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When Did School's Stop Teaching The Times Tables ?

Discussion in 'Non-Vegas Chat' started by Joe Strummer, Jul 27, 2012.

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  1. Joe Strummer

    Joe Strummer VIP Whale

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    You know.....The multiple Times tables.
    3x3
    3x4
    3x5
    11x11
    12x12
    .
    I ran into another situation --
    several years ago I asked a high school student to
    check my multiplication on a painting project.
    I wanted to make sure i had enough paint to cover the room.
    I got a blank stare......and an answer :
    "We use calculators."
    .
    Yesterday,
    I had to pay a babysitter who is enrolled in college. COLLEGE !!!!
    I said, "let's see ....$12 an hour...with 9 hours worked...
    ...is $108.......right ?.....check my math on that, please."
    BLANK STARE.:confused2:
    I said, "That's right...isn't it ?"
    BLANK STARE.:confused2:
    .
    She then hurriedly,pulls out her phone + starts plugging in the numbers
    on her calculator on the phone.
    A College student ?.....?......?
    I never got an answer....I think she was too embarassed.
    .
    What the hell is happenning ?....I can't believe this crap ?
    .
    When did school's stop teaching fundamental multiplication ?
     
  2. shawn s

    shawn s Low-Roller

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    Around the same time parents quit teaching their kids ethics and manners.

    You don't have to know anything anymore. You just plug your query in your search engine of choice and voila, there is your answer.
     
  3. PopMegaphone

    PopMegaphone VIP Whale

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    Okay, I've decided to be needlessly argumentative. I've been working long hours and I'm feeling loopy.

    I think times tables are a waste of time and totally outdated.



    If you had a calculator you wouldn't have needed anyone to check your work.


    Memorizing times tables is not fundamental to multiplication. It's a memorization aid that lost its usefulness with the advent of calculators.


    And yes, I can multiply 12X9 in my head. :p
     
  4. Joe Strummer

    Joe Strummer VIP Whale

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    Hey Pop -
    How many hours have you worked +
    at what rate ?
    I'll do the needless multiplication memorization in my head !
    You won't get shorted !...I promise !
    :nworthy:
     
  5. Tammy58

    Tammy58 Frugal Slot Jockey

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    They stopped using Multiplication tables around the same time they stopped "borrowing" or "carrying over". New terms for everything. My grands homework is ridiculous. They have to explain their answers all the time, like a proof. Second grade homework....13-9 = ......explain answer. In our state they teach to the MCAS. They try to integrate algebra and geometry starting in first grade. Kids are graduating with no math sense, no concept of Geography or History....the dumbing down of America. They also teach to the lowest level due to no child left behind.

    I can do math quicker in my head than digging out a calculator.
     
  6. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    I know they taught them in the 1980s. I lost track of the curricula since then, not having any kids in school anymore.

    LOL! Ask her if she knows how to use a slide rule. :)

    I would assume they still do, except with more emphasis on concepts and less on rote memorization.
     
    Last edited: Jul 27, 2012
  7. BlueSkadoo

    BlueSkadoo VMB Sweetheart

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    Former teacher

    As someone who taught in public schools about three years ago (I now work with children who are learning number names and very basic addition) I can tell you the emphasis is on conceptual math, not fact-based answers. When I taught kinder, it was all about hands-on manipulatives, but some of the questions were just wacky. Each of our lessons had an "algebraic component" that was trying to get the kids ready for the abstract math. I don't like math...so I thought it was pretty hard, and I was the teacher!
     
  8. Llew

    Llew Low-Roller

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    Snarky comment about proper apostrophe use.
     
  9. Joe Strummer

    Joe Strummer VIP Whale

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    What is "conceptual math" ? :confused2:
     
  10. Joe Strummer

    Joe Strummer VIP Whale

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    snarky comment about proper apostrophe use ?
    .
    .

    Must be an English teacher......:rolleyes2:
    .
    But you're right !:evillaugh
     
  11. KellyLovesVegas

    KellyLovesVegas Earthling/retired space nerd

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    I wouldn't put much weight in the fact that she's in college. Unfortunately there are many college students who cannot do the simplest multiplication or count back change. Those math-phobes continue to avoid math classes in college. After graduating with a non-STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) degree some are surprised when they can't find a well-paying job.

    In stark contrast, engineering positions continue to go unfilled due to lack of qualified college grads, even in the current economy. The small numbers of STEM college grads is a significant reason corporations cannot find enough engineers to replace the Baby Boomer engineers who will retire soon or have already retired.
     
  12. sarah9nascar

    sarah9nascar VIP Whale

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    My school still does. In fact we had a big contest between classes K-6 to win pizza parties for classes that learned all theirs 1-12 by a certain date.
     
    Sema Show
  13. bigbooner

    bigbooner Low-Roller

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    Conceptual math. I hope the fellas in NASA don't use that.
     
  14. Aero22

    Aero22 Low-Roller

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    $12 an hour for babysitting??? I'm sending my babysitting daughter to your area. . . . . you live in Silicon Valley or something?
     
  15. Jimbo338

    Jimbo338 VIP Whale

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    I teach Driver Ed so all I have to know is left and right!

    Jimbo338
     
  16. Joe Strummer

    Joe Strummer VIP Whale

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    $12 an hour....Yup !
    .
    It started at $10 until my wife got "soft" during
    negotiation.
    :evillaugh
    My wife works w/ the babysitter's mother so
    she wants to help an unemployed summer college student out.
    And you should have seen some of the other applicants !!!!!:cry:
     
  17. Mitkraft

    Mitkraft VIP Whale

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    I'll tell you when they stopped teaching the times tables as well as all the other basics. It’s when elementary school became a year round standardized test prep course. The Schools are more worried now adays with their rankings based on the students standardized test scores that they force the teachers to teach those tests rather than more well-rounded curriculum. Although I'll also have to give a nod to the "when parents stopped teaching ethics and manners" response earlier because that's so true as well.

    BTW, KellyLovesVegas, your response below particularly if your use of STEM makes we wonder if we don't work at the same place. Your last paragraph sounds lifted from one of our standard talking points.

     
  18. MisterJJ

    MisterJJ Low-Roller

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    Memorizing times tables almost ruined my life. Seriously.

    I was always an "engineer type" (taking apart toys to see how they worked, building things, etc.). In 6th grade the class had to memorize the tables and get tested on it. The teacher posted a chart and marked students progress. The teacher would do verbal testing and if you took too long to answer one.. fail! Well, I'm a "structured" thinker, not a memorizer. To solve 8x9 I think "2x9=18, double for 36, double again for 72". I still do this. But this takes a little longer and I never passed the test. It was embarassing and had me convinced that I was no good at math. Being an engineer was put off my radar in the future because of this and I finished high school with no idea of what career I wanted.

    By an incredible stroke of luck I wound up in a college algebra class that used an "incremental" approach and I discovered that I could do this math stuff and could be an engineer. Since then I've gone through Advanced Caluculus II, got a degree in Engineering, and went back to school and got an MBA. I am now happy being an engineer because it is a perfect fit for who I am. I would probably still fail the 6th grade test.
     
  19. shokhead

    shokhead No big spender unless eating drinking having fun!

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    Well it's the state that has the has elementary school became a year round standardized test prep course. I worked at an elem school for 25 years and they don't always like what they do but they do what they are told from their state. Don't blame schools, blame the ties that run everything. Don't forget that most teachers are parents with children in public schools. Just because they have to do the standardized test doesn't mean they like it. Blame the right source.
    Couldn't agree more about parents. Many want the school to do all and many of the parents wants to do less and the parents wants all the blame of their child's bad grades on the school.
     
  20. Joe Strummer

    Joe Strummer VIP Whale

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    I guess I'll have something to teach my child
    when he gets home from school !
    But right now....he's learning to walk.
     
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