If you wonder why our schools are so screwed up

[houstonherdfan]

My son was doing his math homework thursday evening. It was math and was working on some basic geometric shapes.

Area, volume and such. I looked at his paper when he was figuring the volume of a cylinder.

he had 2 x 3 x 1

I asked him what the 3 was repersenting. gues what I was suprised to hear. "It was pi" I told him that pi is 3.14. He told me that his teacher had told them to round pi to 3.

BTW my son is in 7th grade.

I called the teacher today to discuss this with her.

Here ware the reasons they round pi to 3

1. Its easier to multiply a 1 digit number rather than a 3 digit number.

2. The TAKS test (I am in TEXAS) is easier to figure the correct answer if you round pi, you don't have to make sure you round correctly your answer during the test.

3. Most of the parents are happier becuase its easier for them to help with homework.

And the #1 reason to round pi is

are you ready


are you sure


are you really sure

well her goes its a freakin duuuzzzzyy


"Well all the calculators have pi on them anyway."

I put this in quotes because that was her exact words

[knapplc]

Yow. That sucks. I wish I was able to make some crack about "that's Texas," but the sad reality is "that's America." Public schools are holding pens, and any education your child gets will come at the hands of the ever-increasingly rare Super Teacher, who cares too damned much to let this kind of S happen in their class. The problem is, those teachers, the kind that our parents took for granted in their classrooms, are going the way of the dodo, fast.

I'm already starting with my kid, and she's five. We talk about astronomy, geology, geography, math, grammar - anything I can think of to make a lesson out of, she gets it. I'm doing this on my own at home because I want her to have a fighting chance. I'm not confident she's going to get that at school.

Good luck, herd.

[Omaha Red Sox]

That's just pathetic. Teaching kids to take the easy way out instead of the right way will only damage their chances of success in the future. This is only one example. I can't imagine what other corners they're rounding off.

[A Fleshner Fantasy]

This kind of reminds me of this other story I heard.

Apparently, rather than having students simply learn their multiplication tables, they are having them right out x's for every number and then counting them.

For example, instead of learning that 5 times 6 equals 30, they would do this:

xxxxx
xxxxx
xxxxx
xxxxx
xxxxx
xxxxx

And then count each individual x.

[Omaha Red Sox]

This kind of reminds me of this other story I heard.

Apparently, rather than having students simply learn their multiplication tables, they are having them right out x's for every number and then counting them.

For example, instead of learning that 5 times 6 equals 30, they would do this:

xxxxx
xxxxx
xxxxx
xxxxx
xxxxx
xxxxx

And then count each individual x.

What age were they doing this, because I can see how this can be beneficial to a child my son's age, 8. He can recognize the five rows and the 6 columns, then count to 30 and realize that 5 multiplied 6 times equals 30. Kind of gives him a visual explanation than just a multiplication table where you memorize the answer.

[moonhead]

the irony in this thread is priceless.

[Omaha Red Sox]

the irony in this thread is priceless.

Point it out, please, for those of us who are less enlightened, intelligent, aware, open-minded, awesome, conscious, quick, progressive, gifted, etc. I'd like to see how my opinion in this matter has somehow bothered you once again. Keep in mind, however, a recent conversation where you may recall some of us like to actually participate in those things which matter most to us. I understand if this is against your prefered fetal position stance on such things, but I beg of you to at least consider that others' opinions may actually differ from your own. And in this country that is considered ok.

[moonhead]

the irony in this thread is priceless.

Point it out, please, for those of us who are less enlightened, intelligent, aware, open-minded, awesome, conscious, quick, progressive, gifted, etc. I'd like to see how my opinion in this matter has somehow bothered you once again. Keep in mind, however, a recent conversation where you may recall some of us like to actually participate in those things which matter most to us. I understand if this is against your prefered fetal position stance on such things, but I beg of you to at least consider that others' opinions may actually differ from your own. And in this country that is considered ok.

there are several spelling errors. this isn't always about you.

edit: gfy.

[Nfl Fan]

there are several spelling errors.

Priseless.

[houstonherdfan]

lets get back on subject. Its not about you, its about how fruckeed up our education system is.