Kids Master Math When They're Challenged But Supported

As I read the first line of this article: Let underachieving youngsters get frustrated by math, I say to myself, "yeah, right." Then I think of the countless number of students that are probably sitting in classrooms experiencing just that. If frustration breeds success then why do parents, teachers, administrators and even students do everything in their power to minimize frustration? Parents are constantly wanting to meet with teachers, administrators to complain that the math assignments are too hard and some students complain about coming to school because it's not fun or everything is too hard. Then I continue to read and think that maybe this research might be onto something. Roberta Schorr discovered that a healthy amount of frustration is productive. The operative words here are "supportive" and "healthy." Her group found that certain abilities are innate, a lot kids' talents and capabilities go unnoticed unless they are effectively challenged; the key is to do it in a nurturing environment. If students are assigned rich word problems, then give them the opportunity to work on them individually for a few minutes in a way that emphasizes their strengths. Students can select computation, drawing out the problem, using manipulative's, whatever they believe will work best for them. Then other students give constructive criticism about the pros and cons of each approach. In the New Jersey school system where the research was conducted, students math scores rose from 45% to 79%. Math teachers in New Jersey at receiving training in the Rutgers method which is the name of this program. Schorr states: "Motivation is a key aspect of achievement that we often ignore in math; it's the missing link. We need to provide kids with conceptually challenging math problems in an emotionally safe environment." In this age of standardized testing, school labels and commitment to following basal series as written without deviation or supplement materials, how would I implement these strategies?