Who’s Got a Calculator?
Two days ago we stopped by Hastings to rent some videos. As we were checking out, the clerk on the counter next to us yelled out “What’s 30% of 40?” My wife looks at me strangely, as if suspicious that it’s a trick question, and answers “12….”
As strange as it seems, this really did happen. A seemingly normal adult honestly did not know how to take 30% of 40. Now I can understand why it may be hard to take 30% of 42.60, for example, especially when having the precise answer is important. But 30% of 40? That’s just 3 times 4. Come on!
I’ve always been a skeptic of pedagogic styles that value confidence over ability. I would rather teach a classroom full of students who think they know very little but are actually learning than one where the students have such high self-esteem that they can’t even hear me. But the latter are precisely the students our schools are graduating. And here are the results. As we left Hastings, our friendly clerk was almost screaming “Who’s Got a Calculator?”