You hear kids complaining in school all the time. "Why are we learning this? We will never use this in real life. Why can't I use a calculator. It would be much easier."
This is why...
Yesterday I went to the store and got a 2 liter of Coke. The total came to $1.77 ($1.67 + 10 cents in tax). I gave the cashier (a nice young woman who appeared to be of above average intelligence) a five dollar bill and she proceeded to tender the sale. But instead of punching in 5.00 Cash, she punched in .50 Cash. At this point she got flustered. She did not know how to correct the problem. First she tendered the sale again for $5.00. This did not help her. She did not know what change to give me. She grabbed the receipt out of the printer and grabbed a pen. She also called someone over to help. She wrote down 5.00 - 1.77 and said, "OK, that's four dollars and...".
I broke in and said, "No, it is $3.23". She looked at me in disbelief until the person she called over to help said, "Yes, $3.23 is right". The cashier looked very relieved.
OK, now does anyone except me think that the school system failed this young woman? Should basic math be taught in schools without calculators?
What do you think?
Thursday, July 14, 2011
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