From work it out yourself or else to Kumbaya and mental illness
I think this chronological progression of our education system is brilliant
Teaching Maths from the 1950s to Today
1. Teaching Maths in the 1950s ...
A forester sells a lorryload of timber for $100
His cost of production is 4/5 of the price.
What is his profit? $____
2 Teaching Maths in the 1970s ...
A forester sells a lorryload of timber for $100.
His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80.
What is his profit? $___
3 Teaching Maths in the 1990s ...
A forester sells a lorryload of timber for $100.
His cost of production is $80.
Did he make a profit? __Yes or __No
4. Teaching Maths in the 2000s ...
A forester sells a lorryload of timber for $100.
His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20.
Your assignment: Underline the number 20.
5. Teaching Maths in the 2010s ...
A forester cuts down a beautiful forest he planted in 1960 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 koala s feel as the logger cut down their homes?
6. Teaching Maths in the 2020s ...
Maths is a racist subject.
Students no longer need any maths skills to go to University.
2+2 = 4, or 22, or what ever you feel is correct for you.
There are no wrong answers, feel free to express your feelings e.g., anger, anxiety, inadequacy, helplessness etc.
Should you require debriefing at the conclusion of the exam there are Counsellors available to assist you.
Sweet William said
02:42 PM Jul 24, 2022
I gave up university studies when the maths progressed to 2+2=5 for very large values of 2.
Whenarewethere said
03:16 PM Jul 24, 2022
There was a survey years ago, probably been repeated many times, asking people to add 10% GST to $100. Pretty much a complete failure rate. Answers like $20 to I don't know.
DMaxer said
04:18 PM Jul 24, 2022
You really need to go back in time to find the true mathematicians. Archimedes, Blaise Pascal, Pierre de Fermat were just geniuses.
I remember in student days I was working as a clerk and pencilled for a bookmaker. Odds were all fractional such as 2/1, 3/1 etc and they were straight forward. There were also fractions like 7/2, 9/4,11/8,15/4. It didnt matter what was offered by the punter he would rattle of the return as he wrote the ticket.This bloke never got past 3rd year high school but brilliant with figures. The board never got under 110 per cent.
All different today. Decimal odds and a computer printing tickets but thats another story.
dorian said
03:14 AM Jul 25, 2022
Whenarewethere wrote:
There was a survey years ago, probably been repeated many times, asking people to add 10% GST to $100. Pretty much a complete failure rate. Answers like $20 to I don't know.
I'd like to see how the results correlate with age groups. Is the population really becoming dumber?
yobarr said
10:27 AM Jul 25, 2022
dorian wrote:
Whenarewethere wrote:
There was a survey years ago, probably been repeated many times, asking people to add 10% GST to $100. Pretty much a complete failure rate. Answers like $20 to I don't know.
I'd like to see how the results correlate with age groups. Is the population really becoming dumber?
You'd need be a brave man to say 'No'. The declining standards in literacy are clear to see, with rubbish like 'the reason why is because' and 'we redid it again' just a couple of examples. Then we see more rubbish like 'Myself and Bob' becoming more common. Mathematics? Behave! Last week I was in a shop and bought 10 small items, each costing 20 cents. The young lass behind the counter produced her little calculator, entered details, and proudly announced that the total cost would be $2. Amazing! For a bit of a laugh I decided to purchase another 20 cent item, so out came the calculator again. "That'll be $2.20" she said, very proud of herself. Here we have an 18 year old girl needing a calculator to do Grade 2 maths. Cheers
Mike Harding said
01:49 PM Jul 25, 2022
From age 5 to 12 I chanted my "times tables" each school day morning; I never enjoyed it but I doubt there has been a day since when I have not used that embedded knowledge. To this day ask me what is 5 x 7 or 9 x 8 or 12 x 11 and i can provide an instant correct reply.
OECD figures indicate, without question, that Australia has been deteriorating in the educational prowess of its children when compared to similar countries for about the past 25 years. In my opinion this is entirely due to the teaching methods chosen to teach basic literacy and numeracy skills over that timeframe. Fortunately there is now, finally, arising some awareness of the failure of these "New Age" methods, such as the reading "Look and say" technique which seeks to promote pattern recognition over phonetics so, with a bit of luck, children in Australia may finally learn how to read, write and do sums properly again.
Note:
Two years past, very sadly, I gave a statement to police regarding a murder investigation; I wrote most of it prior to the police interview and e-mailed it to the officer who was about 35 years of age. When we met to do the formal stuff she read my statement and asked what the word "bitumen" meant, I explained it was a type of road surface and she said "Oh yes, I know it but I've never seen it written before". Given bitumen is not a common word her unfamiliarity is not surprising but what did strike me was her inability to sound it out - no doubt the result of "improved" education.
Edit:
I note there is currently a push to teach Aboriginal language(s) in schools: I am unconvinced time dedicated to teaching largely dead languages to children for Politically Correct purposes is time well spent during a child's education.
-- Edited by Mike Harding on Monday 25th of July 2022 02:02:19 PM
dorian said
03:03 PM Jul 25, 2022
Mike Harding wrote:
Two years past, very sadly, I gave a statement to police regarding a murder investigation; I wrote most of it prior to the police interview and e-mailed it to the officer who was about 35 years of age. When we met to do the formal stuff she read my statement and asked what the word "bitumen" meant, I explained it was a type of road surface and she said "Oh yes, I know it but I've never seen it written before". Given bitumen is not a common word her unfamiliarity is not surprising but what did strike me was her inability to sound it out - no doubt the result of "improved" education.
Cops always work in pairs. One's good with numbers, the other one's good with letters.
dabbler said
03:44 PM Jul 25, 2022
I have relatives older than me who can't read or write despite spending 8-10 yrs in school plus apprenticeship. Numbers are obviously problematic too. A couple ran businesses but with a helpful spouse. Sure the system is failing for some people but then it always did. If anything there is a greater disparity between the highest and lowest educated in today's world. My spouse spent the better part 25 years working in the private school sector with school age kids trying to find an educational path that suited their skills and interests. More often than not, it was the middling achievers that needed most assistance. Do you know the biggest challenge ? Convincing Mum and Dad to try alternatives. Second biggest challenge? Convincing kids what worked for Mum and/or Dad will not necessarily work for them. Public schools just don't have the funding for that type of intervention and it shows (I'm not saying that public school turns out students that are always less educated or lower intellect than private schools, I'm saying their offerings to students are more limited.).
Whenarewethere said
03:58 PM Jul 25, 2022
The one we really need to be training for, is when one is in hospital or at the doctor & they ask you to count back from 100 by 7
Craig1 said
07:53 PM Jul 25, 2022
100 is not divisble by 7.
Bit like a member of that " failed funeral fund " on news tonight. Said he had paid $100 per fortnight for 20 years. At $52k, it sure was going to be a gold plated send off.
Whenarewethere said
08:44 PM Jul 25, 2022
100, 93, 86, 79, 72, 65.... Some doctors ask you to count down from 99, 92, 85.... So one needs to practice.
One can do a non attendance funeral, about $1000 and someone picks up the ashes.
So at $100 per fortnight doesn't take long to save.
From work it out yourself or else to Kumbaya and mental illness
I think this chronological progression of our education system is brilliant
Teaching Maths from the 1950s to Today
1. Teaching Maths in the 1950s ...
A forester sells a lorryload of timber for $100
His cost of production is 4/5 of the price.
What is his profit? $____
2 Teaching Maths in the 1970s ...
A forester sells a lorryload of timber for $100.
His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80.
What is his profit? $___
3 Teaching Maths in the 1990s ...
A forester sells a lorryload of timber for $100.
His cost of production is $80.
Did he make a profit? __Yes or __No
4. Teaching Maths in the 2000s ...
A forester sells a lorryload of timber for $100.
His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20.
Your assignment: Underline the number 20.
5. Teaching Maths in the 2010s ...
A forester cuts down a beautiful forest he planted in 1960 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 koala s feel as the logger cut down their homes?
6. Teaching Maths in the 2020s ...
Maths is a racist subject.
Students no longer need any maths skills to go to University.
2+2 = 4, or 22, or what ever you feel is correct for you.
There are no wrong answers, feel free to express your feelings e.g., anger, anxiety, inadequacy, helplessness etc.
Should you require debriefing at the conclusion of the exam there are Counsellors available to assist you.
I gave up university studies when the maths progressed to 2+2=5 for very large values of 2.
There was a survey years ago, probably been repeated many times, asking people to add 10% GST to $100. Pretty much a complete failure rate. Answers like $20 to I don't know.
I'd like to see how the results correlate with age groups. Is the population really becoming dumber?
You'd need be a brave man to say 'No'. The declining standards in literacy are clear to see, with rubbish like 'the reason why is because' and 'we redid it again' just a couple of examples. Then we see more rubbish like 'Myself and Bob' becoming more common. Mathematics? Behave! Last week I was in a shop and bought 10 small items, each costing 20 cents. The young lass behind the counter produced her little calculator, entered details, and proudly announced that the total cost would be $2. Amazing! For a bit of a laugh I decided to purchase another 20 cent item, so out came the calculator again. "That'll be $2.20" she said, very proud of herself. Here we have an 18 year old girl needing a calculator to do Grade 2 maths. Cheers
From age 5 to 12 I chanted my "times tables" each school day morning; I never enjoyed it but I doubt there has been a day since when I have not used that embedded knowledge. To this day ask me what is 5 x 7 or 9 x 8 or 12 x 11 and i can provide an instant correct reply.
OECD figures indicate, without question, that Australia has been deteriorating in the educational prowess of its children when compared to similar countries for about the past 25 years. In my opinion this is entirely due to the teaching methods chosen to teach basic literacy and numeracy skills over that timeframe. Fortunately there is now, finally, arising some awareness of the failure of these "New Age" methods, such as the reading "Look and say" technique which seeks to promote pattern recognition over phonetics so, with a bit of luck, children in Australia may finally learn how to read, write and do sums properly again.
Note:
Two years past, very sadly, I gave a statement to police regarding a murder investigation; I wrote most of it prior to the police interview and e-mailed it to the officer who was about 35 years of age. When we met to do the formal stuff she read my statement and asked what the word "bitumen" meant, I explained it was a type of road surface and she said "Oh yes, I know it but I've never seen it written before". Given bitumen is not a common word her unfamiliarity is not surprising but what did strike me was her inability to sound it out - no doubt the result of "improved" education.
Edit:
I note there is currently a push to teach Aboriginal language(s) in schools: I am unconvinced time dedicated to teaching largely dead languages to children for Politically Correct purposes is time well spent during a child's education.
----
The Age article about a local school which changed English teaching
-- Edited by Mike Harding on Monday 25th of July 2022 02:02:19 PM
Cops always work in pairs. One's good with numbers, the other one's good with letters.
The one we really need to be training for, is when one is in hospital or at the doctor & they ask you to count back from 100 by 7
Bit like a member of that " failed funeral fund " on news tonight. Said he had paid $100 per fortnight for 20 years. At $52k, it sure was going to be a gold plated send off.
100, 93, 86, 79, 72, 65.... Some doctors ask you to count down from 99, 92, 85.... So one needs to practice.
One can do a non attendance funeral, about $1000 and someone picks up the ashes.
So at $100 per fortnight doesn't take long to save.