Korean Job Discussion Forums

[CasperTheFriendlyGhost]

Maybe so, but every time I add a couple of beak wons to the prce at a store or restaurant,, so that I get an even 1,000 note or 500 won coin back, I get met with consternation.

[gazz]

I belive that the Korean government 'made a mandate' that calculators were to be scrapped a few years ago.

Now all korean elem kids must do maths without calculators.

The 5th and 6th grades were part of the old calculator 'regime'

For some reason my 6th grade are awsome anyway. But I did an exercise with my 2nd grade the other day where I did

eg

2345x213 and they all did the calculations on a mini white board and then told me the answer in English!

Cudos (I can only claim credit for the English part )

Shit I carn't do that!

I was part of the UK 'calculator generation'

My 5th grade struggled like shit. I was almost better than them! (almost!)

[jkelly80]

[Kikomom]

[harlowethrombey]

I heard a class today where the reading was talking about a "Negro playing sports."

Negro?

wow.

[Adventurer]

Actually, too many Americans don't know how to calculate without using a calculator. However, I am not sure how many Koreans can do that, either. I often tell Koreans how much change I should get back, and I can calculate large numbers in my head, and I've plenty of Koreans who can't do that. It's so easy to learn how to calculate numbers in your head, but people don't bother teaching things the old-fashioned way. I had to memorize multiplication tables and such... I would make sure, if I ever had a child, that he or she would memorize them, too.

[Sleepy in Seoul]

[Kikomom]

[madoka]

[Kikomom]

[gbeattie]

They may know some math that is more advanced for their age than American kids know but learning involves taking what you know and applying it to a new situation. So the question is if you give the Korean kids a "sideways" or a non standard question can they answer it? I would guess and I am complete speaking out of my ass here that they have algorithms drilled into their heads for "normal" questions so they can answer anything in the textbook but who knows about outside the textbook. It would be neat to see a comparative study of math education systems around the world and see who is the best at what and why.

[peppermint]

stepping aside from the math issue, the cultural tidbits in the teachers guides for elementary school were all laughably bad- I thought those books were due to be phased out a year or two ago?

[Steelrails]

[alphakennyone]

As a previous poster mentioned, not being able to handle change is a sign of some sub-par "real life" math skills. I've only seen cashiers in America goof it up now and then (some people are hopeless), but quite a few times in Korea. It's something that when you do it everyday, it should just be automatic.

Having worked a register myself, I also found it funny when Asian customers would give me far more bills than necessary to buy something (like giving me five singles to pay for something that's $2.50). That's surely cluelessness more than math ability, but still. A bit like my coworker who would give customers 3 dimes as change instead of a quarter and a nickle...and he was an electrical engineering student.

[harlowethrombey]

I was gonna comment earlier, but I got lost after the first page. What is this squigly thing: '2' ? What the hell is that? When I use my food-stickers (fingers) to do mah countin' I just hold up 'V' for what come after 'l'.