Posted on 03/13/2013 1:57:35 PM PDT by Olog-hai
A fifth of adults are so bad at math that they struggle to perform basic mental arithmetic, a survey has revealed.
More than a third can only manage sums that total less than 100 and have to use a calculator for anything larger.
One in 50 people were stumped by adding or subtracting in their head if the total was more than ten.
And one in three parents believed their children’s ability exceeded their own. …
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I believe this.
The 47 million people on food stamps can calculate, to the penny, exactly how much they deserve.
I’m still dumbfounded when ADULTS can’t count out correct change without a cash register.
It’s soooooo fun to watch the cashiers in a store when the electricity goes out. Forced the stores to get generators.
They also know how to convert it into drug money.
excellent point.
I don’t. I believe the sumbers are much worse.
I wonder how many people (likely older and with the ability to do simple things like addition and subtraction) still think 1984 and the ideas it covered, aren’t what we are living today. Many used to poo poo the notion.
Hate to say, but my own personal policy is that when a cashier overpays me in change that I say *nothing* anymore and I donate the excess to my church. I used to correct these people in the past and all too often they’d get offended and sometimes even yell at me for insulting their intelligence.
To me the insult was self-evident.
Anyhow, I figure if I say nothing then that person is one step closer to their new job.
And then I go home and teach my kids multiplication tables, short division, and business algebra instead of the mindless ‘theories’ the public schools teach about math anymore.
They are being taught by unionized government employee teachers...Of course they know nothing.
All while the unionized teacher salaries and benefits over the past 20 years has increased dramatically and they demand more $ every single year.
yuk yuk...
Now we know why a large chunk of the voters think that government spending can be increased and paid for soley by a tax on “the rich.” We are doomed.
publik skool success story
That’s why I don’t believe in using computers/calculators in school....learn math the old-fashioned way.
We old engineers sometimes found “trial and error” solutions by the Newton-Raphson method using a bamboo sliderule and our designs proved to be viable. We were slow but well versed in many phases of engineering.
New graduates are specialized and sit in front of a computer and use canned programs to make sophisticated calculations and are sometimes not even sure if their answers are correct.
Teaching Math In 1950
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit?
Teaching Math In 1960
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?
Teaching Math In 1970
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. Did he make a profit?
Teaching Math In 1980
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20 Your assignment: Underline the number 20.
Teaching Math In 1990
A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. He does this so he can make a profit of $20. What do you think of this way of making a living?
Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes? (There are no wrong answers.)
Teaching Math In 2013
Un ranchero vende una carretera de madera para $100. El cuesto de la produccion era $80. Cuantos tortillas
se puede comprar?
I’ve personally maintained that the first time calculators should be formally introduced is college. A high school graduate should be able to do all the way through calculus without a calculator.
I know. It just doesn't add up to me.
LOLOLOLOL!
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