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Old 12-23-2010, 10:08 PM
 
550 posts, read 1,353,141 times
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Check out the instruction videos on math and other subjects from The Khan Academy: Khan Academy

Each video is around 10 minutes long but the instructor does a great job of explaining things. He is very conversational with his instuction, definitely not boring like traditional lectures. All you will see is a board with the problems written down and solved while he narrates it.

Regardless of what anyone says, basic algebra is important to know just as much as reading and writing.
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Old 12-24-2010, 12:56 PM
 
1,428 posts, read 3,155,852 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Milleka View Post
I know that when most people read or write a story, they instantly understand it.

That's not necessarily so. My husband can read a book cover to cover and can't tell you anything about it when he's done. But, he can do metric-english conversions and decimals to fractions in his head without even thinking. It's just a matter of how your brain processes information. Some people are numbers people and some are better with words. It's the whole right brain, left brain thing.
Ahem. Speaking as an English teacher, I heartily WISH that when people read a story, they would instantly understand it.
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Old 12-24-2010, 07:58 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mightyqueen801 View Post
Trust me, you will never need algebra for anything in real life.
Unless you are a nurse - nurses use algebra to calculate medication dosages (that's only one example)

Unless you study to be a pharmacist - pharmacists use algebra every day.

Unless you decide to go into construction - construction workers may need to find square footage or cubic footage or angles when building anything.

Unless you decide to figure out how long you need to get somewhere and what route you should take.

Every time you need to problem solve a situation that involves money, time, distance, perimeter of a fence or skate ramp, volume of something, comparing prices when you shop, rent something - cost versus time, other situations you are using algebra.
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Old 12-25-2010, 09:31 PM
 
Location: Elsewhere
88,292 posts, read 84,292,537 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tban View Post
Check out the instruction videos on math and other subjects from The Khan Academy: Khan Academy

Each video is around 10 minutes long but the instructor does a great job of explaining things. He is very conversational with his instuction, definitely not boring like traditional lectures. All you will see is a board with the problems written down and solved while he narrates it.

Regardless of what anyone says, basic algebra is important to know just as much as reading and writing.
I don't think that's necessarily true, as I've gotten to 52 without having to use algebra. However, it does still bug me that I'm a mathtard. 25 years ago, I became discouraged from finishing college at night when I failed the non-credit remedial math course that they made me take, which was basically high-school algrebra. I got A's in the English Lit, Business Law, History and Psychology classes, but I absolutely could not grasp math. I have no trouble with arithmetic, able to do percentages, fractions, etc., in my head. Interestingly, I later took CLEP exams to move up at work (you could do this as an equivalent to a degree) and I scored well above the average on the math CLEP just guessing at which answer looked right, but I would never be able to do the work that showed why I thought that was the right answer.

I've been thinking about it recently, and just for my own satisfaction have wondered if I could find a basic algebra book and see if there was some way that I could learn it on my own.
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Old 12-25-2010, 09:36 PM
 
Location: Elsewhere
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nana053 View Post
Unless you are a nurse - nurses use algebra to calculate medication dosages (that's only one example)

Unless you study to be a pharmacist - pharmacists use algebra every day.

Unless you decide to go into construction - construction workers may need to find square footage or cubic footage or angles when building anything.

Unless you decide to figure out how long you need to get somewhere and what route you should take.

Every time you need to problem solve a situation that involves money, time, distance, perimeter of a fence or skate ramp, volume of something, comparing prices when you shop, rent something - cost versus time, other situations you are using algebra.
LOL, well, I do agree that for certain professions you do need algebra, but some of those things, particularly the ones I've highlighted, can be done without anything bearing a resemblance to what you are taught in school as algebra. If you have to calculate the the perimeter of fence or compare prices when you shop or figure out cost versus time, you don't sit down and start writing this complicated multi-line formula with X's and Y's in it!
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Old 12-26-2010, 03:23 PM
 
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Originally Posted by Mightyqueen801 View Post
LOL, well, I do agree that for certain professions you do need algebra, but some of those things, particularly the ones I've highlighted, can be done without anything bearing a resemblance to what you are taught in school as algebra. If you have to calculate the the perimeter of fence or compare prices when you shop or figure out cost versus time, you don't sit down and start writing this complicated multi-line formula with X's and Y's in it!
No, but you use algebraic processes and algebraic thinking. Algebra is a way of solving problems, but it does not have to involve complex formulas.
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Old 12-26-2010, 06:45 PM
 
Location: Elsewhere
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Originally Posted by nana053 View Post
No, but you use algebraic processes and algebraic thinking. Algebra is a way of solving problems, but it does not have to involve complex formulas.
I agree, but to pass the classes, you need to do the complex formulas!

It's sort of like have to write down step by step how to walk, describing every bone and muscle and thought involved in the process. I wouldn't be able to do that, either!

On the other hand, I can't for the life of me figure out how people don't remember how to spell a word once they've read it. You just recall it up on to that little screen inside your forehead and read it again, right?

Brains are funny things.
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Old 12-26-2010, 10:52 PM
 
Location: Charlotte, NC
2,193 posts, read 5,043,646 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mightyqueen801 View Post
I agree, but to pass the classes, you need to do the complex formulas!

It's sort of like have to write down step by step how to walk, describing every bone and muscle and thought involved in the process. I wouldn't be able to do that, either!
Yea but if you researched it and was taught it, you could learn it. How about cooking or writing a recipe? It's a step by step process also.

Quote:

On the other hand, I can't for the life of me figure out how people don't remember how to spell a word once they've read it. You just recall it up on to that little screen inside your forehead and read it again, right?

Brains are funny things.
Not sure I understand this, but you did learn how to spell everything in your post.

You may not solve equations with x's and y's in real like you do in math class. But what's useful is it teaches you how to problem solve and take it in a step by step fashion. Life can have complex situations that come up that need to be broken down in steps. And the thinking process that is utilized in math can be used in other areas of life.
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Old 12-27-2010, 07:02 AM
 
Location: Elsewhere
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Originally Posted by sheenie2000 View Post
Yea but if you researched it and was taught it, you could learn it. How about cooking or writing a recipe? It's a step by step process also.



Not sure I understand this, but you did learn how to spell everything in your post.

You may not solve equations with x's and y's in real like you do in math class. But what's useful is it teaches you how to problem solve and take it in a step by step fashion. Life can have complex situations that come up that need to be broken down in steps. And the thinking process that is utilized in math can be used in other areas of life.
Re spelling. That was my point. I can easily spell and write, and it's hard for me to understand why others can't because it comes easily to me. Algebra does not.

Again, as I've said several times, I agree with the concept that we use forms of math all our lives. I'm 52 years old, after all, and I've survived pretty well despite not having a college degree in a job where I am supposed to have a degree. But that does not change the fact that I was unable to pass an algebra class, not even the remedial course I had to take when I attempted to go to night school. It just does not stick or make any sense to me, and I don't know why. I remember being in class thinking that I understood it when the teacher would put the problems on the blackboard, and then I'd go home and attempt to do the homework and it was like looking at Chinese. At this point in my life, it really doesn't matter, although, as I said in an earlier post, I might get a basic algebra book for myself and try to learn it for my own entertainment, just because it bugs me that I was not able to do so when I was young.
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Old 12-27-2010, 08:44 AM
 
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About spelling - you are obviously a visual learner and can see the words in your head. Auditory learners can't do that. They spell what they hear and since English is not very phonetic, they often get it wrong. My son and granddaughter are auditory learners. My grandaughter does fine on spelling tests if she practices, but the words will not be spelled correctly when she writes because she doesn't *hear* them with the correct letters.
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