Almost 3 decades ago, someone in town wanted to have a mural painted on the "bean mill" structure in the middle of town. They decided to do a design contest and asked for something cool like a trompe l'oeil of a climber on a rope or something. I don't do contests very often because they're not very profitable, but this one was more important to me AND their idea was terrible so I submitted a design "What would Scott not grimace at when he sees it every day for the next decade?" —it was only supposed to stay up for 10 years. Well a few days ago I mentioned to the mayor that it was getting pretty shabby and needed to either be repainted or taken down. I know that they had probably had this discussion and basically tabled it because they didn't want to upset me. I say whatever, just don't leave it to decay. So they didn't waste any time! It's in the local paper today, and I'm sort of verklempt that (so far) so many of the comments on Facebook are in favor of keeping the design and just repainting it.
Almost 3 decades ago, someone in town wanted to have a mural painted on the "bean mill" structure in the middle of town. They decided to do a design contest and asked for something cool like a trompe l'oeil of a climber on a rope or something. I don't do contests very often because they're not very profitable, but this one was more important to me AND their idea was terrible so I submitted a design "What would Scott not grimace at when he sees it every day for the next decade?" âit was only supposed to stay up for 10 years.
Well a few days ago I mentioned to the mayor that it was getting pretty shabby and needed to either be repainted or taken down. I know that they had probably had this discussion and basically tabled it because they didn't want to upset me. I say whatever, just don't leave it to decay.
So they didn't waste any time! It's in the local paper today, and I'm sort of verklempt that (so far) so many of the comments on Facebook are in favor of keeping the design and just repainting it.
Nice! Nothing like having your work featured prominently and for years!
Almost 3 decades ago, someone in town wanted to have a mural painted on the "bean mill" structure in the middle of town. They decided to do a design contest and asked for something cool like a trompe l'oeil of a climber on a rope or something. I don't do contests very often because they're not very profitable, but this one was more important to me AND their idea was terrible so I submitted a design "What would Scott not grimace when he sees it every day for the next decade?" âit was only supposed to stay up for 10 years.
Well a few days ago I mentioned to the mayor that it was getting pretty shabby and needed to either be repainted or taken down. I know that they had probably had this discussion and basically tabled it because they didn't want to upset me. I say whatever, just don't leave it to decay.
So they didn't waste any time! It's in the local paper today, and I'm sort of verklempt that (so far) so many of the comments on Facebook are in favor of keeping the design and just repainting it.
Almost 3 decades ago, someone in town wanted to have a mural painted on the "bean mill" structure in the middle of town. They decided to do a design contest and asked for something cool like a trompe l'oeil of a climber on a rope or something. I don't do contests very often because they're not very profitable, but this one was more important to me AND their idea was terrible so I submitted a design "What would Scott not grimace at when he sees it every day for the next decade?" âit was only supposed to stay up for 10 years.
Well a few days ago I mentioned to the mayor that it was getting pretty shabby and needed to either be repainted or taken down. I know that they had probably had this discussion and basically tabled it because they didn't want to upset me. I say whatever, just don't leave it to decay.
So they didn't waste any time! It's in the local paper today, and I'm sort of verklempt that (so far) so many of the comments on Facebook are in favor of keeping the design and just repainting it.
Teaching making change in school isn't so much for the person making change as for the person getting the change. When I was in France many years ago, short changing people seemed to be a national sport. Late one night as I stumbled home (just tired, not drunk, honest) I stopped at a weirdly open late bakery and bought some baklava. The owner gave me my change and as I was staring blankly at my still stretched out hand,, he looked at me and added some more coins.
Ok, nevermind if kids won't ever pay cash.
When I worked at a liquor store in Oakland, I got really fast and most people either didn't care or they had their head in the game and were comfortable with how I did it: fan out the coins in one hand and say "...that makes $4" and then fan out the bills and say "and that's $20." It's only when they care and are expecting me to say "your change is $16.33" that they balked. Easy enough to slow down and show them, though, because the money's still in my hand.
Nah, it shouldn't. It's a job-specific skill and it's not related to being able to do math. The minute I catch someone trying to do math in their head, I stop them (when I'm the trainer). It's just counting.
Teaching making change in school isn't so much for the person making change as for the person getting the change. When I was in France many years ago, short changing people seemed to be a national sport. Late one night as I stumbled home (just tired, not drunk, honest) I stopped at a weirdly open late bakery and bought some baklava. The owner gave me my change and as I was staring blankly at my still stretched out hand,, he looked at me and added some more coins.
At our favorite South of the border fruit and veggie stand, they often prompt the clueless gringos with "tienes trenta dos pesos?" when some one is trying to buy 132 peso worth of stuff with a 500 peso bill. I've tried to explain from the position behind them that they just want small bills so they don't use up all their change, but it usually ends up with the person emptying their pockets and the cashier picking through their coins to get it right.
There was a time when North of the Border the conversation would be like that, "do you have 32¢?" or "I have the change," meaning yeah I just gave you a 20 but let me dig for coins. I imagine anyplace the cash registers don't have calculators, this is still common. You're making it easier on the cashier when they have to give you exactly $10 back, but you're also controlling the more difficult part of the exchange so everyone's happy. When they ask "do you have 32¢?" it may be that they are low on small bills but often it's a cue that they're paying attention and won't rip you off/don't try to claim you gave him a $100.
When I worked in Yellowstone, a lot of people (mostly not from the USA) would lay out everything in their purse/wallet/coffeecan* and let me pick through it for what I needed. I had this happen one time before I realized I needed to recruit the next person in line to watch what I was doing.
*I got one old guy on his literal trip of a lifetime, who took out a bill and said "is this still worth anything?" It was a $50 Silver Certificate from 1957 IIRC, absolutely mint condition except for the indentations from having been stored in coffee can for decades. I said absolutely, then at the end of my shift I bought it from the till. I didn't make a lot when I sold it so it's not like I gouged the guy.
I agree it's not exclusive to kids. I've had plenty of grownups hand me back the extra money with a *tsk* *tsk* you gave me too much money!
Nah, it shouldn't. It's a job-specific skill and it's not related to being able to do math. The minute I catch someone trying to do math in their head, I stop them (when I'm the trainer). It's just counting.
That's rote math knowledge, and it's something that's not as common as it was 50+ years ago. If you have to count a quarter, a dime, and a nickel...you can't make change quickly. Rote skills enable higher function and should be a goal for everyone that travels the educational system. All of the BS about experiential learning and "everyday math" is weakening our collective ability to reason at higher levels.
I will concede that using Apple pay for everything changes the amount of practice people get and eliminates the weight component of "change", but all of the examples listed below highlight the frustration that many feel when dealing with math that has been "hard-wired" since elementary school (decades and decades ago). It's frustrating to deal with those who never learned basic skills because they struggle to function at levels most of us expect from everyone.
I don't think making change is something we should be training people to do. K-8 education should cover that.
Nah, it shouldn't. It's a job-specific skill and it's not related to being able to do math. The minute I catch someone trying to do math in their head, I stop them (when I'm the trainer). It's just counting.
I write much of day for my job - I have to take notes, contact info, etc. I still like getting new pens and pads. I'm also a visual artist, so I often have a pen, pencil, or brush in my hand anyhow. Though when painting (either art or house-painting), I'm pretty ambidextrous.
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