As you can probably infer from the photo above, I went to the shopping mall the other day and walked into a store with lots of savings. I overheard the following conversation between a middle-school-aged boy and (presumably) his mother:
Boy: I like this shirt.
Mom: How much is it?
Boy: Um... $37.99 with 30% discount.
Mom: So how much is it?
Boy: I don't know, this chart doesn't have it.
Mom: Use the calculator on your phone to figure it out.
Boy: How do I do that?
To be fair, I'm not exactly sure how old this boy is, but it did make me rethink our Ontario math curriculum. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the learning of percentages (e.g., how they relate to fractions and decimals) begins in Grade 6, but it's not until Grade 8 that students actually learn to calculate percentage discounts and sales tax. In my opinion, it's far too late.
According to Ctrl-F, the word "real" appears in the mathematics curriculum 50 times (e.g., real world, real-life). In the section under "Principles Underlying the Ontario Mathematics Curriculum" (page 3), it explicitly states that it will challenge students to make connections between mathematics and the real world. If that's the case, shouldn't we prioritize "real-life" mathematics in the curriculum? Perhaps introduce concepts like sales tax much earlier in the curriculum, rather than in Grade 8? I realize that comes with some complications in the sequential learning of mathematics, but there's really nothing more relevant than calculating sales tax, discounts, and gratuity in real life.
I agree with your point that we need to prioritize real life mathematics. In my experiences, students want to know why they are learning certain topics. If they see no connection to the real world, they become disengaged and will never remember the topic that was taught. I feel it is our job though to show them where they can use what they have learned outside the classroom by providing real life questions such as discounts or producing activities that would simulate different scenarios.
ReplyDeleteI love that you posted this, because you are correct I think it these real life concepts should be taught much earlier. Let's face it, kids are going out and shopping by themselves and yes most of them can count money but when it comes to "sale" items, they have no clue how much they are actually saving. Are we just relay on their parents to show them at a younger age how this works or really expect them to wait till grade 8 to learn about percentages and how to figure out if something is 40% off, how much the actual shirt is. Great post!
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