• Members 676 posts
    March 15, 2024, 7:20 p.m.

    But you see the agenda, right? First a rage-bait claim is made: California is "cancelling" the times tables, which is absolutely untrue. When this this false claim is called out and debunked, "they" shift the argument by pointing to experts who dislike the new manner in which math education is being changed (or, alternatively, point to exceptions, no matter how rare, where their original claim may be true, such as if I said "All cops are murderers" and point to a few cases where cops did, indeed, murder people as "proof").

    While this is a very, very, very valid conversation to have, and it would have been more than fine to lead with this, that is not what is done. What is done is a politically motivated attack based on a gross misrepresentation of the actual facts. So, an honest and constructive discussion of the "best" way to teach math from that point out is basically impossible, which is more than a little unfortunate ('cause, as we all know, math is, by far, the most important subject there is 😎).

  • Members 676 posts
    March 15, 2024, 7:30 p.m.

    Then you're just stupid, Bob. For example, seat belt and motorcycle helmet laws. If I choose not to wear a seat belt, that's my business. Ironically, though, it's the people on the right controlling my life by not allowing me to do whatever drugs I want, so now I'm confused. Also, the libs want to let women kill "babies", but, ironically, have this contradictory desire to provide for babies after they're born, whereas the MAGA crowd absolutely condemns abortion (no matter when or for what reason), but, well, the babies are on their own once they're born. Now I'm really confused!

    Anyway, I digress. The extreme left is absolutely controlling my life. Hell, I can't even shoot people on my property or have a shoot out with someone on the roads in California! Gotta move to Texas or Florida, I'm telling you! 😁

  • March 15, 2024, 7:40 p.m.

    Completely true. Obvious way to handle it is if you aren't wearing a seat belt and you have a smash, the emergency services will just leave you to die then bill your relatives for removing the body. After all, that's the way insurance works. If you haven't take due care to prevent the loss the insurer's not going to pay out.

  • March 15, 2024, 7:46 p.m.

    I had this thought after that part of the discussion, what is the value of times tables anyway? Why is it a good thing to learn them by rote, when people have access to calculators? Isn't it more important to know the principles of multiplication, rather than just having a LUT in your head? Does learning by rote help inculcate the principles? I don't know the answers to any of those questions, but a sensible discussion wouldn't pre-assume an answer. One thing I do know is that my kids had a better education than I did.

  • March 15, 2024, 7:50 p.m.

    And I hear that Olivia Rodrigo's handing them out at her gigs.

  • March 15, 2024, 8:02 p.m.

    Ah, sarcasm. You mean, like mixing up Biden and Obama, or Pelosi and Haley? I'm guessing we're going to hear more and more about 'sarcasm'.

  • March 15, 2024, 8:05 p.m.

    Of course. Why would I speak it when it doesn't suit me? Does this brave new world require all of us to deploy sarcasm all of the time, whether we want to or not?

  • March 15, 2024, 8:09 p.m.

    Absolutely right. F'in babies. Won't do anything for themselves. Just expect people to look after them. Haven't done a day's honest work in their lives. Parasites, all of them.

  • March 15, 2024, 8:11 p.m.

    That would probably be the best option in a place where Trump had his way.

  • March 15, 2024, 8:27 p.m.

    Slightly different proposition, for a few reasons. Firstly, the situations in today's society where you have to do arithmetic in your head are far fewer than those where you need to read. Second, if one knows the principles of multiplication, you can still multiply and no-one's talking about not being able to multiply**After all it's only repeated addition. It's slower, but if you don't need to do it often, do you need it? As I said, I don't know. My younger son could multiply in his head from the age of four. Scared the hell out of his teachers. It seemed to be inductive reasoning going on in there, not a LUT.
    Oh, sorry. That was sarcasm, wasn't it? I'm getting the impression that you haven't quite got the knack of it.

    ** not even these Californians, you look at the document and it very definitely says that kids should come out being able to multiply - and they aren't talking about birth control, even though they're Californians.

  • March 15, 2024, 9:52 p.m.

    Breaking news. Well known far-left politician Mike Pence has said he's not endorsing Donald Trump. Is he going to be executed too? By hanging by a load of harmless fat old middle-aged guys wielding phones?

  • Members 86 posts
    March 15, 2024, 9:53 p.m.

    I think the point of being able to read is more along the lines of, if you can't you are in constant reliance of someone else telling you...