>> > ladder or a bed frame) out of a room into a hall could they see this=
was
>> > that type of problem, they had difficulty seeing it.
>> >
>> > We worked the problem, and they never really understood that the =
minimum
>> > vlaue of the length of the pipe was the maximum length of pipe that =
could
>> > be carried down the hall and turn the corner.
Now, in the real world, we have more degrees of freedom than the XY
plane. Sometimes we can tilt a pipe towards the ceiling and get a
little more elbow room that way.
Unless calculus is really used for problems of this sort, and fairly=20
routinely (e.g. by professional movers, architects, equipment=20
installers of various kinds), then I don't think it qualifies as=20
a real world problem.
I think students should be encouraged to challenge texts to cite
sources for their word problems. If you can't prove that your=20
application is a real one (vs a mock problem, a phoney application),
then you should at least be up front with this information in the
text itself. Better if you can draw your problems from the field,
and point to more of the same in "For further reading".
I think a lot of flagging interest in mathematics class is owing
to a growing credibility gap. They're still teaching what was=20
taught closer to the beginning of the century, and yet the world
has changed radically in the meantime. So who is being more=20
lazy, the students or the curriculum writers?
How sure are we that this niche of educators has really done its=20
homework and kept its subject matter up to date? Are the quality=20
controls really working? Are we even allowed to ask this question?
I don't blame students for at least experiencing some skepticism,=20
even if they can't quite put their finger on what's bugging them=20
about the class.
In sum: maybe Johnny can't read because the stuff they give=20
him to practice with never sufficiently impresses him as being=20
worth reading.
Kirby
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