I noticed this story coming up from San Francisco.
This revolves around fourth-graders who sat in a math class and were given this problem: If you have 14 stickers and desire to give three to each friend, how many friends will get stickers?
The kids were frustrated and didn't see any outcome.
The true answer? ONLY four friends would get stickers, and you'd have 2 stickers left in your hand at the end.
Now, my brother (the electrical engineer) would have answered....none of his friends care for some damn stickers.....so he'd just keep the stickers. Maybe down the road, with enough stickers....he'd trade them for some magic beans at the local co-op.
Others might have answered that they'd come to some agreement in selling the stickers for a nickel each, and made 70 cents.
Still others would have answered that the final two left-over stickers should be cut-up and given out as partial stickers.
The purpose of this stupid math problem....a discussion in the distribution cycle...nothing more than that. It's not really a defined end (x plus y must equal z).
It's a love-hate relationship with math. You need some math skills to survive in life. The majority of us probably need a max of 8th-grade math for the requirements in life. A few us need Einstein-like skills.
With word problems....the hate view outweighs the love view. I had some 9th grade math instructor who gave out a 5 question quiz, all worked up in word problems. He figured we'd all be done in 20 minutes. Most were still working on this at the ring of the bell....sixty minutes later.
Even now....two weeks after this stupid sticker problem, there's probably a dozen kids still have math-PTSD issues and worried that more intense sticker problems will be given to them in September.
