Mrs Mungo Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/teacher-fired-assigning-violent-math-problems-third-graders-201910368.html A Washington, D.C., charter school teacher has been fired after it was discovered the teacher had assigned third-grade students a number of math problems framed around violent and illegal scenarios. At first, the unnamed teacher at the Trinidad Center City School claimed he had been ordered to assign the problems, but it was quickly discovered that the teacher had actually downloaded them from a free homeschooling website called "HomeschoolingParadise.com." Example: "John's father gave him 1359 marbles on his birthday. John swallowed 585 marbles and died. 9 of John's friends came for his funeral the next day. John's grieving father gave the remaining marbles to John's friends in equal numbers. How many marbles did each friend get?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Um . . . wow. :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 :001_huh: I'm sure it bodes so well for us that it was found on a homeschooling website. :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impish Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted March 2, 2012 Author Share Posted March 2, 2012 :001_huh: I'm sure it bodes so well for us that it was found on a homeschooling website. :confused: I know, what the heck!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ailaena Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 (edited) On the positive side, it sounds like something a 3rd-grader made up himself. So it shows that homeschoolers are not only capable of solving multi-step word problems, but we combine common sense with mathematics? I tried... eta: My favorite one - "I took a nap in a bog one day and woke up screaming. 3796 leeches, 2910 fleas and 1044 vampire bats were stuck to my bald head drinking my blood in ecstasy. How many bloodthirsty bloodsuckers were dining on my head?" I mean, look at the vocabulary there! Bog, ecstasy, bloodthirsty... :leaving: Edited March 2, 2012 by Ailaena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternalknot Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I give those kinds of word problems to my own kids, ironically to keep things "light" (but our sense of humor veers towards the morbid. Math makes us all feel like we're dying a little. Or that we'd prefer to). I question the intelligence of someone who would find those acceptable to pass around a true classroom. A true classroom of 8 year olds. My girlfriend works at a charter school, and they have a kind of check-and-balance system of sorts. Four teachers per grade level, but they each are responsible for a subject and for gathering materials for 'their' subject to distribute amongst the other teachers. I always thought it was a bit annoying, but I suppose these math problems wouldn't have made it passed three other teachers ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 Double WOW! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 I can see this more on a homeschooling site, where you KNOW your kids and can pick problems that suit them. In a classroom, though, I'd stick with being innocuous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natalieclare Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Nu uhn. :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Shades of Lemony Snickett. My boy would love it. He's no cakesniffer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carpe Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Is it wrong that my first thought was that I could/should go download them for my kids? They'd love them. But then I'm not a school teacher for a reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carpe Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 I went to the website. All the grade three math problems seem to be tasteless. Like this gem: 21 African golfers and 26 American golfers played golf together yesterday. However, all of them played terribly. Each African golfer killed 5 flying turkeys when his golf balls flew into the sky. Each American golfer killed 7 unlucky bald eagles. How many more bald eagles than turkeys died that day? I expected a collection of more morbid questions, and then normal ones. Not sure why. There appear to be no normal questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iucounu Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 :001_tt1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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