Algebra Text?

But it falls into my category of "trick" questions. I finally figured it out, but I frown on using such gimmicky problems with students. ...Jim Thompson

$1 for pushing the lever, $49 for knowing which lever to push, BTDT

...Jim Thompson

As per the old saw, "Those that can, DO; those that can't, TEACH"

Absolutely!

Indeed! Even worse, the system seems designed to destroy the family unit and place that authority in the hands of the government. Observe how many holidays and traditions have been effectively killed by the "education" system. If your kid says "Christmas" in school he's likely to be suspended. And the kids can't even celebrate Halloween.

Rickman labels me "Larkinesque". What a laugh!

Rickman is the one that is "Larkinesque", because he meets the full specification:

Head fully up butt. Head turned 90-degrees to lock it in place.

Unfortunately I'd also guess that Rickman _is_ a teacher :-( ...Jim Thompson

Even had one of those at M.I.T., Gordon Brown... couldn't teach for shit. Fortunately this was by the time I had been admitted to Honors EE, so there were only six of us in the class, so we all marched in unison to the Dean's office and had Brown replaced by Paul Penfield... only a grad student at the time, but a real winner! ...Jim Thompson

I disagree. That one isn't a trick question at all. It is difficult to find the solution under pressure in an interview but how someone goes about trying is very informative as to their capabilities. You really either see it pretty much instantly or you don't without playing around.

Anyone who could be a top grade mathematician is reckoned to get it.

If you want a trick question what is the next number in the series:

Unhelpful hint - it isn't 42.

I'm fighting the school system with, now, the 5th granddaughter, 6th Grade.

Last week they were peddling how to cut corners out of a piece of cardboard to form a box with the maximum volume, with no established skill set.... "guess" your way to the solution :-(

This week they suddenly jumped to Algebra, simultaneous equations, without even any single variable background.

And she says her teacher is already using the word "Calculus". I guess that's the leftist way anymore, speaking the words makes you expert :-(

No wonder US students rank so low, worldwide, in math (and science).

Fortunately the school year is almost over, and she'll be with us for a month in July.

So my question...

Can anyone recommend an available Algebra book that instructs in the old fashioned sequential way... lots of one variable word problems first, then go on to more advanced topics?

I'll become teacher of the month ;-)

(I taught math back in 1964-65 to disadvantaged youth (aka "thugs") from South Phoenix with a very high success rate :-)

...Jim Thompson

Of course. The debate is not about HOW to solve such a problem but whether such a problem belongs in 6th grade. There are numerous ways to solve it... none of which comes from the typical skill set of a 6th grader. ...Jim Thompson

Exactly

Personally I think your logic is flawed. If one goes to school , one sees teaching first hand. So it seems obvious to the most casual observer that your statement " You know nothing about teaching school " is wrong.

And if after one has gone through school , one then teaches, then it is even more obvious that one must know something about teaching.

I did not get the impression that Jim thought all teachers were drones. I certainly do not think that. But I do think that some teachers are.

And last but not least, Jim is getting out there and learning first hand by teaching his grandchildren.

Dan

The website's owner is Iggy, who frequents RCM and SEJW.

Dan

I know that. He also posted some here, a few years ago. :)

Hmmm- looks like it was invented by Persians, modern day Iran, maybe you sh ould rename it:

The word "algebra" is derived from the Arabic word Al-Jabr, and this comes from the treatise written in 820 by the medieval Persian mathematician, Muh ammad ibn M?s? al-Khw?rizm?, entitled, in Arabic Kit b al-mu?ta?ar f? ?is?b al-?abr wa

-l-muq?bala, which can be translated as The Compendious Book on Calcul ation by Completion and Balancing. The treatise provided for the systematic solution of linear and quadratic equations. Although the exact meaning of the word al-jabr is still unknown, most historians agree that the word mean t something like "restoration", "completion", (Boyer 1991, "The Arabic Hege mony" p. 229) "It is not certain just what the terms al-jabr and muqabalah mean, but the usual interpretation is similar to that implied in the transl ation above. The word al-jabr presumably meant something like "restoration" or "completion" and seems to refer to the transposition of subtracted term s to the other side of an equation, which is evident in the treatise; the w ord muqabalah is said to refer to "reduction" or "balancing"?that i s, the cancellation of like terms on opposite sides of the equation." "reuniter of broken bones" or "bonesetter". The term is used by al-Khwariz mi to describe the operations that he introduced, "reduction" and "balancin g", referring to the transposition of subtracted terms to the other side of an equation, that is, the cancellation of like terms on opposite sides of the equation.

Yes, I can see where a simple analysis would lead you to that conclusion. So obviously you can watch brain surgery in action and know enough about brain surgery to second guess the surgeon.

So you automatically learn what is needed when doing a job? Then it sounds to me like the teachers would be the people in the best position to make decisions about teaching since they have the most experience.

Yes, more of that first hand teaching experience of which teachers have little...

I have seen people do a job over and over and never learn from their mistakes. Doing something and doing something well are two different things.

And you say *my* logic if flawed?

Yes.

Dan

Wow! You must have been the captain of your debate team. Amazing point!