Grandpa visited today along with two of my kids, Ezekiel and Mattea. We played dice and a card game called Golf. It’s always fun when we get together. Lots of fun conversation and laughter.
We got on the topic of the many people who cannot do simple math. Grandpa said he was at the grocery store deli and asked for a half dozen chicken wings. The young clerk responded by saying, “I’m sorry, sir, they only come in 6 or 12.”
“Well, I’d like a half dozen then.”
“I’m sorry. They only come in 6 or 12.”
In utter disbelief, Grandpa said he’d just take six.
When I think of a dozen, right away I think of eggs. Probably everyone has an egg carton or two in their fridge. Surely, if you know how many eggs are in a carton, you can imagine what half of that would be. Am I right?
Learning the meaning of dozen is about as basic as math can get. Especially when the deli sits right next to dozens (and half dozens) of doughnuts, cookies, and cupcakes. This was just one example shared today of botched simple math problems dealt with in public. And it’s really pretty sad.
Maybe learning just isn’t fun anymore. I had fun learning in school and I really wanted to learn. But today’s world is different.
Education just isn’t the same. Teachers are frustrated. Kids are bored. Gaming is a big distraction. Parents are busy. The focus seems to have changed. Things that were of great importance in the past no longer seem as relevant. And things that have no business being in schools highlight the school board meetings and impact the overall wellbeing of our children. Covid didn’t help either. It’s been hard to pull out of that hole.
I hope something changes soon for the sake of our children. Well, for our society as a whole.
I heard recently that throughout history every generation became a little smarter than the previous…that is until about 2010 when computers were brought into the schools. I can’t back that up with research because I haven’t done the research, but it is something to take into consideration. I’m a skeptic when it comes to a lot of our technology. Is it really all to our benefit? Is there any truth to the intentional dumbing down of our children? I don’t know. But I know I am not in favor of AI superseding humans. I mean what could possibly go wrong?
Clearly, we are failing in this area of education. Learning can be fun. And it should be. My daughter, Denae, is homeschooling her daughter and I think she’s doing a splendid job at keeping it fun. It is possible.
I’m a dreamer…a wishful thinker. And I will continue to dream of simpler days like when I was a kid.
♥️
Andi
Coffee with Andi 