The Maths Problem

Being a kid here is not easy. Sometimes when I look at the brain cracking exam questions the students have to solve these days, it makes me want to thank my lucky stars for arriving on planet Earth so much earlier. If I have to sit through PSLE again, I would probably be on a artificial breathing machine by now. Take this Primary One Maths question for example, " Ali has $3 less than $67 and Tommy has $67 more than $3. How much do they have to give away each to have $38 left altogether? " The first thing that came to my mind was, what the hell are they testing, the ability of a 7 year old to solve the question or the child's ability to stay awake and sane after reading the question??! It's tough, man! In class of 40 students, with all the concentrated energy on this problem sum, it will be like a nuclear bomb about to explode. You will want to dig out your own eyeballs trying to solve a question like that in 3 minutes. That's why most classes these days have inhalers in their first aid box, and it's not for asthma attacks.

I can understand the logic behind such questions, but can a 7 year old understand the relevance? I am sure he is already frustrated at not having enough fingers and toes to solve that question, let alone see the applications of this skill. And who goes around asking questions in this format? You don't walk into a provision shop and ask " eskew me, can I have 3 Cokes more than 5? " The owner will probably look at you " eh harlo, le kong simi? "

They say our children are getting smarter these days, so all the questions have to be a tad difficult. Better looking spectacles and more pocket money maybe, but smarter? We didn't evolve that much for the last one hundred years you know. It's still the same number of brain hemispheres! Actually I got a feeling that all these nail biting and hair pulling examinations questions are all part of a conspiracy. Yes, I think the people at the Ministry of Education are the same people who make those Super Excellent High IQ Brain Booster milk powder! And they are testing their product through a 16 year cycle right from birth to see if their powder really enhanced the thinking skills of those infants consuming it. I cannot find any other reasonable explaination better than this.

I often hear students complaining the examinations questions don't really apply to real life. It's true, in real life you use a calculator to multiply and divide, but in not so real school life, you use tonnes of paper and brain cells to solve the same problem. The students cannot relate to the questions asked. Take this question for example,

" At the beginning of a mountain climbing expedition, the number of male climbers was five times the number of female climbers. After 81 male climbers left the expedition, the number of female climbers was twice the number of male climbers. What was the total number of climbers at first?"

Now how many students here can relate to mountain climbing? Not many. But if the question is phrased such that the student may have some experience relating to it or at least heard of it, I think they may just enjoy solving them more and won't be pulling their hair or digging their eyeballs so often. For example,

" At the beginnning of a clubbing session at Club Momo, the number of desperate males was five times the number of chio boos. After 81 desperate males got drunk and were puking by the roadside, the number of chio boos was twice the number of desperate males . What was the total number of clubbers at first? "

Technically the two questions are the same. But which one is more fun to solve? I think to help our students better in this stressful environment, all examination questions should be set this way.

Cool right?