| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Fred Stone" |
| Date: |
02 Dec 2007 05:23:47 PM |
| Object: |
If Math Were A Color, it would be __ because __. |
http://www.dinocrat.com/archives/2007/11/28/school-days-updated-and-
revised/#respond
{lots of links at site}
School Days, updated and revised
A nation of ignoramuses who do not know how to read, apply logic, or do
simple math, has no future. We don’t need jihad to undo the
Enlightenment. We can do it all by ourselves. Consider the academic
program that has a 20% market share in the nation’s grammar schools. NY
Sun:
The state of Texas has dropped a math curriculum that is mandated for
use in New York City schools, saying it was leaving public school
graduates unprepared for college. The curriculum, called Everyday
Mathematics, became the standard for elementary students in New York City
when Mayor Bloomberg took control of the public schools in 2003.
About three million students across the country now use the program,
including students in 28 Texas school districts, and industry estimates
show it holds the greatest market share of any lower-grade math textbook,
nearly 20%.
Some questions for 5th graders:
A. If math were a color, it would be –, because –.
B. If it were a food, it would be –, because –.
C. If it were weather, it would be –, because –.
The situation with 4th graders:
“The curriculum’s failure was undeniable: Not one of my students knew
his or her times tables, and few had mastered even the most basic
operations; knowledge of multiplication and division was abysmal…what
would you do, if you discovered that none of your fourth-graders could
correctly tell you the answer to four times eight?”
The song School Days dates from 1907. Who would have thought that, a
century later, “readin’ and writin’ and ‘rithmetic,” not to mention the
hickory stick, would have vanished from broad reaches of the American
scene?
--
Fred Stone
aa# 1369
Liberal: a power worshipper without power. - George Orwell
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| User: "Richard Nibbler" |
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| Title: Re: If Math Were A Color, it would be __ because __. |
02 Dec 2007 07:03:54 PM |
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On Dec 2, 4:23 pm, Fred Stone <fston...@earthling.com> wrote:
http://www.dinocrat.com/archives/2007/11/28/school-days-updated-and-
revised/#respond
{lots of links at site}
School Days, updated and revised
A nation of ignoramuses who do not know how to read, apply logic, or do
simple math, has no future. We don't need jihad to undo the
Enlightenment. We can do it all by ourselves. Consider the academic
program that has a 20% market share in the nation's grammar schools. NY
Sun:
The state of Texas has dropped a math curriculum that is mandated for
use in New York City schools, saying it was leaving public school
graduates unprepared for college. The curriculum, called Everyday
Mathematics, became the standard for elementary students in New York City
when Mayor Bloomberg took control of the public schools in 2003.
About three million students across the country now use the program,
including students in 28 Texas school districts, and industry estimates
show it holds the greatest market share of any lower-grade math textbook,
nearly 20%.
Some questions for 5th graders:
A. If math were a color, it would be -, because -.
B. If it were a food, it would be -, because -.
C. If it were weather, it would be -, because -.
The situation with 4th graders:
"The curriculum's failure was undeniable: Not one of my students knew
his or her times tables, and few had mastered even the most basic
operations; knowledge of multiplication and division was abysmal...what
would you do, if you discovered that none of your fourth-graders could
correctly tell you the answer to four times eight?"
The song School Days dates from 1907. Who would have thought that, a
century later, "readin' and writin' and 'rithmetic," not to mention the
hickory stick, would have vanished from broad reaches of the American
scene?
--
Fred Stone
aa# 1369
Liberal: a power worshipper without power. - George Orwell
If math were a color it would be White because White is the ultimate
color of infinity and infinity is the ultimate resolution to math.
Praise Natas!!!!
.
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| User: "Kelsey Bjarnason" |
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| Title: Re: If Math Were A Color, it would be __ because __. |
04 Dec 2007 02:59:40 PM |
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[snips]
On Sun, 02 Dec 2007 23:23:47 +0000, Fred Stone wrote:
Some questions for 5th graders:
A. If math were a color, it would be –, because –.
B. If it were a food, it would be –, because –.
C. If it were weather, it would be –, because –.
Fifth graders? What *color* would math be? What the hell use is that in
learning math?
.
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| User: "chibiabos" |
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| Title: Re: If Math Were A Color, it would be __ because __. |
04 Dec 2007 06:05:57 PM |
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In article <smrg25-ke6.ln1@spanky.localhost.net>, Kelsey Bjarnason
<kbjarnason@gmail.com> wrote:
[snips]
On Sun, 02 Dec 2007 23:23:47 +0000, Fred Stone wrote:
Some questions for 5th graders:
A. If math were a color, it would be ?, because ?.
B. If it were a food, it would be ?, because ?.
C. If it were weather, it would be ?, because ?.
Fifth graders? What *color* would math be? What the hell use is that in
learning math?
The question is clearly cherry-picked.
But, as someone who works in education, I can see a couple of valid
reasons for questions like the above. First, it gets kids thinking
about math in a creative, maybe even entertaining way, which is
something that most rote math curricula don't do. If you can relate
something boring or uninteresting to something fun, familiar or
immediate, it helps create a more positive mindset for learning.
There also appears to be a bit of synesthesia going on with this
question. The very act of describing math in terms of weather is
disorienting enough to make most of us stop and think, "Hm, how _would_
I do that?"
Not saying this is the answer as I haven't seen the rest of the math
adoption. But I've seen selections like this in lots of otherwise solid
programs.
-chib
--
Member of SMASH
Sarcastic Middle-Aged Atheists with a Sense of Humor
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| User: "Kelsey Bjarnason" |
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| Title: Re: If Math Were A Color, it would be __ because __. |
05 Dec 2007 06:57:47 AM |
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[snips]
On Tue, 04 Dec 2007 16:05:57 -0800, chibiabos wrote:
Fifth graders? What *color* would math be? What the hell use is that in
learning math?
The question is clearly cherry-picked.
Perhaps true, but that said... so what? Cherry picked or not, it has F.A.
to do with learning math.
But, as someone who works in education, I can see a couple of valid
reasons for questions like the above. First, it gets kids thinking
about math in a creative, maybe even entertaining way
Yeah, like how to apply math.
When I learned math, as a kid, I did it mostly at home, with the
encouragement of an elder family member. I'd learned binary by the time I
was five - not simply counting, but operations such as binary addition,
division, etc - simply because I'd been exposed to it and encouraged to
play with it, making it fun. I learned how to use math in creative, even
entertaining ways... but I learned *math*. Not some silly-***** crap about
what flavour math is.
, which is
something that most rote math curricula don't do. If you can relate
something boring or uninteresting to something fun, familiar or
immediate, it helps create a more positive mindset for learning.
Sure, fine, sounds good - now how does *math* relate to something fun in
this case? Oh, right, it doesn't, because there's no math involved; it
is merely a word, a symbol, devoid of any meaning. It could as readily
have been "What colour would reading be" or "what colour would sound be"
or "what colour would flurble be" - the question has nothing at all to do
with math, with learning math, with making math fun; it is an exercise in
irrelevancy.
There also appears to be a bit of synesthesia going on with this
question. The very act of describing math in terms of weather is
disorienting enough to make most of us stop and think, "Hm, how _would_
I do that?"
I wouldn't, as the question makes no sense and has nothing whatsoever to
do with math. It makes as much sense to ask this in a math class as it
does to ask how to tune a jackhammer in band class.
Not saying this is the answer as I haven't seen the rest of the math
adoption. But I've seen selections like this in lots of otherwise solid
programs.
If the program is solid, it doesn't need this sort of crap in it. If it
isn't solid, it should be scrapped for something sane.
.
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| User: "chibiabos" |
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| Title: Re: If Math Were A Color, it would be __ because __. |
05 Dec 2007 11:47:32 PM |
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In article <brji25-ke6.ln1@spanky.localhost.net>, Kelsey Bjarnason
<kbjarnason@gmail.com> wrote:
[snips]
On Tue, 04 Dec 2007 16:05:57 -0800, chibiabos wrote:
Fifth graders? What *color* would math be? What the hell use is that in
learning math?
The question is clearly cherry-picked.
Perhaps true, but that said... so what? Cherry picked or not, it has F.A.
to do with learning math.
But, as someone who works in education, I can see a couple of valid
reasons for questions like the above. First, it gets kids thinking
about math in a creative, maybe even entertaining way
Yeah, like how to apply math.
Difficult to get a lot of kids to apply anything until they develop
minimal interest in it, and math just ain't that glamourous to most
ten-year-olds. I'm suggesting the reason for questions like the one in
discussion is to present dry topics in an appealing way. Does this
question teach computational skills? No, it doesn't. Does it make the
kid think about math differently? Yeah, it does. Maybe enough to get
him interested in how the damn stuff actually works.
When I learned math, as a kid, I did it mostly at home, with the
encouragement of an elder family member. I'd learned binary by the time I
was five - not simply counting, but operations such as binary addition,
division, etc - simply because I'd been exposed to it and encouraged to
play with it, making it fun. I learned how to use math in creative, even
entertaining ways... but I learned *math*. Not some silly-***** crap about
what flavour math is.
Clearly, not everybody is as gifted as you, or had the same incentives
or advantages. If everybody acquired knowledge the same way you did (or
in the same way at all, whether like you or not), teaching would be a
WHOLE lot easier. Trouble is, they don't, and it isn't. So you try
different things to reach different kids. Some of them sound lame to
people like you and the OP. They might not be lame to Timmy in Des
Moines or Montel in South Central Los Angeles. But that's okay, let's
drill these hopeless kids with dittos until their brains fry. That'll
learn 'em.
, which is
something that most rote math curricula don't do. If you can relate
something boring or uninteresting to something fun, familiar or
immediate, it helps create a more positive mindset for learning.
Sure, fine, sounds good - now how does *math* relate to something fun in
this case? Oh, right, it doesn't, because there's no math involved; it
is merely a word, a symbol, devoid of any meaning. It could as readily
have been "What colour would reading be" or "what colour would sound be"
or "what colour would flurble be" -
Then this thread would be about reading or sound or flurble. The same
method could be used to stimulate an interest in any of those subjects.
Why is this concept so difficult to accept?
-chib
--
Member of S.M.A.S.H.
Sarcastic Middle-aged Atheists with a Sense of Humor
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| User: "Kelsey Bjarnason" |
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| Title: Re: If Math Were A Color, it would be __ because __. |
06 Dec 2007 01:25:38 PM |
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[snips]
On Wed, 05 Dec 2007 21:47:32 -0800, chibiabos wrote:
Difficult to get a lot of kids to apply anything until they develop
minimal interest in it
And "what color is math" develops their interest *in math* how, exactly?
Oh, right, it doesn't. Interior decorating, perhaps, but not math.
and math just ain't that glamourous to most
ten-year-olds.
A thing need not be glamorous to be entertaining. Apply it to games, for
example.
Clearly, not everybody is as gifted as you, or had the same incentives
or advantages.
I had a pocket calculator, curiosity, and someone I could talk to about
whether my notions were right or wrong. Most students have similar things
available - mine happened to be a grandparent, but there are these other
people... hmm... what are they called... oh, yes, "teachers".
If everybody acquired knowledge the same way you did (or
in the same way at all, whether like you or not), teaching would be a
WHOLE lot easier. Trouble is, they don't, and it isn't. So you try
different things to reach different kids.
Sounds good. Now, since math doesn't have a physical presence to reflect
and absorb light, thus rendering the notion of it having a colour
completely irrelevant in the first place, and since there is no apparent
relation between the notion of math having a colour and actually being
able to learn math, what, exactly, was the benefit to this question as
pertains to learning math?
Sure, fine, sounds good - now how does *math* relate to something fun
in this case? Oh, right, it doesn't, because there's no math involved;
it is merely a word, a symbol, devoid of any meaning. It could as
readily have been "What colour would reading be" or "what colour would
sound be" or "what colour would flurble be" -
Then this thread would be about reading or sound or flurble.
You miss the point... it *is* about "flurble". You say it's about "math",
but the way "math" is used here, it has no relation to mathematics; it is
a symbol devoid of meaning.
The same
method could be used to stimulate an interest in any of those subjects.
Why is this concept so difficult to accept?
Pointless crud is, in general, hard to accept.
.
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| User: "chibiabos" |
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| Title: Re: If Math Were A Color, it would be __ because __. |
06 Dec 2007 05:58:00 PM |
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In article <iuul25-e8f.ln1@spanky.localhost.net>, Kelsey Bjarnason
<kbjarnason@gmail.com> wrote:
[snips]
On Wed, 05 Dec 2007 21:47:32 -0800, chibiabos wrote:
Difficult to get a lot of kids to apply anything until they develop
minimal interest in it
And "what color is math" develops their interest *in math* how, exactly?
Asked and answered. But I'll try again. Although I doubt it will have a
different effect than it already has.
If everybody acquired knowledge the same way you did (or
in the same way at all, whether like you or not), teaching would be a
WHOLE lot easier. Trouble is, they don't, and it isn't. So you try
different things to reach different kids.
Sounds good. Now, since math doesn't have a physical presence to reflect
and absorb light, thus rendering the notion of it having a colour
completely irrelevant in the first place, and since there is no apparent
relation between the notion of math having a colour and actually being
able to learn math, what, exactly, was the benefit to this question as
pertains to learning math?
Ever hear of synesthesia? It's the ability to describe certain sense
impressions in terms of a different sense. "A loud perfume." "An icy
voice." Just as math has no color, scent makes no sound, and normal
sound has no temperature. But we are still able to use such phrases
without confusion. It's a useful descriptive device in many situations.
Ascribing a color (or weather, or food) to math is a far more difficult
synesthetic challenge, especially for a ten-year-old, and that's _my_
point. If a kid is forced to describe math in jarringly different terms
(rather than merely "hard," "fun," "boring," "useful," etc.), it will
at least make him think about it.
That's all I think this question was designed to do. Make a kid think
about math. It wasn't a softball, useless page-filling time-waster. It
had a very specific purpose, even if you and others don't happen to
like or understand the purpose.
-chib
--
Member of SMASH
Sarcastic Middle-Aged Atheists with a Sense of Humor
.
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| User: "Kelsey Bjarnason" |
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| Title: Re: If Math Were A Color, it would be __ because __. |
09 Dec 2007 11:18:59 AM |
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[snips]
On Thu, 06 Dec 2007 15:58:00 -0800, chibiabos wrote:
Ever hear of synesthesia?
Yes, I have. It's when your brain misfires in such a way as to bring about
a reaction in an inappropriate sense area, such as "smelling" a color.
While it may have some potentially interesting side-effects, it is neither
"normal" - that is, it is a comparatively uncommon thing and generally
regarded as something of an aberration - nor is it apparently particularly
desirable, though some in the arts seem to make use of it.
However, since we're discussing *math*, not art, there's no smell or color
or texture to be misidentified; there are simply rules to be learned and
applied. The applicability of synesthesia seems to be unclear, as does
the desirability of it here.
voice." Just as math has no color, scent makes no sound
However, scent has a sensory impression; math doesn't. Thus the cases
aren't comparable, even on that minimal level, nor have we established the
supposed benefit of introducing aberration or reliance on aberration. I'm
sure there's a point in there somewhere, but what it is isn't clear.
Ascribing a color (or weather, or food) to math is a far more difficult
synesthetic challenge
Yes, it is indeed difficult to do the impossible.
That's all I think this question was designed to do.
To introduce yet another way to *not* learn actual math. Yes, we're all
quit clear on that. The question, though, is what is the benefit to this
in actually learning math?
.
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| User: "Fred Stone" |
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| Title: Re: If Math Were A Color, it would be __ because __. |
06 Dec 2007 08:53:27 PM |
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chibiabos <chibiabos@nospam.com> wrote in
news:061220071558001191%chibiabos@nospam.com:
In article <iuul25-e8f.ln1@spanky.localhost.net>, Kelsey Bjarnason
<kbjarnason@gmail.com> wrote:
[snips]
On Wed, 05 Dec 2007 21:47:32 -0800, chibiabos wrote:
Difficult to get a lot of kids to apply anything until they develop
minimal interest in it
And "what color is math" develops their interest *in math* how,
exactly?
Asked and answered. But I'll try again. Although I doubt it will have
a different effect than it already has.
If everybody acquired knowledge the same way you did (or
in the same way at all, whether like you or not), teaching would be
a WHOLE lot easier. Trouble is, they don't, and it isn't. So you
try different things to reach different kids.
Sounds good. Now, since math doesn't have a physical presence to
reflect and absorb light, thus rendering the notion of it having a
colour completely irrelevant in the first place, and since there is
no apparent relation between the notion of math having a colour and
actually being able to learn math, what, exactly, was the benefit to
this question as pertains to learning math?
Ever hear of synesthesia? It's the ability to describe certain sense
impressions in terms of a different sense. "A loud perfume." "An icy
voice." Just as math has no color, scent makes no sound, and normal
sound has no temperature. But we are still able to use such phrases
without confusion. It's a useful descriptive device in many
situations.
Ascribing a color (or weather, or food) to math is a far more
difficult synesthetic challenge, especially for a ten-year-old, and
that's _my_ point. If a kid is forced to describe math in jarringly
different terms (rather than merely "hard," "fun," "boring," "useful,"
etc.), it will at least make him think about it.
That's all I think this question was designed to do. Make a kid think
about math. It wasn't a softball, useless page-filling time-waster. It
had a very specific purpose, even if you and others don't happen to
like or understand the purpose.
It is part and parcel of a demonstrably ineffective educational "theory"
that belongs on the trashpile with other demonstrably ineffective
educational theories like "mainstreaming" and "self-esteem based
learning".
--
Fred Stone
aa# 1369
If you go into Sudan today
Your heart will fill with dread
If you go into Sudan today
You might just lose your head
Because on the sands
With blood on their hands
Every nut that ever was
Will be there because
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| User: "chibiabos" |
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| Title: Re: If Math Were A Color, it would be __ because __. |
07 Dec 2007 05:00:37 PM |
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In article <Xns99FEDEB755BDAfreddybear@216.151.153.44>, Fred Stone
<fstone69@earthling.com> wrote:
It is part and parcel of a demonstrably ineffective educational "theory"
that belongs on the trashpile with other demonstrably ineffective
educational theories like "mainstreaming" and "self-esteem based
learning".
Can it, Fred. We already know that your ability to learn new things has
been compromised.
-chib
--
Member of SMASH
Sarcastic Middle-Aged Atheists with a Sense of Humor
.
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| User: "Fred Stone" |
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| Title: Re: If Math Were A Color, it would be __ because __. |
07 Dec 2007 06:17:35 PM |
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chibiabos <chibiabos@nospam.com> wrote in
news:071220071500372620%chibiabos@nospam.com:
In article <Xns99FEDEB755BDAfreddybear@216.151.153.44>, Fred Stone
<fstone69@earthling.com> wrote:
It is part and parcel of a demonstrably ineffective educational
"theory" that belongs on the trashpile with other demonstrably
ineffective educational theories like "mainstreaming" and
"self-esteem based learning".
Can it, Fred. We already know that your ability to learn new things
has been compromised.
It's not that I can't learn, it's that you have nothing to teach.
--
Fred Stone
aa# 1369
If you go into Sudan today; Your heart will fill with dread
If you go into Sudan today; You might just lose your head
Because on the sands; With blood on their hands
Every nut that ever was; Will be there because
Today's the day the Teddy Bears; Have their Jihad!
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| User: "Aaron Kim" |
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| Title: Re: If Math Were A Color, it would be __ because __. |
06 Dec 2007 04:57:04 PM |
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What does this have to do with atheism, you double talking fraud ? You and
your motley crew of atheist knotheads and pinheads are always railing
against me every time I expose the big evolution fraud. The reality and
existence of God has everything to do with the topic of atheism. But bigoted
fascists like the loudmouth obnoxious shyster fraudulent atheists on this
newsgroup don't want to hear the truth and shake and tremble in anger
against the truth. You can bet I'll be filing a spam abuse report.
"Kelsey Bjarnason" <kbjarnason@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:iuul25-e8f.ln1@spanky.localhost.net...
[snips]
On Wed, 05 Dec 2007 21:47:32 -0800, chibiabos wrote:
Difficult to get a lot of kids to apply anything until they develop
minimal interest in it
And "what color is math" develops their interest *in math* how, exactly?
Oh, right, it doesn't. Interior decorating, perhaps, but not math.
and math just ain't that glamourous to most
ten-year-olds.
A thing need not be glamorous to be entertaining. Apply it to games, for
example.
Clearly, not everybody is as gifted as you, or had the same incentives
or advantages.
I had a pocket calculator, curiosity, and someone I could talk to about
whether my notions were right or wrong. Most students have similar things
available - mine happened to be a grandparent, but there are these other
people... hmm... what are they called... oh, yes, "teachers".
If everybody acquired knowledge the same way you did (or
in the same way at all, whether like you or not), teaching would be a
WHOLE lot easier. Trouble is, they don't, and it isn't. So you try
different things to reach different kids.
Sounds good. Now, since math doesn't have a physical presence to reflect
and absorb light, thus rendering the notion of it having a colour
completely irrelevant in the first place, and since there is no apparent
relation between the notion of math having a colour and actually being
able to learn math, what, exactly, was the benefit to this question as
pertains to learning math?
Sure, fine, sounds good - now how does *math* relate to something fun
in this case? Oh, right, it doesn't, because there's no math involved;
it is merely a word, a symbol, devoid of any meaning. It could as
readily have been "What colour would reading be" or "what colour would
sound be" or "what colour would flurble be" -
Then this thread would be about reading or sound or flurble.
You miss the point... it *is* about "flurble". You say it's about "math",
but the way "math" is used here, it has no relation to mathematics; it is
a symbol devoid of meaning.
The same
method could be used to stimulate an interest in any of those subjects.
Why is this concept so difficult to accept?
Pointless crud is, in general, hard to accept.
.
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| User: "Scott Richter" |
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| Title: Re: If Math Were A Color, it would be __ because __. |
07 Dec 2007 10:58:40 PM |
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Aaron Kim <aaron@artbulla.com> wrote:
What does this have to do with atheism, you double talking fraud ? You and
your motley crew of atheist knotheads and pinheads are always railing
against me every time I expose the big evolution fraud.
The only thing you've exposed is your own willful ignorance. Don't you
know that?
.
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| User: "Fred Stone" |
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| Title: Re: If Math Were A Color, it would be __ because __. |
06 Dec 2007 06:05:06 AM |
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chibiabos <chib@nospam.com> wrote in
news:051220072147324816%chib@nospam.com:
In article <brji25-ke6.ln1@spanky.localhost.net>, Kelsey Bjarnason
<kbjarnason@gmail.com> wrote:
<...>
When I learned math, as a kid, I did it mostly at home, with the
encouragement of an elder family member. I'd learned binary by the
time I was five - not simply counting, but operations such as binary
addition, division, etc - simply because I'd been exposed to it and
encouraged to play with it, making it fun. I learned how to use math
in creative, even entertaining ways... but I learned *math*. Not
some silly-***** crap about what flavour math is.
Clearly, not everybody is as gifted as you, or had the same incentives
or advantages. If everybody acquired knowledge the same way you did
(or in the same way at all, whether like you or not), teaching would
be a WHOLE lot easier. Trouble is, they don't, and it isn't. So you
try different things to reach different kids. Some of them sound lame
to people like you and the OP. They might not be lame to Timmy in Des
Moines or Montel in South Central Los Angeles. But that's okay, let's
drill these hopeless kids with dittos until their brains fry. That'll
learn 'em.
Well then those kids should not be in the same classroom with the ones
who *can* grasp concepts quickly and easily. Then maybe the quicker kids
wouldn't *lose all motivation* by being *bored to death*.
--
Fred Stone
aa# 1369
Liberal: a power worshipper without power. - George Orwell
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| User: "chibiabos" |
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| Title: Re: If Math Were A Color, it would be __ because __. |
06 Dec 2007 05:59:26 PM |
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In article <Xns99FE4810EBE8Bfreddybear@216.151.153.34>, Fred Stone
<fstone69@earthling.com> wrote:
chibiabos <chib@nospam.com> wrote in
news:051220072147324816%chib@nospam.com:
In article <brji25-ke6.ln1@spanky.localhost.net>, Kelsey Bjarnason
<kbjarnason@gmail.com> wrote:
<...>
When I learned math, as a kid, I did it mostly at home, with the
encouragement of an elder family member. I'd learned binary by the
time I was five - not simply counting, but operations such as binary
addition, division, etc - simply because I'd been exposed to it and
encouraged to play with it, making it fun. I learned how to use math
in creative, even entertaining ways... but I learned *math*. Not
some silly-***** crap about what flavour math is.
Clearly, not everybody is as gifted as you, or had the same incentives
or advantages. If everybody acquired knowledge the same way you did
(or in the same way at all, whether like you or not), teaching would
be a WHOLE lot easier. Trouble is, they don't, and it isn't. So you
try different things to reach different kids. Some of them sound lame
to people like you and the OP. They might not be lame to Timmy in Des
Moines or Montel in South Central Los Angeles. But that's okay, let's
drill these hopeless kids with dittos until their brains fry. That'll
learn 'em.
Well then those kids should not be in the same classroom with the ones
who *can* grasp concepts quickly and easily. Then maybe the quicker kids
wouldn't *lose all motivation* by being *bored to death*.
Come back when you understand the realities of public education in
America.
-chib
--
Member of SMASH
Sarcastic Middle-Aged Atheists with a Sense of Humor
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| User: "Fred Stone" |
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| Title: Re: If Math Were A Color, it would be __ because __. |
06 Dec 2007 08:47:39 PM |
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chibiabos <chibiabos@nospam.com> wrote in
news:061220071559266351%chibiabos@nospam.com:
In article <Xns99FE4810EBE8Bfreddybear@216.151.153.34>, Fred Stone
<fstone69@earthling.com> wrote:
chibiabos <chib@nospam.com> wrote in
news:051220072147324816%chib@nospam.com:
In article <brji25-ke6.ln1@spanky.localhost.net>, Kelsey Bjarnason
<kbjarnason@gmail.com> wrote:
<...>
When I learned math, as a kid, I did it mostly at home, with the
encouragement of an elder family member. I'd learned binary by
the time I was five - not simply counting, but operations such as
binary addition, division, etc - simply because I'd been exposed
to it and encouraged to play with it, making it fun. I learned
how to use math in creative, even entertaining ways... but I
learned *math*. Not some silly-***** crap about what flavour math
is.
Clearly, not everybody is as gifted as you, or had the same
incentives or advantages. If everybody acquired knowledge the same
way you did (or in the same way at all, whether like you or not),
teaching would be a WHOLE lot easier. Trouble is, they don't, and
it isn't. So you try different things to reach different kids. Some
of them sound lame to people like you and the OP. They might not be
lame to Timmy in Des Moines or Montel in South Central Los Angeles.
But that's okay, let's drill these hopeless kids with dittos until
their brains fry. That'll learn 'em.
Well then those kids should not be in the same classroom with the
ones who *can* grasp concepts quickly and easily. Then maybe the
quicker kids wouldn't *lose all motivation* by being *bored to
death*.
Come back when you understand the realities of public education in
America.
Get back to me when you understand why parents and taxpayers are
demanding performance instead of excuses.
--
Fred Stone
aa# 1369
If you go into Sudan today
Your heart will fill with dread
If you go into Sudan today
You might just lose your head
Because on the sands
With blood on their hands
Every nut that ever was
Will be there because
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| User: "Fred Stone" |
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| Title: Re: If Math Were A Color, it would be __ because __. |
04 Dec 2007 08:33:57 PM |
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chibiabos <chibiabos@nospam.com> wrote in
news:041220071605570963%chibiabos@nospam.com:
In article <smrg25-ke6.ln1@spanky.localhost.net>, Kelsey Bjarnason
<kbjarnason@gmail.com> wrote:
[snips]
On Sun, 02 Dec 2007 23:23:47 +0000, Fred Stone wrote:
Some questions for 5th graders:
A. If math were a color, it would be ?, because ?.
B. If it were a food, it would be ?, because ?.
C. If it were weather, it would be ?, because ?.
Fifth graders? What *color* would math be? What the hell use is
that in learning math?
The question is clearly cherry-picked.
But, as someone who works in education, I can see a couple of valid
reasons for questions like the above. First, it gets kids thinking
about math in a creative, maybe even entertaining way, which is
something that most rote math curricula don't do. If you can relate
something boring or uninteresting to something fun, familiar or
immediate, it helps create a more positive mindset for learning.
The positive mindset will come with the solid acheivment of learning, not
with some mindless exercise of sillyness.
There also appears to be a bit of synesthesia going on with this
question. The very act of describing math in terms of weather is
disorienting enough to make most of us stop and think, "Hm, how
_would_ I do that?"
It is not appropriate to be "disorienting" a fifth grade math class.
Not saying this is the answer as I haven't seen the rest of the math
adoption. But I've seen selections like this in lots of otherwise
solid programs.
Go back and read the cite more carefully.
--
Fred Stone
aa# 1369
Liberal: a power worshipper without power. - George Orwell
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| User: "Fred Stone" |
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| Title: Re: If Math Were A Color, it would be __ because __. |
04 Dec 2007 06:11:29 PM |
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Kelsey Bjarnason <kbjarnason@gmail.com> wrote in news:smrg25-ke6.ln1
@spanky.localhost.net:
[snips]
On Sun, 02 Dec 2007 23:23:47 +0000, Fred Stone wrote:
Some questions for 5th graders:
A. If math were a color, it would be –, because –.
B. If it were a food, it would be –, because –.
C. If it were weather, it would be –, because –.
Fifth graders? What *color* would math be? What the hell use is that in
learning math?
Precisely the point. The site that's from is a real eye-opener with respect
to what is whimsically called "education" in the USA. It's no wonder we're
falling behind, and more money for that sort of curriculum isn't going to
do ******* to improve the situation.
--
Fred Stone
aa# 1369
Liberal: a power worshipper without power. - George Orwell
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