2nd grade math rant. what ever happend to just teaching math????

[dabuddha]

Originally posted by: Malak

Originally posted by: Citrix
I know that. Its just that until about a hour ago I had never heard of these terms and i did graduate college

I've graduated college too. Maybe you just didn't have this when you were younger, but I did. This was in Texas for me.

Where in Texas? I grew up in Fort Worth and never heard of this sh!t before.

 

[Tremulant]

I remember using similar pieces in 1st/2nd grade. We didn't call them skinnies or bits or anything though. And, they were yellow and made of plastic.

 

[Tremulant]

Originally posted by: FilmCamera

Originally posted by: Martin
They're just trying to teach them base 10 number system using candy. I can't imagine regular terms being any easier for them to understand.

1. 4 bits, 15 skinnies, 11 flats, 1 pack - 2254
2. 12 bits, 11 skinnies, 11 flats - 1222
3. 21 bits, 11 skinnies, 3 flats - 3131

This right there shows the problem with their system. Why do they have 11 flats? Wouldn't a better way to express that be:

4 bits, 5 skinnies, 2 flats, 2 packs? But then it's "too easy" maybe? Because it's just the number backwards. Which is retarded.

The reason behind having more than 10 bits, skinnies or flats is to make the student think about the problem.

 

[theknight571]

LOL @ my son's school they have a similar program... although with different names.

Which is good cause to me it goes... bit, nibble, byte, word, doubleword, etc.

When I learned it, they tought "Ones" space, "tens" space, "hundreds" space, etc.

I teach my kid that way... I flat out told the teacher at conferences that I thought the funky terms etc was stupid and that at home he learns the "spaces".

He gets the right answers and does well on the tests so somethings working.... perhaps because he's learning two ways of doing it. lol

 

[Staples]

Originally posted by: Tick
It's a Monntessori school thing. It's suposed to teach kids number sense, and to appreciate how large numbers are. While I think number sense is extremely important, I agree that this is a rather lame thing. However, I was taught this way, and I'm great at math (Hubris cap ON!), so perhaps it works.

Basically the same for me. I don't remember hearing those terms. They said 10x units and 1x units but when they said base ten board, I knew what they meant. I was taught this way in Montessori school.

 

[tfcmasta97]

wow that's messed up... why not stick with "Ones" "tens" and "hundreds"

 

[Tobolo]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Hate to say it, but it made sense to me immediately.

A "bit" is a representation of 1
A "skinny" is a representation of 10
A "flat" is a representation of 100
A "pack" is a representation of 1000

Logically it operates on the same principle as the base-ten system, except that this provides a visual means of explaining it.

I'm not sure I think this is the best method, but it does get the general theory across rather elegantly.

That said, I tend to be hyper-rational and over-logical, so my understanding this may simply be a function of an abnormal mind.

ZV

I think this system is fd up, but my mind works like yours. I completely understand the system but why on God's green earth would they ever do it like this?

Of course I always failed math, unless the teacher didnt make me show my work. I could answer most of the questions logically and not do it the way the teacher did.

 

[futuristicmonkey]

Originally posted by: Extelleron
It makes perfect sense to me, but I can't see why you would teach something in this way. Way back in 2nd or 3rd grade we used to use "1's" "10's" and "100's" blocks, but we didn't call them skinnies and bits and flats. Sounds like something that might be confusing for a little kid.

 

[MrBond]

I remember this, in fact I was telling a friend about it last week. It seems like we did it in 5th grade though, but it's so long ago I can't say for sure. I can see it in my head, plain as day, and the classroom looked like my 5th grade one.

I never understood it then, I remember it being very confusing. After graduating with an engineering degree and taking several grad-level math courses, I think I understand it now.

What really confuses me is why I can remember something as obscure as the layout of my 5th grade classroom, yet I can't remember a fundamental material property equation (that I use a lot)