Teaching Math in America

[Dare]

 
You purchase a burger at Burger King for $1.58. The counter girl takes your $2 and then you hand her 8 cents from your pocket. She stands there, holding the nickel and 3 pennies, looking confused and staring at the screen on the register.

You sense her discomfort and tried to tell her she should just give you two quarters in change, but she calls the manager for help. When you try to explain the transaction to her, she just looks at you and cries..

Why do I tell you this?.

Because it demonstrates 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.

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 2010.

Un hachero vende una carretada de maderapara $100.
El costo de la producciones es $80. Cuanto dinero ha hecho?.

~~Have a good day!

 

[John S]

As the song from the late fifties says, 'Que Sera Sera' my friend.

At least the question is back in mathematics, rather than in Hippydom. 

[Canada Darrell™]

It is quite simply staggering the number of minimum wage workers I encounter that cannot make change these days. If you ask me that should be the #1 basic ability when hiring someone in a cash-based retail environment. But hey, that's just me and I'd probably get slapped with a human rights violation for not hiring someone that can't count. 

[cosworth151]

That's why so many of the cash register systems we design force the cashier to enter the amount the customer tenders. They can't trust their employees to do the math.

We've even had a fast food install where we put pictures of the items on the keys instead of the item names. 

[Ian]

Youngsters are as thick as sh*t on mental arithmetic nowadays, too much reliance on calculators and pc's, spelling is the same but text talk is now acceptable. It makes me shudder. My boy is no different.

[Jugirl]

I was just wondering Dare....did the cashier have blonde hair?? 

Ju

[lkjohnson1950]

I can say from personal experience, many teens cannot make change. When I was in fast food many years ago, we let a number of kids go because their cash drawers never balanced. And yes, I have seen registers at Mickey D's that have pictographs instead of words. Ours at least had the names of the items on them.

Lonny

[Dare]

I was just wondering Dare....did the cashier have blonde hair?? 

Ju

Ask me no questions and I'll tell you  know lies,Blondie Ju

[Jugirl]

I was just wondering Dare....did the cashier have blonde hair?? 

Ju

Ask me no questions and I'll tell you  know lies,Blondie Ju

There was me thinking the Bangles sang that one

Ju

[Alianora La Canta]

Youngsters are as thick as sh*t on mental arithmetic nowadays, too much reliance on calculators and pc's, spelling is the same but text talk is now acceptable. It makes me shudder. My boy is no different.

I started attending a bookkeeping class a few weeks ago. I turned up for my first class 20 minutes late (long story). 2/3 of the way to my desk, the teacher asked "What's 9 times 7?" Puzzled as to why this would be being asked out loud to a bunch of adults, I said "63". I got to my desk... ...at which point the teacher pointed to me and said:

"Everyone, that's the advantage of being old!"

The kicker? Everyone else appeared to be older than me (granted that the teacher was probably older than any of his pupils).

It seems like everyone is forgetting how to do basic arithmetic, not just the youngsters...

[Ian]

The times tables are one of the best things you learn in school, ok it was parrot fashion but they're stuck in your brain forever and you use them all your life, not only for multiplication but division as well. My son can't understand how I can remember them from so many years ago.

[John S]

The times tables are one of the best things you learn in school, ok it was parrot fashion but they're stuck in your brain forever and you use them all your life, not only for multiplication but division as well. My son can't understand how I can remember them from so many years ago.

They do say we revert to our childhood when we get old. 

[cosworth151]

Most of the thirties-and-younger crowd here at the office seem amazed when I add a column of figures without a calculator. Oh, well......

[Jericoke]

Math is definitely 'use it or lose it'.

At work I rely on Excel for all my calculations, I found myself at a restaurant the other day stuck trying to calculate a tip.  My brain is as mushy as my tummy!

I wonder if people who leave 10% aren't so much cheap... as they just can't do the math.

[Ian]

I always use 10% as the norm for good service.