The Rube Goldberg approach to education

By Tom Quiner

This is nuts.

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10 Comments

  1. Shawn Pavlik on September 25, 2014 at 9:16 pm

    Actually, this is how I do addition in my head…



    • quinersdiner on September 26, 2014 at 6:42 am

      To each their own!



  2. Diane Klopfenstein on September 26, 2014 at 10:40 am

    Is this the new math? Is this what you’re learning now? I thought I was confused back then but sheesh. Dad wants to know if this is what we’re paying for 🙂

    Sent from my iPhone

    >



    • quinersdiner on September 26, 2014 at 10:52 am

      I don’t know if this curriculum is being used here in Des Moines, but it is in some states. It seems awfully convoluted to me.



  3. 49erDweet on September 26, 2014 at 10:59 am

    That’s just tensist. I’m an elevensy guy. (8+3 = 11) Then add 2.



  4. bluebird of bitterness on September 29, 2014 at 1:26 pm

    They tried the so-called “new math” on us when I was in fourth grade, back during the Kennedy administration. I have no idea why, because the old math had been working just fine. “New math” was a miserable failure and a year later they switched back to the old variety. Let’s hope the same thing happens in whatever schools are using the ridiculous curriculum pictured above.



    • quinersdiner on September 30, 2014 at 9:55 am

      Yes, I lived through (and survived) some of those experiments, too. Thanks for writing, and thanks for supporting my Kickstarter campaign.



  5. oarubio on December 14, 2015 at 2:38 pm

    The crabgrass of Common Core is tenacious.