Transterrestrial Musings

1. 
   john hare

   July 15, 2012, 3:21 pm | #

   I was not impressed with most of the article. Polling teachers on how qualified they Feel they are on a subject is probably more useless than the author suggests. Some space cadets Feel that scamjets are useful for spaceflight.

   I feel that the teachers could easily be more qualified in short order if they would hit they books on their own for any subject on their schedule. I am tired of dealing with high school graduates that can’t figure their own paycheck without a calculator. A true understanding of algebra would be a bonus.
2. 
   Der Schtumpy

   July 17, 2012, 12:44 pm | #

   John,
   I understood Boolean Algebra quite well when I was taught that, got it right off the bat. On / Off switches is what I thought about. Several of the guys in that Navy School were hot runners in BE&E. But they couldn’t get the Boolean stuff.

   However, I’m the world’s worst algebraic mathematician.

   I can only ‘do’ algebra, with the formula, or on a ‘cheat sheet’ or 3×5 card in my hand and the numbers I need to crunch. I never could retain the fomulas in my head. I’ve been through Basic Electronics classes and schools 4 times all told in both military and civilian worlds, all with my 3×5 cards. And if I had my merry 3×5 card with my formulas, I usually got a high ‘A’ on tests or homework for my electronics classes.

   For straight Algebra Class, I often had the answer in my head, but couldn’t show the work in an actual JRHS or HS math class and I got ‘D’s because of it. I know how to do what I need to do, to get the answer needed, if I have numbers and a reason to be doing the math.

   Telling me to ‘Solve for A, B or C…never made sense.

   I don’t, to this day, understand how to do that math without numbers and without my card with my formulas. I’m studying for a Ham Radio ticket right now. I found out early on that the test has a few math questions. So I’m building a new 3×5 for my studying and test taking.

   I often wonder how many other people who don’t get algebra, could learn algebra, IF they are like me, Formula Challenged, and they just need that gouge and real numbers for doing the problems.
3. 
   john hare

   July 17, 2012, 3:09 pm | #

   Der Schtumpy,

   Point taken. My meaning should have been more along the lines of, “why are we getting HS grads that are well and truly screwed when it comes to handling number problems in any format. I should have said solid understanding of general math. I don’t consider A squared plus b squared equals c squared to be that tough an equation. The only employees I have successfully explained Pythagoreus to were Mexican immigrants, one of which dropped out of the fifth grade in Mexico.

   I had one employee that could not grasp 8″ module blockwork for footer elevations. We had a 12″ deep footer that had to be at least 12″ in the ground at all times. He could not grasp that all he had to do was measure from the string to the ground and go to the next increment of 8″ and then add 12″. Simple expression is 8x+12 inches and make sure it’s a foot in the ground. HS grad and he got quite angry with me because I would not give him the number. Another HS grad needed a calculator for 7×9.

   These are the people that helped me win? Bull.

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