tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514352312859447561.post5205313916501344404..comments2024-01-30T03:30:45.740-05:00Comments on Bad Data, Bad!: Year of the Snake (also, Statistics...but not Algebra)bs kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02871717971078952304noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514352312859447561.post-12145582653469140052012-08-19T19:42:52.013-04:002012-08-19T19:42:52.013-04:00Sigh, I know. My little pipe dream of useful educ...Sigh, I know. My little pipe dream of useful education will have to wait.bs kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02871717971078952304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514352312859447561.post-7796494855494512872012-08-17T22:40:38.767-04:002012-08-17T22:40:38.767-04:00"...though large scale public understanding o..."...though large scale public understanding of stats and research methods might leave me with fewer things to blog about."<br /><br />I think you're safe for another generation or so.Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514352312859447561.post-22741679872172532392012-08-17T20:52:25.512-04:002012-08-17T20:52:25.512-04:00As a former math teacher, I would agree that some...As a former math teacher, I would agree that some students would benefit more from statistics and personal finance courses than from algebra/geometry/trig.<br /><br />My ability to do estimates was enhanced by a 9th grade New Math course which focused on proofs and basic number principles- distributive, commutative, associative principles etc. Of course, already knowing basic multiplication and division helped. Gringonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514352312859447561.post-10046029717729116042012-08-17T08:29:32.398-04:002012-08-17T08:29:32.398-04:00I'm sometimes a little surprised at how few pe...I'm sometimes a little surprised at how few people can look at a trip to the store (or a long trip in a car) as an opportunity for using math skills to their advantage.<br /><br />I think I've already mentioned that I have a decade of numbers for fuel-costs and vehicle mileage.<br /><br />But there was this time, back when I was 5 or 6, when my Mom brought me along on a grocery-shopping trip. She had me write down prices of items she picked out, and coached me on rounding the continuing sum to the nearest dollar. When we got to the register, our estimate was within a couple of dollars of the final total.<br /><br />Even at that young age, I was impressed.<br /><br />(Of my parents, my Mom is much less interested in math/information than my Dad is. But she had lots of experience shopping on a budget.)<br /><br />Not everyone can do this on-the-fly. Or in their head. But it's knowledge that is useful. And it is a skill that gets better with practice.<br /><br />This way of thinking about teaching math is part of taking the dry theory and helping students learn how it applies. However, it may not be easy to do in a classroom.karrdehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00205160745963596856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514352312859447561.post-77421630082969849772012-08-15T13:22:59.293-04:002012-08-15T13:22:59.293-04:00bs king,
I loved this:
If we're headed that ...bs king,<br /><br />I loved this:<br /><br /><i>If we're headed that direction, there's probably very few subjects taught in high school that couldn't be improved with a little more practicality and a little less theory.</i><br /><br />Spoken like a true engineer! Unfortunately most of those responsible for putting together the national standards for math usually have PhDs in some extremely abstract branch of mathematics. It's a good idea though.<br /><br />GlennGlennnoreply@blogger.com