Our 'Education' System

[StumpyDave]

83 + 62 =

Could be worse.  You caould have asked an accountant:
"What answer did you have in mind"

Better still a financial advisor:
12 months ago:
Well if those represent your weekly individual incomes I can lend a multiple of that based on the current moon phase, your inside leg measurement and the fact that I get a big fat bonus based on sales.  Would $250,000 be sufficient?
Today:
Do you want fries with that?

(apologies to any scrupulous financial advisors - I know you're not all like that).

[SlyHigh]

Sounds like an engineer came up with those answers!

You mustn't know many engineers. At least not good ones. By nature and training, engineers are extremely precise.

I am an engineer.    And I know a lot, too.

It really depends on what type of engineer.  Mechanical design engineers must be very precise.  Especially in my line of work.  Process engineers (which most chemical engineers become), which includes myself, are more applied and don't always need the level of precision.  The best way to put it is that an answer of 150 may be good enough to accomplish the goal without going to unnecessary effort to make it exact with no better results.

Say you are cooking a recipie that calls for 1 cup of milk.  I could use advanced lab equipment to get pretty darn close to 1 cup, but in reality a simple measuring cup that that may give you just 7/8 cup will make a cake that tastes just the same.

[SlyHigh]

As for problems in education, I'd say most of the issues are with the parents.  My wife and mother are both teachers.  The schools can only do so much.  They have kids whose parents don't care.  One kid was allowed by her mom to drop out after 8th grade because mom did, and mom says she can't expect her kid to do something she didn't (finish school).  Other kids come to school falling asleep because mom and dad had a party all night.  Other parents just shrug off the teacher that calls to tell them their kid is acting up in class all day, every day.

When my wife tells me about interactions with the parents, the good parents seem to be in the minority.

[The Zook]

Schools can only do so much?

Sorry, but telling my kid 'X' is for 'Exclamation Point' isn't doing ANYTHING. I can understand if a kid is sent home with homework and the parents are at the bar all night, but come on... at least start with the right material.

[Timmay]

I just want to say this.  While Haiti may be poor in resources and just with everyday life, their school system is top notch.  While I was helping in the class rooms there, 3rd graders were doing what our 6th graders are doing here. I was totally amazed.  Kids in grade K were already learning english and adding and subtracting.  They spoke better "Proper" english than our own kids do.

[skiking]

Sounds like an engineer came up with those answers!

You mustn't know many engineers. At least not good ones. By nature and training, engineers are extremely precise.

One can only be as precise as the information they have, 83 + 62 = 150, 83.0 + 62.0 =145 
both are correct

I think when adding you use the least number of decimal places, not the number of significant figures.  So 83+62=145 because all three numbers have zero decimal places.

Or about 140 or 150, as the test says.   lol

you got me, it has been a while since i have used significant digits, and surveyors do math differently than other people. 

maybe I remember it differently or was taught sig figs wrong, who knows

[Mikekoz13]

As for problems in education, I'd say most of the issues are with the parents.  My wife and mother are both teachers.  The schools can only do so much.  They have kids whose parents don't care.  .

I'll agree with this to a point...... but there have always been parents that were lousy.

Here's the way I see it......... Classes are smaller and parents "volunteer" more time helping in the classroom than they ever have. Kids get two recesses a day and more field trips in a year than I care to mention.

Don't blame politicians for all that. Blame the abundance of poor, unskilled teachers (not all!) that can't be fired no matter how bad a teacher they are. The teachers unions are very powerful and they and the politicians walk hand in hand.

Also, blame the inability of teachers to discipline kids.....

The schools, administrators and many teachers arte worried about things that are none of their business.... your kid is too fat, do you have a gun in your home, etc........ get back to teaching!!!


An aside to this that illustrates just what I'm talking about........ a few years back when my older son was a Senior in high school, late in the school year, we kept him out of school on a Friday to go out of state to visit family. It was the first day he had missed all year. So on Monday I wrote him a note that simply stated ," My son, XXXX XXXXXXX, had my permission to be out of school on Friday XX". Then i signeed the note and handed it to my son.
Heread it and said "Dad... they aren't going to like this note". I asked who "they" were,he said the office administration that took all absentee notes. I asked why and he said that it didn't give a reason for him being out. So I told my son to have them call me at work if they didn't like the note.

So about 10:00 Am that morning I get a call that went like this:

(Me) Hello, Mike XXX

(Him) Hello Mr. XXX this is Principal YYY fom your son's High School.

(Me) Good morning, what can I do for you?

(Him) Well I'm calling about this note you sent in with your son today.

(Me) Yes..... Is there a problem?

(Him) Well it doesn't have a reason for him being out last Friday.

(Me) Well Mr. YYY do you realize that this is my son's firt missed day the entire year? That hardly makes him a truant.

(Him) Yes.... I checked and I know that.

(Me) Then I'm not sure why you're calling.

(Him) Well, as i said, there is no reasn in the note for his abscence.

(Me) (very politely) Well Mr. YYY I'm not going to give you a reason because I feel that it's none of the school's business.

(Him) But Mr. XXX our policies state that when a student misses a day that a reason must be given for it to be an excused abscence.

(Me) Well Mr. YYY let me ask you a question.

(Him) Sure...

(Me) The last time you were out of the school for a day did you send me a note with the reason that you were out for the day?

(Him) (laughing) I see your point and no i did not. All I really needed to call for was to verify that he had your permission to be out that day.

(Me) As my note said.

(Him) (with both of us laughing) Exactly... and thanks.



SILLINESS!!!!! They should be doing what they are paid to do...........

[hammerdrill376]

Won't get into the specifics of why but yesterday I had heart to heart chat with my daughter's principal. We spoke at length about some of the diciplinary problems in schools today. I told her I know in todays politically correct climate I know it was old fashioned but I wish the good old PADDLE could be used again. She agreed with me that one of the problems today is these kids have nothing to fear. I hate to be one to say "back in my day" BUT back then if you got out of line you got the paddle and as I recall we had no where near the problems of todays schools. Believe me..I would have taken that "time out crap" anyday over a piece of well rounded well placed hard oak. And I had one of those dads that if I got it at school..I usually got it at home to.

[Brkeatr]

Won't get into the specifics of why but yesterday I had heart to heart chat with my daughter's principal. We spoke at length about some of the diciplinary problems in schools today. I told her I know in todays politically correct climate I know it was old fashioned but I wish the good old PADDLE could be used again. She agreed with me that one of the problems today is these kids have nothing to fear. I hate to be one to say "back in my day" BUT back then if you got out of line you got the paddle and as I recall we had no where near the problems of todays schools. Believe me..I would have taken that "time out crap" anyday over a piece of well rounded well placed hard oak. And I had one of those dads that if I got it at school..I usually got it at home to.

Ditto....absolutely ...and agree 100% 

[SlyHigh]

She agreed with me that one of the problems today is these kids have nothing to fear.

Very true.  One of my wife's students went up to her and started cursing.  Of course my wife told the kid he was off to see the principal.  The kid then told her the reason he did it was because he was tired of school and wanted to be sent home so he could watch tv.  My wife didn't want to satisfy the kid, so she made him sit down and stay in class.  The kid didn't like that too much.

The kid would have probably been sent home and his parents wouldn't have done a thing about it.

[don]

That's why these kids are like animals today.I blame the damm parents.They know how to have them but they don't know how to raise them. Many years ago the parents were better because they applied strict discipline.I don't know what the hell is the matter with todays parents.

[Brkeatr]

That's why these kids are like animals today.I blame the damm parents.They know how to have them but they don't know how to raise them. Many years ago the parents were better because they applied strict discipline.I don't know what the hell is the matter with todays parents.

UUmmmm.....how about the fact that if parents try to discipline kids the old fashioned way they get reported to Social Services??  I agree a lot of parents are at fault but also remember that society has made it taboo to spank or discipline the old fasioned way....for the most part....

[Timmay]

I witnessed just this past week while teaching in school, the kids act up there....they get the paddle.  Still very much inforced where I was at.

[Brkeatr]

I witnessed just this past week while teaching in school, the kids act up there....they get the paddle.  Still very much inforced where I was at.

And are they better behaved there because of the paddle?

[Timmay]

Yes...over all they are.  They got into trouble for fighting over a ball.  It wasnt a fist fight by no means.  It was 4 boys tackling the ball.  Actually I wouldnt call it a fight...just scrambling for the ball.  Class room manners were A+.  Not once did a child talk without being called on from raising his hand.  Not once did any of the kids get out of their seat without permission.  When asked to do something, they did it. Children there get red tagged ( meaning a week out of school ) for cheating . So their behavior...yes much better than what I have observed in my kids classrooms.