Public school math goes full retard: 3 * 4 = 11?

[Architekt]

You put three apples (or donuts, if in USA) on the table before the class. Then you say:

"Class, there are too many of you for just three apples. There are twelve of you, but only three apples. If we want each one of you to have an apple, we need to multiply the number of apples.

If we multiply the three apples that we have by two, we now have six apples. That's still not enough for all of us. Multiplying by three wouldn't give us enough apples either. But if we multiply by four (take three more piles of three apples each and arrange them on the table separately, then join them into one big pile)... now we have twelve apples. And that, kids, is how multiplication works. Saying "times four" means that you now have four items of the same kind as the one that you started with.

Class is over, go get some fresh air.

Bam. Where is my Race to the Top grant?

I would have just cut them in quarters

 

[Handsome Creepy Eel]

I thought of that, but then it would have ended up being too similar to division.

 

[R Smoov]

You put three apples (or donuts, if in USA) on the table before the class. Then you say:

"Class, there are too many of you for just three apples. There are twelve of you, but only three apples. If we want each one of you to have an apple, we need to multiply the number of apples.

If we multiply the three apples that we have by two, we now have six apples. That's still not enough for all of us. Multiplying by three wouldn't give us enough apples either. But if we multiply by four (take three more piles of three apples each and arrange them on the table separately, then join them into one big pile)... now we have twelve apples. And that, kids, is how multiplication works. Saying "times four" means that you now have four items of the same kind as the one that you started with.

Class is over, go get some fresh air.

Bam. Where is my Race to the Top grant?

I would have just cut them in quarters

Eat one of the apples and tell them that if anyone tells them that 3 * 4 is 11 they're wrong. Since you ate an apple you have subtracted it from the 12 that you previously had.

RIP Teaching

 

[germanico]

My kids are not going to public school; private or tutors idgaf.

I am not having any kids unless im able to school them myself. Im not trusting their minds to any stupid teacher.

 

[Cyr]

I think that a few guys on here are missing the point. Yes, showing your working is crucial in maths, so that other people can follow your train of thought and ensure that you've done your working out correctly. However, there is no working out or method required for 3*4. It simply is the case and you can't dissect how and why until they study number theory, probably later on. Anyway, if multiplication is open to debate what hope is there? The whole point of maths is that there is a right answer, particularly with very straightforward questions and if extreme accuracy isn't being demanded on multiplication, students will be unable to progress in maths. Al of their future study relies on the fundamentals of multiplication, division, addition and subtraction. More important than understanding how or why 3*4=12, (which is unclear to me anyway), they need to understand that 3*4=12 every time and they need to make sure that they get it right every time.

 

[Ensam]

Of course, 3 * 4 does equal 11 in base eleven.

 

[phil81]

The point is that the method is what counts in the real world of math, science and engineering. Understanding the method is the most important part of "doing shit properly".

I'm not denying that. The how and why allows for greater understanding and easier extrapolation of knowledge. That being said, however, getting the right answer at the end is the part of the process that ultimately counts in practical applications. It's all well and good if you know how to cook a steak, but if you're going to burn it all the time, either you need to pay more attention, learn more about cooking steak, or start rethinking your dream of becoming a chef

Like I said "You guys are arguing this point from perspectives that are so different that you are not really arguing the same point. If you're talking about simple arithmetic and comparing getting the wrong answer to doing a root canal on the wrong tooth then the correct answer is what matters most." Same thing applies to cooking a steak.

The point I'm making is that people in our society don't know how to think critically and public school math teachers focusing more on the concept of "why and how" is a better way to train students for advanced math and a better way to train them to think critically in life. 3*4 is a terrible example for the reasons that Cyr explained but you are missing the more important concept because you are stuck on the 3*4 example.

These people who support this bullshit are the same people who'll raise hell when their cell phone coverage goes out because some engineer at the main office plugged a network cable into the wrong port.

The people who support this concept are the engineers. Forcing someone out of their comfort zone with complex math problems will eventually retrain their brain to think differently. It will teach them to be a problem solver and think critically about any topic if they do it enough. Those of us who have been through enough advanced math that pushed us far enough out of our comfort zone understand the importance of the "why and how" on a different level than people who haven't had that experience.

 

[Mentavious]

I'm homeschooling my 6-year old. His old school starts next week. He flew through all the 1st Grade stuff I threw at him in less than 4 weeks (averaged 1.5-2 hours a day for everything, sometimes less... did probably about 1,000 pages of worksheets in that time... more than what he'd probably do in the 170-day school year. He also did hundreds of pages of reading and flash cards). We just started with 2nd Grade curriculum stuff this week. He should be doing 4x3 multiplication stuff by October. Not hard to push your kids ahead and advance them.

I drove him last year for kindergarten to save him time on both ends of school, but I saw the bus schedule for this year... be at the bus stop at 6:38am and get back at 2:56pm. That's torture for kids, especially younger ones. Most school time is wasted/useless time. His lunchtime last year was 10:33. Q: Is that good for kids or good for the school? I saw his kindergarten schedule and only 4 of the hours were for instructions. He learned very little the whole year. Twice he had 4 different homeroom/main teachers in a week. The schools don't care. My wife and I prepped him and he just missed jumping straight to 1st grade last year... so I knew his baseline where he was starting from and saw where he ended. His teacher refused to work him ahead of other kids (another parent said the same thing to me about her daughter).

I'm freeing up a lot of time for my son. None of this wearing him down, dumbing him down, obedience training. I won't allow him to be a numb, no personality follower like most public school kids are being programmed to be.

Going to sign him up for an improv class to help him build a dominating, entertaining personality... to go along with his beastly athletic ability and advanced academics. I'd pat myself on the back for what I'm doing, but it's a joke how easy it is to move your kid into the top 5% these days.

Here's a link to a 1912 8th grade exam to show you how dumbed down schools have become. Quite humbling, even for smart people.

http://www.infowars.com/newly-disco...912-shows-how-dumbed-down-america-has-become/

Is he interacting and playing with other kids as well? If so, okay but if not then are you not worried about his social skills?

 

[cardguy]

 

[samsamsam]

cardguy that is fucking awesome

 

[AnonymousBosch]

Those of us who have been through enough advanced math that pushed us far enough out of our comfort zone understand the importance of the "why and how" on a different level than people who haven't had that experience.

...Unless you're being taught by a woman who doesn't want to be pushed out of her teaching comfort zone by those children not sticking to her dictated, inflexible script of How Children Must Learn.

 

[kbell]

Why is spongebob toxic? And what are the problems in childrens cartoons now a days?

 

[Damedius]

Why is spongebob toxic? And what are the problems in childrens cartoons now a days?

http://blogs.babycenter.com/mom_stories/09132011-study-spongebob-is-bad-for-our-kids/

Apparently he drops your IQ.

However I would take this study, like most studies, with a grain of salt. Did they compare to kids watching x,y,z. Is it just watching television that causes the drop? Etc.

 

[phil81]

Those of us who have been through enough advanced math that pushed us far enough out of our comfort zone understand the importance of the "why and how" on a different level than people who haven't had that experience.

...Unless you're being taught by a woman who doesn't want to be pushed out of her teaching comfort zone by those children not sticking to her dictated, inflexible script of How Children Must Learn.

And I think multiple choice tests are more likely to be the "dictated, inflexible scripts" than demonstrating how and why.

The lady in the video is saying the same thing that every college engineering professor says and something like 90% of those professors are men. Just because it comes out of a women's mouth doesn't mean it is anti-male. I think it is pro-male because it plays to men's strengths.

 

[TheKantian]

I read your post about 8 more times.

I still stand by the premise that we should be teaching kids to do shit properly rather than that "half-assed and close enough is good enough."

You should probably read it another 8 times. No where did I state a wrong answer or wrong method is correct. However, instead I stated a wrong answer does not automatically imply that the method someone uses is incorrect. Obviously, things as basic as arithmetic do not have that high of a margin of error.

 

[Architekt]

I read your post about 8 more times.

I still stand by the premise that we should be teaching kids to do shit properly rather than that "half-assed and close enough is good enough."

You should probably read it another 8 times. No where did I state a wrong answer or wrong method is correct. However, instead I stated a wrong answer does not automatically imply that the method someone uses is incorrect. Obviously, things as basic as arithmetic do not have that high of a margin of error.

Maybe you should be reading what I wrote 8 times - you seem to be missing the point. Even if the method is spot on, if you don't get the right solution at the end, you're still wrong no matter how succinct your justification. Like someone already said, open ended interpretations belong in liberal arts - not mathematics.

 

[Big Nilla]

Is he interacting and playing with other kids as well? If so, okay but if not then are you not worried about his social skills?

He'll be on a baseball team starting next month. Almost certain I'll sign him up for an improv class for kids. Thinking about Boy Scouts. He has a few friends from his school he plays with. Goes to the daycare in my wife's church (she works there) once or twice a week. Deals with my 4-year old all day.

Regardless of all that, I wouldn't be worried about his social skills. Bad social skills isn't a trait exclusive to homeschool kids. Plenty of public school kids have horrible social skills. The homeschool kids with bad social skills are probably a reflection of their weird, socially inept parents, imo.

Kbell,
IMO spongebob is toxic based on how it has affected my 6-year olds behaviors, attitude, and the words he uses. I can pinpoint too much bad stuff directly to spongebob. The stupid laugh, the spongebob way of whining, specific idiotic things he says, disrespect, etc. My 4-year old watches it too and it hasn't affected him the same way. They have opposite personalities, but still, the show doesn't have anything redeeming in it. On top of that, it doesn't stimulate any childish creativity AT ALL (had to emphasize that). Once I started having my kids watch the 80's tv shows I listed, I noticed a lot of childish creativity and role playing during and after them watching the shows.

For me, just best to minimize and phase out spongebob as much as possible and replace it with shows that I think are better for them.

 

[Aliblahba]

I learned 5x5=14

 

[TheRookie]

Re: Why is Spongebob bad for children?

Spongebob pretty much acts like a fullblown retard: