Math 101...USA style!

L

Larry S.

Joined
Mar 31, 2002
Messages
2,308


Last week I purchased a burger at Burger King for $1.58. The counter girl took my $2 and I was digging for my change when I pulled 8 cents from my pocket and gave it to her. She stood there, holding the nickel and 3 pennies, while looking at the screen on her register.

I sensed her discomfort and tried to tell her to just give me two quarters, but she hailed the manager for help.

While he tried to explain the transaction to her, she stood there and cried.

Why do I tell you this?

Please read more about the "history of teaching math":

Teaching Math In 1950 -- A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit?

Teaching Math In 1960 -- A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?

Teaching Math In 1970 -- A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. Did he make a profit?

Teaching Math In 1980 -- A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.

Teaching Math In 1990 -- By cutting down beautiful forest trees, the logger makes $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the forest birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their trees. (There are no wronganswers.)

Teaching Math In 2005 -- El hachero vende un camion carga por $100. La cuesta de production es.............


Larry S.
 
DAMN! I didn't get any of those right. Those are HARD. :( :p


I can't understand why people don't count back your change anymore. I always counted back change when I was working at a register. It's really annoying. I think I get about one person a year who does it.
 
Great post, Larry S. Sad but true, it seems that the ability to do simple maths has gone the same way as good manners, spelling and personal responsibility. :D :grumpy: :confused: :D .
 
Larry S.
That is a great joke. I don't consider myself a math person, because it bores the kakadoodoo out of me. I can do the basics in my head though. I love watching people try to figure out a tip when I am out to eat. :eek:

jsmatos said:
DAMN! I didn't get any of those right. Those are HARD. :( :p

jsmatos,
I can't understand why people don't count back your change anymore. I always counted back change when I was working at a register. It's really annoying. I think I get about one person a year who does it.
Click to expand...

Back when I was using a cash register I tried to count change back. The problem is most people are in such a hurry that they seemed more irritated than anything. That and the fact that lots of people completely ignore any type of retail help. The better dressed the person, the more likely one or both of these situations were to occur. Surprised me when I was young.
 
Great post Larry. Sadly this transfers to all aspects of our society today as referred to by oz23. Is it really that bad in the UK too?
 
LMAO!!!

Just the other night one of the cashiers in the store I work in had some similiar trouble. She was charging a customer for someting that was 50% off, the full price was $2.50. So she says to me as I walk by, "wait, help me out, what's 50% off of $2.50?" Normally the cash register would so all that hard math for you, but the item happened to not be in the system. I just kind of rolled my eyes, and told her.

It is sad but true that we are just starting to rely on computers to do all of our thinking for us. I have seen that happen so many times, customer finds some change after a cashier puts in an amount and they get confused and flustered. And giving 8¢ for a $1.58 is easy, what if you had given a dime, or a quarter? :confused:
 
That's pretty funny. My wife always gets mad at me, because I try to make the change come out nice and I end up confusing the cashier. For instance, if something is $1.82, I will give the cashier $2.07 so I can get a quarter back. What irritates me is that, even though almost every place I go has cash registers that tell the cashier how much change to give, they always look at me and my $2.07 like I came from another planet. Then, when they are going for the quarter, you can see the lightbulb going on over their heads.
 
Goldtanker said:
Great post Larry. Sadly this transfers to all aspects of our society today as referred to by oz23. Is it really that bad in the UK too?
Click to expand...
Worse actually, I recall seeing a programme on telly not so long back where a couple of girls were asked to point out a little place called London on a map, neither of them could and neither was ashamed by this display of ignorance. :( .
All these kids can tell you the names of whatever bunch of organ banks happen to be on the latest edition of Big Brother :barf: but sixty percent of people in a recent poll didn't know what Auschwitz was :( :rolleyes: :mad: .
 
麿 勿れ 頂戴 イット :confused:


* Note: Response is in Business Language 2015
 
Re: Organ Banks. We call them Organ Donors here in the frozen Northland. Very descriptive term with apparent international relevence. :D
 
Ok, time for me to chime in on this one...In my opinion, you are completely wrong. Sure, the educational system is not as stringent as before, but it deos not need to be. Rmeember where you were, you were at burger king. Burger king does not require a degree in math, nor do they require a diploma! That girl could have been 14...she could have had a learning disability, she just could have been not smart...but it is no reason to attack the educational system in the U.S.

I know that my high school had a program to elp kids with a handicap of some sort get a job at place, such as at my former place of employment with the city or with places like bruger king. it was a great program to help them develop work skills. In some cases the workers hired were jsut kids having a hard time, woth learning disabilities, and kids in trouble with the law, ect.

I do agree that if the gril was working the cash register that she should know how to make change, correctly...but remember, there are man kids in this educational system, or that have gone through this "twisted" educational system, that are ok. Many of them are. They are the up and coming engineers, architects, and more...and you have nothing to be worried about.




Otherwise, it is a good joke and it gave me a chuckle...and says a lot about political correctness.
 
similar over here
- I teach history and German literature at a grammar school - it is a school with a focus on math and science.

While we definitely have students that are quite good and do their math without difficulties I see that many are helpless when confronted with "real-life" math. They do the most complicated stuff - theorethically but have problems with percentages when I ask them to do some math in their history-lessons. They know how to spell in the literature lessons but make horrible mistakes when writing a history-test. If they make a mistake and add various percentages of parties in a parliament with a result of 267 % and I ask "Can that be right?" They will answer "Why not?"
Their thinking seems to work with drawers - and many open only one at a time...

Collegues say it is the same thing with math and chemistry or physics, however not to that extent because they EXPECT to have to do some math there. They do not expect that in their literature or history course - so they can´t do it. In other cases they rely on calculator or cash-programs - and do not expect to need the mathematical part of their brain. They are not necessarily dumber, they are dependent on electronics.

Some other students however really cant´t do anything that has to do with math - but they usually leave (are forced to leave because it is not allowed to repeat twice if you fail...) this kind of school after two years - so I have no or little experience with tis kind...

The solution would be to make calculators as expensive as they were in the mid seventies or so...

Andreas
 
Goldtanker said:
Apollo moon landing - 1969 - slide rules.
Click to expand...
Remember the mission where the computer puked and one of the astronauts used his NASA-issued MECHANICAL Omega Speedmaster chronograph to time the re-entry burn and save their butts???:eek: :eek:

Larry S.:cool:
 
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