Comments on: The Evolution of Teaching Math in America: 1959-2009

By: JC

JC — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:50:52 +0000

The reason for the Spanish in 2009 punchline is to underscore the frustration of teaching math in modern American classrooms. Since the vast majority of teachers in the US are English speaking, they are now finding themselves having to teach ESL learners who oftentimes cannot understand a single word that they are saying. If you thought it was difficult to teach algebra to an adolescent, try teaching it to an adolescent who cannot comprehend a single word that you are saying. That’s the point being made there.

By: Steven

Steven — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:38:41 +0000

Bruno

People with Spanish as their first language, or at least their parent’s first language, is currently the fastest growing portion of the US population. Various estimates indicate that this segment will be 30% of the US population by 2050, and that Non-Hispanic whites will make up less than half of the total population.

This is a sore point for many whites in the US.

So, anyway, back to the last part of the joke, while I personally don’t see it as adding much value (I much prefer other punchlines than that one), it’s trying to highlight how much the education system is changing from that experienced by the typical American that grew up in the 1950s.

Hope that helps.

By: bruno

bruno — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:56:32 +0000

I don’t understand “Teaching Math in 2009″. I’m from Uruguay and I don’t know the situation of the USA right now. Are you saying that american kids are reading spanish books or that schools are full of inmigrants? I just don’t get it.

By: Rafael Karst

Rafael Karst — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:12:26 +0000

Incredible, i’m from brazil, here the same s*** happens… huaehuaehuaehuae how can this be possible?! two f***ing different countries…

the same ‘bla bla bla’ of teaching…

really i didn’t think this could be possible…

haha =]

By: The Irishman

The Irishman — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:41:39 +0000

This is so true. I “dugg” the article. Everyone should read this (although the state of teaching reading is almost as bad as teaching math – so there are fewer ‘readers’ out there now).

By: Anthony

Anthony — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:00:23 +0000

@Jay – That’s hillarious. I’ve done that a few times. Unfortunetly, I was a victim to the (Guessing) 1985 teaching styles. Luckily, I had some common sense and read some older books.

By: Jay

Jay — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:36:17 +0000

Oh…so, SO true. I noticed this in the mid-80’s. Truly sad. If you really want to see this in action, get your ‘fee’ (say…$2.35) and then hand them a $5.00. The moment they pop in the amount in the register, say “Wait!” and then give them coin. (Even giving them the EXACT amount of change could potentially give them a headache!)

>>> Jay

By: Laura

Laura — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:24:40 +0000

I can’t tell you how many times that happens to me, but it’s so much fun to confuse them :)