"New Math"

As a child of the '70's I was taught the metric system and "new math." As a teacher, I was schooled to teach reading using "sight word" vocabulary (not phonics).
Yuri Gregarin (sp) orbited the earth in 1959. America needed more scientists- by 1969 school children were learning more about science to compete with the Soviets. America also toyed with going metric.
The "feel good" era of the '70's brought "new math" into our schools. Much of this consisted of estimation and proximity- exactness was not emphasized. Not good when balancing your checkbook!
At "teacher school" we were taught sight-word vocabulary. This method instructed the student to recognize a word based on the letter order- not the phonetical qualities.
All three of the above have shaped my knowledge and the skills/knowledge that I teach my students. I shy from fads, focus on the basics and knowns, and seek a common core of knowledge that should be universal.