Sorry your browser is not supported!

You are using an outdated browser that does not support modern web technologies, in order to use this site please update to a new browser.

Browsers supported include Chrome, FireFox, Safari, Opera, Internet Explorer 10+ or Microsoft Edge.

Geek Culture / another hard math problem

Author
Message
Neuro Fuzzy
17
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 11th Jun 2007
Location:
Posted: 7th Mar 2012 22:45
Link
Quote: "My 3 friends and I were caught and tied up by 1023 screaming cannibals in a jungle last night. Soon we were feeling terribly itchy because of the mosquitoes. We begged the cannibals to scratch us. 219 cannibals refused because they were busy cutting vegetables. The rest of them, however, surrounded us in equal numbers and began to scratch us with their teeth, just like dogs. It felt good! How many cannibals scratched me?"

http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2012/03/05/teacher-fired-for-giving-third-graders-violent-and-racist-math/

Thoughts? Either way, I don't see how the teacher thought she could get away with it.

Back to top
Profile PM Email
TheComet
17
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 18th Oct 2007
Location: I`m under ur bridge eating ur goatz.
Posted: 7th Mar 2012 23:09 Edited at: 7th Mar 2012 23:10
Link
A simple math problem, and a funny meaning. Personally I wouldn't mind solving those kinds of problems as a student. I think it gives you some humor during all of the boring things you have to solve. Maybe that's just me? Black or white, yellow or brown... We're all humans in the end and I don't care what someone looks like.

I guess it depends who's solving them. 18+ humans should be fine, but I wouldn't allow this to be solved by anyone younger.

TheComet


TimePlan : https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmuAKJolqASndEVYOWMxb3l2OWV0UkV1anRSczZScHc
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
zeroSlave
15
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 13th Jun 2009
Location: Springfield
Posted: 7th Mar 2012 23:20
Link
Quote: ""...A tiger bakes hundreds of humans in ovens. A boy chokes to death on hundreds of marbles. A SWAT team member kills hundreds of terrorists, murderers and arsonists, in just one week alone."

"...So what did I do? I made my math problems fun and funny by putting what kids absolutely adore -- ogres, fairies, bashing, sword-fighting... and yes, nose-picking and belching too..."

"It doesn't follow anything that we do," Beverly Wheeler, the CEO of City Center Public Charter Schools, told Washington's WUSA-TV. "I found them to be violent and racist.""


I really don't understand where the racism comes into play other than what was quoted by Beverly Wheeler. I remain skeptical about the racist remarks until I see all the math problems. Unless she is talking about the ogres and fairies...

I personally think that the violence could have been left out, but how many fairy tales don't have violence in them. I mean even:
Hush-a-by baby
On the tree top,
When the wind blows
The cradle will rock.
When the bough breaks,
The cradle will fall,
And down will fall baby
Cradle and all.

Has the idea of a baby and cradle plummeting to the ground. Probably in a fiery death. I just reread Hansel and Gretel the other day, and it's got some very grim undertones as well.

I personally think we should stop coddling our youth and do what it takes to get them educated. But that's coming from a guy who was paddled frequently in elementary school. So it could be a vengeance sort of thing...

Back to top
Profile PM Email
tiresius
22
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 13th Nov 2002
Location: MA USA
Posted: 8th Mar 2012 04:25
Link
Dog's don't scratch you with their teeth. Glad she wasn't a biology teacher!


A 3D marble platformer using Newton physics.
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Thraxas
Retired Moderator
19
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 8th Feb 2006
Location: The Avenging Axe, Turai
Posted: 8th Mar 2012 07:05
Link
Well dogs scratch some of their own itches with their teeth, which is what I think they meant.

http://thraxocorp.webs.com/ Visit my totally awesome website: Thraxocorp. It's my own company and I'm totes the CEO.
Back to top
Profile PM Email
TheComet
17
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 18th Oct 2007
Location: I`m under ur bridge eating ur goatz.
Posted: 8th Mar 2012 09:28
Link
I think they're being over sensitive...

TheComet


TimePlan : https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmuAKJolqASndEVYOWMxb3l2OWV0UkV1anRSczZScHc
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
The Zoq2
15
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 4th Nov 2009
Location: Linköping, Sweden
Posted: 8th Mar 2012 15:48
Link
My math and physics teacher does similar things, For example as an introduction to the electricity part of physics, he showed us the basics of how a railgun works. And as an example of exponential functions, He used a zombie invasion. He is the best teacher we have and im sure that this teacher could really help the kids get intrested in maths.
Back to top
Profile PM Email
TheComet
17
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 18th Oct 2007
Location: I`m under ur bridge eating ur goatz.
Posted: 8th Mar 2012 18:02 Edited at: 8th Mar 2012 18:03
Link
Actually you make a very interesting point. Our electronics teacher used sexual references wherever possible. Things along the lines of "the electrons attack this component from behind" Nothing wrong with that as long as the audience is mature.

That style of teaching really sticks to your mind for some reason, making it a lot more effective than the "usual" way of teaching.

TheComet


TimePlan : https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmuAKJolqASndEVYOWMxb3l2OWV0UkV1anRSczZScHc
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
The Zoq2
15
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 4th Nov 2009
Location: Linköping, Sweden
Posted: 8th Mar 2012 21:18
Link
Quote: "That style of teaching really sticks to your mind for some reason, making it a lot more effective than the "usual" way of teaching."


It realy does, even though with my teacher, at least 15% of the lesson goes to random stories that has verry little to do with the subject, like how to make "hot icecream", I think we still learn a lot more than we would with the "usual" way of teaching. Education needs to be fun and have some form of motivation to be effective. It's a shame there are so few teachers like this out there
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Plystire
22
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 18th Feb 2003
Location: Staring into the digital ether
Posted: 9th Mar 2012 04:25
Link
I think some of the problems had other lessons hidden within them. "John swallowed 5963 marbles and died." Well, kids, don't swallow marbles and you won't die.

Don't know all of the math problems given to the kids, but the only one I saw mentioning race was about a tiger cooking africans, among other races, in giant ovens... so... how is it racist if any particulars weren't singled out? (Not to mention that we're talking about a tiger cooking people... and here I was taught tigers liked raw meat.)

Now, I know a lot of people were saying "whatever works" to get students interested in math, but I have to agree that some of the questions were pretty graphic (some even using vocabulary that I doubt a third grader would use). I honestly think the one fuzzy quoted is fairly tame and hardly violent at all... unless they're trying to be racist toward jungle tribes being cannibals.


~Plystire

A rose is only a rose until it is held and cherished -- then it becomes a treasure.
Back to top
Profile PM Email
The Zoq2
15
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 4th Nov 2009
Location: Linköping, Sweden
Posted: 9th Mar 2012 09:40
Link
Well, like you said, the choice of questions may not be the best for 8 year olds but teachers shuld try and come up with something else than a guy has 5 pencils and gives 3 away, how many does he have left
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Quel
16
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 13th Mar 2009
Location:
Posted: 9th Mar 2012 10:01
Link
This just sounds extremely stupid.

I hate today's tendency for not mentioning stupidity, and hiding it behind PC-ness and all that crap.

-Mental Hybrid: A unique heavy story based shoot'em ~40% (primary project)
-CoreFleet: An underground commander unit based RTS (canned) ~15%
Back to top
Profile PM
Back to top

Login to post a reply

Server time is: 2025-05-19 13:44:16
Your offset time is: 2025-05-19 13:44:16