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A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit?
Teaching Mathematics in 1960
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?
Teaching Mathematics in 1970
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. Did he make a profit?
Teaching Mathematics in 1980
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20
Your assignment: Underline the number 20.
Teaching Mathematics in 1990
A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and nconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. He does this so he can make a profit of $20.What do you think of this way of making a living?
Topic for
How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes? (There are no wrong answers.)
Teaching Mathematics in 2005
Un hachero vende una carretada de
11 Random ilk thoughts:
Sad.... but all too true.
I once turned a profit when my bill came to $5.03. I handed her $6. She asked if I had three cents. I said no. After she gave me my .97 cents change I told her that I now have three cents. I gave her three pennies and she gave me back one dollar. I believe that's a healthy ninety-seven cent profit.
Thanks for dropping by...!
It's crazy. Just listen to any old geezer giving you change : he'll start from the sum you should have paid, and count up to the amount you gave. You give $2 for $1.58, he'll take 2c and count sixty, then 10c count sevety, 5c count seventy-five, and a quarter to make the count up to $2.
Since electronic tills, the figure displayed for change (42c) is just as difficult to figure out how to split into single coins than the counting exercise; but people think they should be able to do the math in their head in one go when in fact that's just not true. You just need to know how to count up from an arbitrary figure to another. Quarters in the US currency make this a little more difficult, because 25 is a bit harder to add to figures, but since you have 5c and 10c you can work around this pretty quick.
I really like this example. I've added a link to it, from my post, on the failing of the education system, in North America.
Nice job!
Great example of our educational decline. I went to public school during the 80's and 90's and that is pretty much how it was.
fruey,
What's wrong with doing math in your head? I do it all the time.
I deal with numbers for a living though so I may be different but counting legal tender can't be that hard...
I didn't say there was anything wrong with doing math in your head, I was pointing out that there are simple alternatives for those who are reticent or unable to do math in their head. I am astounded that companies let people run tills without any notion of how to check if the till is indeed correct - how many times have you seen someone ring up the incorrect total and then fuss for ages about how much change you should get?
It is a sad state of affairs watching the puzzled looks on cashiers faces when you give them exact change.
Recently I was in the US and saw a register that showed little photos of the coins and bills that the customer was owed as change, I was just waiting for someone to hold up a quarter to the screen to see if it matched.
In three generations we have gone from teaching Latin in our public schools to teaching remedial English in our universities.
Jesus Christ
That is so damn funny.. lol!! :)
Can no one see that this "joke" is racist? It perpetuates the myth that students have become stupider over the decades, culminating in the present, when (as the "joke" says) education is supposedly so dumbed down that the students all speak Spanish and their value system is based on torillas. It pains me to even paraphrase it. I'm a white college English professor, and I can tell you students are not getting stupider, and students from countries other than the U.S who speak languages other than English are gifts to any institution.
Sometimes a joke is just a joke. In addition, this particular joke takes account of the real and significant demographic shift in the US. It’s neither racist nor degrading of anyone to acknowledge the large and growing Hispanic population in the US, which at present contributes 49% to the growth in population (based on birth statistics in the US – I read that somewhere last week, and I take it at face value).
Perhaps students in general are not getting “dumber”, but they are certainly being taught so badly that their knowledge and skills and ability to apply logic and thought is seriously under-minded. This FACT is born out by the results of many studies, including recent studies of university graduates who found simple reading and comprehension tasks beyond their capabilities (labels on packaging – not Shakespeare). Something is definitely awry with teaching methods at all levels, including at universities. How is it that students who graduate don’t understand and can’t identify information on a grocery packet?
Other comments and people's personal experience don't support your comments.
Apart from that: jokes are a means by which people can openly acknowledge and laugh at social situatiions and problems in a safe and non-threatening manner. Jokes are very frequently a reflection of real concerns that should be out in the open, not ignored.
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