first grade math

[geronimotwo]

my daughter brought home a sheet with a math problem.  the directions stated "make a drawing and explain your answer".  the problem was simple enough "4+5=" and she correctly answers "9".  for the explanation she draws an oval with some scribbles in it and written below says "i used my brain".    

[RoadKingLarry]

 

Be prepared to take your kids "teacher" to task when (s)he rejects that perfectly adequate and logical explanation.

[MechAg94]

She should have drawn a picture of two hands and circle 9 fingers.   

[Fly320s]

I always hated when I lost points on an assignment because I didn't "show my work."  What happened to having kids memorize the multiplication table up to 10*10 or even 15*15? Mist be that new math.

[geronimotwo]

Be prepared to take your kids "teacher" to task when (s)he rejects that perfectly adequate and logical explanation.

even though my daughter can be challenging, we are lucky in that she is very sweet and the teacher is always telling us what a joy she is to have in class.

[BlueStarLizzard]

I always hated when I lost points on an assignment because I didn't "show my work."  What happened to having kids memorize the multiplication table up to 10*10 or even 15*15? Mist be that new math.

We had to memorize up to 12*12. I didn't even know you could show the work for most of it. 

I didn't run onto "show your work" until prealgabra.

[MechAg94]

I agree.  We memorized up to 12X12 also.  They might have done the show your work stuff with long division or maybe fractions, but I think it was mostly later in algebra also.  I certainly wouldn't expect that in single digit addition.

[BlueStarLizzard]

I agree.  We memorized up to 12X12 also.  They might have done the show your work stuff with long division or maybe fractions, but I think it was mostly later in algebra also.  I certainly wouldn't expect that in single digit addition.

I'm just not sure what there is to show. Other then make dashes to count off or something.

[Tallpine]

my daughter brought home a sheet with a math problem.  the directions stated "make a drawing and explain your answer".  the problem was simple enough "4+5=" and she correctly answers "9".  for the explanation she draws an oval with some scribbles in it and written below says "i used my brain".    

Teach her binary and have her explain that to the teacher 

[MillCreek]

Show her work in base eight, as used by the Octopods of Rigel Six.

[Tallpine]

Show her work in base eight, as used by the Octopods of Rigel Six.

4 + 5 = 11         

[geronimotwo]

I'm just not sure what there is to show. Other then make dashes to count off or something.

likely they wanted a pic of 4 pencils next to 5 pencils.  i thought her representation of gray matter was priceless.

[HankB]

I always hated when I lost points on an assignment because I didn't "show my work." 

Teacher once tried to embarrass me in front of the class for this. She asked "How did you do this?"  "In my head" was my response. She said "Nonsense! I can't do this in my head!!!"  I replied,  "Well, maybe that just means you're the one who should be learning instead of teaching,"

I forget exactly what her response was, other than it being loud.

Really loud.

[wmenorr67]

Teacher once tried to embarrass me in front of the class for this. She asked "How did you do this?"  "In my head" was my response. She said "Nonsense! I can't do this in my head!!!"  I replied,  "Well, maybe that just means you're the one who should be learning instead of teaching,"

I forget exactly what her response was, other than it being loud.

Really loud.

Those that can do, those that can't teach.

[HankB]

Those that can do, those that can't teach.

That would've been a great response, only I was probably too young to have heard it yet . . .

[Boomhauer]

Teacher once tried to embarrass me in front of the class for this. She asked "How did you do this?"  "In my head" was my response. She said "Nonsense! I can't do this in my head!!!"  I replied,  "Well, maybe that just means you're the one who should be learning instead of teaching,"

I forget exactly what her response was, other than it being loud.

Really loud.

I always loved being fussed at and getting punished for doing things right but not the teachers way. Just *expletive deleted*ing loved it.

[geronimotwo]

i always loved asking the questions that made the teachers look like they were thinking "WTF"!

[AmbulanceDriver]

My favorite was proving the teacher flat wrong on a subject.   I had one teacher who was teaching Life Science.  He was an arrogant bastage, too.  He made a statement, can't remember what it was now, but it was flat wrong.  So I raised my hand and asked him if he didn't mean "y" instead of "x"....   He went into full 'tard mode.  Ranted and railed at me for accusing him of being wrong, yadda yadda yadda.  Serious power trip issues....

So that night I went home, leafed through the Encyclopedia Brittanica until I found the statement I was looking for, and the next day brought the relevant volume with me to school...  When it was time for that class, instead of pulling out my textbook, I pulled out the encyclopedia....   He asked me what I was doing...  And I went into smart-aleck mode...  Said something along the lines of, since he was wrong about one topic, I needed to make sure that I had an unbiased source in order to make sure that I was actually learning....

Oh, he went full ape on me for that one...  So I asked him to repeat his statement from yesterday....  Which he did, albeit with a little trepidation.  So I flip open in the encyclopedia where I've got a bookmark, and read the sentence that completely refuted what he said. 

Yeah, I got sent to the principal's office for "insubordination"... 

And was back in class 10 minutes later with a note from the principal to the teacher.......

It's amazing how polite he became after that....

[230RN]

Try this one:

"What's the boiling point of water?"  --Question on the WAIS (Wechsler Adult Inrelligence Survey AKA "Intelligence Test") long ago and far away.

Do NOT answer "When the vapor pressure of the heated water equals the gas pressure surrounding it."

Or, "373.16 K for pure water at standard atmospheric conditions," either.

I wonder if they're changed the "correct" responses to that one by now.

Terry, 230RN

[Hawkmoon]

I have always hated it when teachers try to be cute.

Way back around the end of the Pleistocene Era I was forced to take History 101/102 because World History was a required subject for all freshmen at the college I attended. The final exam for second semester consisted of one question: "Why 1914?"

I dunno what that question says to any of you, but to me it was asking "Why did WW1 break out in 1914, rather than perhaps 1912 or 1916 or even 1918?" So I wrote a lengthy dissertation on that line of reasoning and, considering that History is not my best (or even second or third best) subject, I thought I had done fairly well. Imagine my chagrine, then, when I got my exam back with no comments, just my grade: "F."

Okay, I know I'm not a History major, but it wasn't that bad. So I made an appointment with the professor and, when I entered his den of iniquity, I sat down and asked why I had received an "F."

"Because you didn't answer the question," he said.

"Yes I did," said I.

"No you didn't. I wanted to know why we had World war 1."

I then pointed out that perhaps that what he wanted to know, but that that was not what he had asked. Once I explained my understanding of his question, he got a classic deer-in-headlights look and mumbled something about, "Um ... oh."

So he took my exam back, re-read it, and gave me a C.

Idiot. Naturally, he had tenure.

[BlueStarLizzard]

I corrected teachers all the time. I also ticked them off by usually having read the assigned books long before they were assigned.
I still havn't figured out why I should get in trouble because I read a certain book two or three years before the class and why it was such a bad thing that I remembered it well enough to answer questions without needing to reread.
Also got in trouble for reading ahead. Of course, I can kinda understand that since I would finish the book the night it was assigned and everyone else would be at chapter two or three a couple days later when the class was discussing the book.