Multiplicity
March 24, 2008 by cynthia
So I’m in the grocery store, checking out, and I’m buying meat babyfood for the cat (don’t ask). Rajah can cruise through five or six jars per day, so when I buy babyfood, I pretty much buy out the store.
The lady at the checkout counter glances into my cart and sees 4 cases of 12 jars. “Hey,” she asks the lady doing the bagging, “What’s 4 times 12?”
Bagging lady screws up her eyes, thinks a moment. “16.”
“Uhm, no,” I correct gently. “4 times 12 is 48.”
“Right,” nods the cashier. Then she spies a fifth case in the cart. “So….5 times 12?” S’help me, the bagger starts counting on her fingers.
“58,” she says decisively.
“Well, no…12 plus 48….that’s 60,” I say. The teenager in the next line over snickers, and I glare him into silence.
“So…60 jars of babyfood,” and she completes my transaction. I head for the car, chewing thoughtfully on the whole modern math thing.
Maybe a few old-fashioned flash card drills aren’t so horrible after all.
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I just flashed on sitting on the couch with The Dot, grading math papers. 25 kids in her class, 50 or 100 math drill questions per page. I’ve gotten VERY good at Basic Math Skills. So have most of the kids. Most… some are a bit “challenged”. However, if you consider that two years ago saw some of the kids sitting in refugee camps in Somalia…NEVER having been to school…doing what they are doing is nothing short of miraculous. And a good teacher, of course. (<— Statement required By marriage License Terms)
That US kids can’t multiply 12 x 5 in their heads is unconscionable. I guess, though, it’s what to expect from NCLB’s emphasis on Test, Test, Test. It’s kind of hard to actually emphasize Teach, Teach, Teach, when all your time is taken up with stupid assessments. And, mind you, I am IN the assessment business! Grrrrr….
GcB
These ladies were in their 20s at least, which I suppose means the math class problems go back a long way. What was amusing was that the teenagers and kids in the checkout lines were listening, and snickering. Clearly, they at least thought they knew the answer.
But I agree…this is sad. I remember one time long ago, in my married life–my husband was a Big Mac addict–we were in MacDonalds when the power went out. The manager had to run from station to station making change for customers, because NONE of his employees knew how to make change without the register. I remember my second grade teacher showing us how to make change…