So there's a survey making the rounds
Jun. 5th, 2019 10:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conulywherein people were asked if kids should be taught Arabic numerals (also known as the numbers we use in our day-to-day lives) and they said no.
This definitely proves a degree of mathematical ignorance among American adults. It doesn't, however, prove that mathematical ignorance correlates with Islamophobia, xenophobia, or any related condition. Many of those same individuals would probably have also said that children shouldn't be taught base 10 numerals or positional notation either - "Just teach the kids plain math like I learned!" - and, in fact, many of those folks do rail against the teaching of place value, not understanding that YES they were taught this in school and NO you cannot understand basic arithmetic using our number system without it. (It would be interesting, as a control, to see what the answers were if asked if children should be taught Roman numerals. Then again, those of us who know what they are might say no, don't bother!)
Note: I'm not saying that this particular ignorance does NOT correlate with that particular bigotry, just that the question, bare like that, doesn't prove it.
This definitely proves a degree of mathematical ignorance among American adults. It doesn't, however, prove that mathematical ignorance correlates with Islamophobia, xenophobia, or any related condition. Many of those same individuals would probably have also said that children shouldn't be taught base 10 numerals or positional notation either - "Just teach the kids plain math like I learned!" - and, in fact, many of those folks do rail against the teaching of place value, not understanding that YES they were taught this in school and NO you cannot understand basic arithmetic using our number system without it. (It would be interesting, as a control, to see what the answers were if asked if children should be taught Roman numerals. Then again, those of us who know what they are might say no, don't bother!)
Note: I'm not saying that this particular ignorance does NOT correlate with that particular bigotry, just that the question, bare like that, doesn't prove it.
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Date: 2019-06-05 02:57 pm (UTC)Yeah, I remember having to memorize a lot of stuff by rote, (and also that amazing Animaniacs song), and then forgetting most of it once I passed the test. So pretty much how I got by in a lot of math classes. That might say a lot about our approach to education right there, the tendency to make kids memorize stuff by rote. I don't know if it's still that way, but that's how I was taught for certain categories. (History and remembering names and dates had a similar problem.)
Then again, I could draw a somewhat accurate map of Middle Earth from memory, and give you a decent run-down of the ruling fiefdoms and their lineage, so maybe it's not the topic, it's just that it goes boring once it's in a school setting. shrug
I think there's also a pressure not to say "I don't know/I have no opinion," so people will say either "yes" or "no" to something like "should the U.S. admit Elbonian immigrants?" This is a really good point. I feel enormous pressure to either have a stance on something, or not admit ignorance. It feels like a trap either way. I'd like to pretend I'd be savvy and ask for more information, like, "Elbonian? Where are they from? What's happening in their country?" But realistically, I'd probably just snarl at anyone with a clipboard to leave me alone, because I hate public surveys, lol.
It'd be interesting to see what the numbers were if they did include people who were obviously in on the joke, or figured it out.