In the Guided Math book Laney Sammons gives scary statistics from the US Department of Education from 2008. Are you ready for this? Maybe you should sit down, take a deep breath, and prepare yourself to be terrified.
OK, here it goes:
78% of Americans over 18 cannot compute interest paid on a loan. That would explain the state our country is in! LOL
71% of American over 18 cannot determine miles per gallon on a trip.
This is the one that really gets me - 58% cannot calculate a 10% tip. We're not talking a 15% tip, but a simple 10%. WOW.
I have been working with my husband on weekends to build a new home. What I've come to realize very quickly and sheepishly, I am good at book math, but not so good at real-world math. In fact, as a teacher, I thought I knew what real-world math was, but I didn't have a very good clue. I think all educators should take a month or more sabbatical, go out into the real-world (different careers), and not just watch what real workers do, but actually roll up their sleeves and do the work. I believe until this happens, we will not be able to make a dent in changing our mathematical education in this country.
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