Fifty Years of Math 1958 - 2008
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:
1. Teaching Math In 1950s
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit ?
2. Teaching Math In 1960s
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?
3. Teaching Math In 1970s
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. Did he make a profit?
4. Teaching Math In 1980s
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.
5. Teaching Math In 1990s
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, and if you feel like crying, it's ok. )
6. Teaching Math In 2008
Un hachero vende una carretada de maderapara $100. El costo de la producciones es $80. Cuanto dinero ha hecho?
27 comments on Fifty Years of Math 1958 - 2008
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The change thing happened to me the other day at a convenience store..
If you ever notice the trouble with making change falls with the younger people,not the older folk's..I have said before it's all in the simple math..The way we learned in school..Its the same thing with spelling a word and reading...
I was head cashier at Super K-Mart,then at one of our local bank's.Saw this problem with math all the time..
Good post Angie,Thumb's Up!!!
I have noticed in subbing that kids are not getting the basics for some reason. I honestly do not believe that the fault lies entirely with the school system. Home environment and parent expectations may be at fault also. It is sad to think that we have to have a register to tell us how much change to give.
Oh yes,I agree.This is a issue that falls in a lot of laps.I didn't mean to come across that I was faulting just the Teacher's,parents have a hand in this too.I have felt that a lot come's down from above as to how the Teacher is told to teach our childern,those that have never been in a class room with a child.I have felt in a lot of cases our teachers hands have been tied.Is that the case?You are a Teacher Angie,as my gram ma was.
Gram was a English Teacher.Years and years ago.I will have to write a post on her.She was such an interesting lady..She started teaching out in the northwest on the plains as a very young girl,where she taught in a one room school house.She had a belly buster hand gun she carried in her bag,that the man of the family she lived with made her carry.The family who sponsered her for her teaching job..Due to the Plains Indian's would just walk into the school house and walk around,check things out and leave..
I really think that you need to do a post on your gram- what an interesting one that would be.
lol $6 (ha hecho veite dolares) :0)
I know exactly what you mean though and it's sad but it seems that the more the gov't keeps pushing for ed reform, we still keep getting worse and worse (at least with the basics).
That is because they never address the real problems in education. Many have never been in a classroom (to teach) or were teachers eons ago and do not have a clue as to what is really going on.
This is so true....another sign of our times, and not a good one.
Kids no longer have the guidance necessary when they are little to help them set goals and standards for themselves.
What a fabulous post!!! [THUMB UP] Sums it right up.... Of course, we should be reassured, "No Child is Left Behind." No, the schools keep passing them along, one grade level to the next, even though the kids don't have a clue. [THUMB DOWN]
Exactly! I see it all the time in So. Illinois. Administrators and the powers that be are too interested in their social development to worry about their educational needs.
That's a good one!
Sad also!
and 
Wow. I've never encountered that when I've paid for something. I agree that it's pretty sad but I also wonder if her crying was a sign of other things going on within her workplace...perhaps she was scared of the manager and his/her reaction or maybe worrying about "getting it right". I work with a lot of teenagers and I see this quite frequently. And just for the record, you'd be outraged by my own math skills...
But you have so many other talents! You are right: she is probably a very sensitive person with a strong desire to please.
Learn to count, add and subtract on paper before using a calculator, then move on to a register. Baby steps before running, don't you think? I wasn't a brainiac in math and struggled through a lot of it, but I think I manage quite well. And, if my computer, register, and calculator should all refuse to work, I know how to figure it out on paper (and sometimes in my head)! Most kids today can't do that.
I think that is the problem--they aren't taught problem solving but learning by rote.
Oh me this is good Angie! Lol
So true.
Jenn
Sad but true!
It is so true. We work really hard with our 10 year old on making change. it is such an important tool. Now what are the answers to those math problems?
Let me get my math expert-----Your helping your child at home is the key. So many kids aren't.
I've seen kids who can't tell the time if the clock isn't digital. If it has hands, forget it.
But it isn't just math. Students in the USA today are spoiled. The U.S. has achieved too much and has come too far in too short a time to really appreciate all the accomplishments of the last 200 years. Kids today want stuff handed to them. Where I work, young people walk around with earphones or buds on all the time to the point you have to shout or tap them on the shoulder to get their attention. They wear wife beater shirts like there's nothing wrong with that in the workplace and pants down the asses and stocking caps pulled down over their heads like thugs....at work. sigh.....and this isn't even a blue collar job.
We as a country are going to meet the same countries on the way down as we did on the way up. And it won't be pretty. Countries who've been around for thousands of years think the U.S. is too aggressive and impatient and they're right. We want immediate gratification.
I don't envy kids today growing up. It's gonna be harder than hell running this country in 20 years.
I shutter when I think of who will be the next leaders. You are absolutely correct in your observations. Our systems are all shutting down. I keep telling hubby that the end of our supremacy is soon.
Sad but true. The question is, how/why did it get that way? Was it inevitable? Who are the main culprits? Should they perhaps be flayed and burnt alive (well, the dead ones can't be, obviously)?
You are crazy!!!!!!!!!! I favor drowning the culprit while making them say the pledge of allegience backwards.
You're right: that's much better! {ThumbsUp!}
Kids these days can't tell time if a clock isn't digital either.
That's the truth!