I thought about putting this in the 'education' bit, but then thought it was so ridiculous it needed to be here.
A Thai friend of mine, who has a Phd from the UK (and is way above a mere morsel like me) recently came to me to check the following calculations:
0.75 + 0.25 = 1.00
0.75 + 0.50 = 1.25
0.50 + 0.25 = 0.75
She wasn't quite sure if she had got the maths right as she didn't have her calculator. She was chuffed to bits when I said that they were all correct.
Sometimes I wonder...
VS
"Properly trained, man can be a dog's best friend"
Calculators are good, but they should be banned from schools, I think they are even allowed in some exams now.
Use ofd the calclator does not improve basic maths knowledge
Woke up this morning breathing that's a good start to the day.
Some exams Lindos? I think you'll find that they're allowed in all maths exams now in the UK. I had to use a slide rule for my O level maths. No batteries mind, but you needed an O level in maths to work out how to work it... You also had to write down all the long divisions, etc. to show how you came up with the answer. Ahhh, the bad old days, when you had to use your brain.
VS
"Properly trained, man can be a dog's best friend"
Which is my point, the Thai friend who asked you that question had not IMO been properly taught.
Most youngsters in the UK these days seem incapable of doing simple maths. Which points to a bad a education.
Woke up this morning breathing that's a good start to the day.
I can add up a check bin in seconds and even if it's upside down. Came in handy in later life reading my bosses in tray
Sliderule? Great fun but I never did master it
RICHARD OF LOXLEY
It’s none of my business what people say and think of me. I am what I am and do what I do. I expect nothing and accept everything. It makes life so much easier.
A friend of mine teaches at a school near Croydon and once told me that in English exams kids were not marked down for spelling mistakes. As long as they could get their point across anything went. Even text speak. Gr8...!
I agree with the comments on learning basic arithmetic but things changed in the UK quite some time ago.
If I remember correctly, my class at a comprehensive school in the East Midlands was the first to be allowed to use electronic calculators for 'O' level maths and I left in the summer of 1980. I still have the early Casio that I used and amazingly it still works.
My brother was two years older than me and he had to use a slide rule for his at the same school.
I did learn to use a slide rule after, purely for the hell of it but I must admit I don't remember exactly how it worked and I haven't even seen one for some years.
wow....that is dumb. Sorry... but it is. I only have a GCSE C (thats the basic for a Uni get in) in maths but can work out decimal fractions.
on a tangent....when was the last time you actually used a pen to write long hand...sort of actually wrote a full letter using a pen?
I had to do it recently as a mate is in prison and they wont accept typed letters for some reason... it was murder! You never realise how you loose basic skills like that till crunch time comes. Give it a try and see what I mean. Even holding one to write long form was a chore for a while.
Mad eh?
"Science flew men to the moon. Religion flew men into buildings."
Following on from Lindosfan and BB`s comments, does anyone else have an aversion to textspeak in e-mails? No wonder standards of English and general communication are slipping when kids today don`t use proper English when writing or speaking for that matter, yeah? Knowhaimean? Innit.
wow....that is dumb. Sorry... but it is. I only have a GCSE C (thats the basic for a Uni get in) in maths but can work out decimal fractions.
I work on American built aircraft and still have to do Imperial fractions!
Only the other day I was showing some of the trainees here my very old 17/64 and 19/64 spanner that I keep in my toolkit. (I think it's at least fifty years old and to be honest I keep it more to annoy the type of people who spend 10,000 euros at Snap-on and think they've got everything.)
All back to the level of education Thai's are unfortunate to recieve if they attend anything other than an International School unfortunately.
This goes back to my gripes which peed quite a few off on here. I suggested how daft it was to consider putting your kid in anything other than an International School (or close to), and that we ,as parents, hold a responsibility to ensure our kids are brought up with just as good an education as we would have recieved back home (in some places).
You see shop owners getting their calculator out to deduct a bottle of Chang off of 100 baht and then after you telling them how much you are to recieve in change they applaud your intelligence.
The level of Mathmatics in the International Schools here IMO is far superior than that of English schools compared with Grade to Grade.
If it's within arms reach, there's nothing to worry about!!
Following on from Lindosfan and BB`s comments, does anyone else have an aversion to textspeak in e-mails? No wonder standards of English and general communication are slipping when kids today don`t use proper English when writing or speaking for that matter, yeah? Knowhaimean? Innit.
The standard of English now is deplorable, as long as u kan unnerstand wot iz ritten u will pars the test. Some of this is due to the PC brigade not wanting anbody to be better then their classmate.
Bring back the basic 3 r's
Woke up this morning breathing that's a good start to the day.
You also had to write down all the long divisions, etc. to show how you came up with the answer. Ahhh, the bad old days, when you had to use your brain.
