kitchen table math, the sequel: 11/7/10 - 11/14/10

Friday, November 12, 2010

The Scribner Arithmetic

I was just talking to a woman here who is working on a transparency project (I'm in!). She got her start in all this when her district adopted TERC and rejected all forms of acceleration for gifted kids; now she's asking local townships for budget docs and the like.

Never occurred to me that the math wars can also have consequences for local government.

heh

She mentioned that when she looked back at her old textbooks, as well as her father's books, she was impressed. Her dad used Scribner Arithmetic in the 1950s.

Does anyone know anything about it?

The Scribner Arithmetic: Book 5

The Scribner Arithmetic: Book 5

I wish I could remember the math books my school bought when I was in 2nd grade, I think. I remember thinking they were beautiful. Not just beautiful but elegant, though I don't think I knew to apply that word to a book at the time.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

accent

I love this!

Only problem: I can't figure out which accent is my accent.

I think I just heard Cassy T, so apparently I'm clicking on flags too far north...

free books

An Introduction to English Syntax by Jim Miller
Jim Miller

The English Language: From Sound to Sense by Gerald P. Delahunty and James J. Garvey
Table of Contents (pdf file)

Now all I need is some free time to read them.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

off-topic

This is interesting:
Despite poorer health, shorter lives and more strenuous jobs, in 1950 the typical individual did not claim Social Security until age 68.5. In 1950, more than 20% of Americans worked in physically demanding jobs; today only about 8% do. While today's technology-driven service economy places demands on older workers, it is hard to imagine that things were easier when Americans typically worked on farms or in factories.
Raise the Early Retirement Age
by Andrew G. Biggs
LA Times 11/9/2010

I had no idea.