategies”

When preparing for a competition, the academy does not allow for exploratory learning.
Usually, students are taught how to solve competition problems by dividing them into types.
What's worse is that they teach problems that are too difficult by rote.
Especially in top-tier competitions, there are too many boring and tricky counting problems due to the discrimination.
So, instead of the joy of thinking, the child's mind is filled with the pressure to find the right answer.
When children who study in this 'boring' way participate in competitions and receive low grades, their parents become stressed because they think that the results of the competition will lead to college entrance exams.
This stress becomes an arrow that compares our child to other children and gets stuck in the child's heart.
But is it okay to win a high prize? Perhaps it's the beginning of a bigger problem.
--- pp.201~202, from “Is My Child Gifted? Characteristics and Educational Directions for Each Type of Gifted Child”

In the 7-time reading study, the amount of study is physically equivalent to solving 1 workbook, and in terms of studying, it is equivalent to solving 2 workbooks (it is called 7-time reading, but the amount of study is not that much).
This is the amount of study that most students can do.
But you will be surprised at the results you get compared to the amount of study you do.
Your grades will be higher than those of students who go to an academy, study advanced textbooks, and solve hundreds of problems using academy printouts.
If you study just one basic book thoroughly, it is definitely possible to get a grade 2 (top 11%).
Having taught many students for 20 years, I can say that this method requires less studying, is enjoyable to study, and is definitely effective.

--- pp.256, from "Complete Learning for Success Starting from 3rd Grade | 7-Reading Learning Method"