I am a subversive.

[unixronin]

Yes, I admit it!  Freely!  Proudly, even!

I, you see, just taught Goose to sum arbitrary geometric and arithmetic series.

She's nine years old, and in fourth grade.

Her teachers are going to hate us, if she hasn't forgotten it by the next time she comes to a number series problem.

Comments

[eleazar.livejournal.com]

Huzzah!, if they let her keep it. We need more subversives.

(As I recall, it was around fourth grade that I got taught how to not multiply n digit numbers in my head.)

[ilcylic.livejournal.com]

I'm reminded of a couple years ago when I was forced, as part of my welding curricula, to take "Math For Welders". Yes, this was every bit as bad as you might imagine. It started out with basic addition and subtraction. Multiplication and division each got their own week of study.

As someone with a degree who has taken and passed Calc 2, it was a bit low. (And for some ungodly reason TVI wouldn't accept transfer credits from UNM.)

"You have to show your work, Ogre."

"I don't even remember how to show my work on long division, sir."

"What are you going to do if you have to work out some length in the field?"

"Use the calculator in my phone."

-Ogre

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

yeah, been there, done that. I hated showing my working on simple things when I was in school ... it meant I had to slow down my thinking to the speed I could write at.