Posted on 10/12/2005 3:41:06 PM PDT by pabianice
This came from a Navy vet buddy who is now a math teacher in England.
Subject: Math Matters
A recent review of the US math curricula yielded the following summaries.
Last week I purchased a burger at Burger King for $1.58. The counter girl took my $2 and I was digging for my change when I pulled 8 cents from my pocket and gave it to her. She stood there, holding the nickel and 3 pennies, while looking at the screen on her register. I sensed her discomfort and tried to tell her to just give me two quarters, but she hailed the manager for help. While he tried to explain the transaction to her, she stood there and cried.
Why do I tell you this? Because of the evolution in teaching math since the 1950s:
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: An evil logger (who also belongs to the NRA) 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? Should he be allowed to vote? Should he be punished? 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 2005: Un hachero vende una carretada de madera para $100. El costo de la produccion es $80.
HA! That's why homeschooling is the way of the future. That is until the NEA is disbanded and the Department of Education is done away with.
ROFLMAO
LOL! Good stuff!
BTW, I hate being bothered by all things Math. I just use a calculator. ;^)
Great post.
This has happened to me more than once. I had to explain to the clerks, "Just punch the amount I gave you into the computer." In one case, the amount was odd, I gave an odd amount in payment, and received a dollar bill in change. "Duuude, that was awesome!" was the clerk's reaction.
This is making me feel old- I had to learn to make change in my head.
My wife tried to pay with cash once at a mall store, and the clerk had to call the manager. She didn't know how to process a cash transaction!
There's been a few times when I've given them change, confused the cashier and I got extra money back.
PING
I am one that usually has the "over-the-top" amount of change available so that the cashier can minimize the exchange of coins.
With the advent of touch pad registers, like those in the fast food places, they just enter the amount and follow the register's calculation. Seldom do I hear an example of counting back change. Usually those that are without the math skills just quietly place the change in your hand displaying a near total lack of confidence about what just happened.
Across the board, I have observed those working the registers at asian restuarants really perk up when the extra change comes out with the cash. One, they appreciate the courtesy being extended to the cashier (more change available in the till), but also it is like one can see the little wheels spinning. They like the extra math. Seldom do I see any hesitation. The same transaction that I worked out as I was heading to the check-out, they immediately grasped.
For the guy/gal in the burger place who begins to panic at the first display of extra change, I now just pull it back and let them process the $5, 10, or $20. It is all they are comfortable to do.
Math: The only universal language.
010001010101101100110100101010110110101010101101010111110101010101000010100010101010
I thought the headline was:
"Why Meth Matters"
Yikes!
Hey, now you are making me feel old. Hey, wait, I am old!
Growing up, probably 3rd-6th grade, my folks got me involved with the fund-raising booths in their veteran's organizations. Burgers at the fair; Firework stands, all cash.
Counting back change aloud assured both the customer and my parents that I was on top of the transaction. So I would speak it all out.
Let us say the total was $4.58, and I was handed $5.08. I would say as they paid, "The total was $4.58, and this is $5.08. (knowing in my mind that the .08 came off first), I would then count back, "so that will be 4.50, 4.75, $5.00", handing back two quarters. We did not have electricity in those booths. We worked out of muffin pans or tackle boxes. It became second nature to all of us.
But now, the generations that have followed don't do math in their heads any more. When someone just hands me change from the amount the register displayed, what check and balance system are they using to make sure that have over paid. Sometimes when the change comes back wrong. I just fold my arms and talk them through the amounts.
Which begs a question for all of you. Don't each of you know the amount of the change expected before the clerk lays it out, or do you also just blindly pick it up and put it away? I would bet a high percentage of us have it down to the penny every time!
There are 10 kinds of people; those who understand binary, and those who don't.
Joy! My ten-year-old was able to figure the change in her head, and solved the original logger problem in under a minute.
Beautifully explained!
In defense of the young cashier, that kind of thing could happen to many people. When I was a teenager, I spent one summer working in a concession stand at the local minor league baseball stadium. Most nights I was a cashier. Now I was not bad at simple math at all; in fact, at the time I was on my school's math team (we were the "mathletes"). But even I was tripped up by the occasional customer giving extra change to me. The concession stand was extremely busy for several hours each night. I would quickly get into a routine - take the money, punch in the amount, give the change back according to the display on the register. Obviously I could've easily done the math in my head, but there wasn't time to do so. When a customer did something out of the ordinary, like giving me extra change, it threw the routine off and I had to stop and think for a few seconds about what to do. It was especially confusing when they gave me extra change after I had already entered their original amount into the register. I knew how to do the math, I just needed a few seconds to adjust. But even if I hesitated for a few seconds, some jerks would start making condescending comments and explaining the math to me like I was a child.
Cash is anonymous.
ROTFL. This is very good.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.