RE: Metric Conversions
David Hobby wrote: Another place where this kind of thing shows up is in the definition of the natural numbers. Do they start at 0 or at 1? On a basic level, starting at 1 makes sense. But in set theory (or computer science) starting at 0 works better. David, I was only a maths teacher in an Australian High School, but we taught that natural numbers start at 1. If you want to include 0 then they were called whole numbers. It is only a name after all, but we were careful to make that distinction to 12 year old students. Do they make the same distinction here? [Including fractions and decimals was the set of (positive) rational numbers. As students' mathematical knowledge progressed we taught them about negative rational numbers and a year later they were introduced to irrational numbers.] The 0/1 confusion was an issue in teaching sequences and difference equations to our older students, especially in calculating the number of terms, but that is another problem altogether. Maree Ludenia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: An armed society, ( was distribute the wealth)
On Mon 10/27/2008 6:39 AM Bruce Bostwick wrote Then again, an armed society is a polite society .. Bruce, We have found that in general Americans are the politest people we have met. They are also incredibly welcoming and friendly. We have certainly speculated if this was in part due to the variety of arms we have seen. I still shudder when a truck pulled up next to us in a supermarket car park with a shot gun on prominent display in the back window. When the driver opened the door of the truck it was surprising that there was room for him to sit with all the weapons visible in the car. That is more weapons than I had seen in my lifetime. The local Sherriff pulled in beside him and they had a conversation. I think from the body language that the Sherriff was admiring the guns, but I can't be sure and I did not want to hang around to find out. Regards, Maree ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Racial and Gender bigotry
On Behalf Of Jon Louis Mann Subject: Racial and Gender bigotry Welcome to the list and to America, Maree! I have travelled extensively in AUS and New Zed and would be curious to hear how different racial and gender bias is in America, compared to down under, and how it is dealt with in your educational system, and in families? American television is being exported all over the world, but not Fox News Network, yet... (although Rupert Murdouch is now an American citizen, I believe.~) We do have many television programs that do promote tolerance and sensitivity, many of which are spinoffs from European programs. If you pass by Santa Monica, CA in your travels please contact me. Jon Mann (310) 664-3712 Hi Jon and thank you for your kind words. Australians are as xenophobic as Americans in a generalist sense. It was only with the recent change in government that an apology for the treatment of our Aboriginal people was being formulated. The apology may have been made by now, but if that is the case I missed out on hearing about it over here. Although education is an essential part of the solution to the problem, there needs to be a broader response for this to work. This should IMHO include carefully monitored affirmative action programs. Positive role models in various positions in media also help mitigate bias. Community education projects can also help. Churches, and other institutions for social control and organisation, can have a great effect. We could also use are more activists like Mahatma Ghandi or Martin Luther King. I am sure there are many other approaches that will work as well. My comment about broadening the solution came from my experience as a secondary school teacher. Over the years, whenever there is a societal problem the call goes out Get the schools to deal with it. Schools are instruments of social control and can be quite effective in that role. However, the more social programs foisted on schools the less time they have to devote to teaching thinking, researching, arguing, reading, writing, mathematics, science, history, geography and all the other important subjects that an educated person needs to know to effectively function in our society. It is a difficult job getting the balance correct and one that schools at home do amazingly well. I know so little about the system here in the US that I would not like to comment on how well things work here. Of course between you and me we can solve all the world's problems ;-). Regards, Maree Ludenia PS We are currently in Redding CA and moving south - Yosemite calls before it gets too cold. We may end up in the Santa Monica area and if we do I would love to catch up with you. ML ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Racial and Gender bigotry
ON October 24th Bruce Bostwick wrote: On Oct 23, 2008, at 5:07 PM, Julia Thompson wrote: (No, I'm not sure just how to do that. I think giving scholarships to appropriate colleges based on *zip code* in the US will get around any race-based restrictions one way or the other but will get more of the minorities in the door with carefully selected zip codes.) I would feel much better about a geographically based solution like this than I would one that specifically targets disadvantaged classes of people by ethnicity or gender. I'd also feel OK with a solution that works on an income basis, although that solution is already in place in some cases. And not all of the inequities in access to education are intentional. Some could be unintended consequences of other acceptance policies. (Others may be intentional but designed to look like unintended consequences to provide a convenient excuse, so this works both ways.) But I still feel that if there is any normalization to be done, college/university acceptance is the place to do it, if not even earlier in the chain -- what about providing funding/technology support for higher teaching standards in primary schools in low income/ minority districts? Or increasing what's already in place? Grotesque oppression isn't okay just because it's been institutionalized. -- Toby Ziegler ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com Version: 8.0.175 / Virus Database: 270.8.2/1743 - Release Date: 10/24/2008 8:33 AM Greetings to Brin-L'ers. I have been lurking on this mailing list for several months reading the posts and discussing the ideas with my husband (a list member for many years, albeit one who hasn't posted in a while). Jo Anne Bird suggested that I could (and should) introduce myself to the list and reply to posts if I wish. I am a recently retired secondary school teacher from Australia who has been touring the US since February. It has been fun to immerse myself into US culture, so strangely familiar and yet different from Aussie culture. In reply to the list discussion Re: Racial and Gender bigotry: I would like to suggest that although education (in schools) is an important step in the solution to the problem, it is only part of the solution and should not be seen as the only approach to be taken. Cultural attitudes within the 'oppressed' culture, whether these are within families or within larger communities, are often so ingrained as to the limits of achievement possible, that a child attempting to defy these limits is so ostracised that they tend to give up. The Matilda's of this world ( Roald Dahl reference) are indeed a rarity. Education in its broadest sense is needed within and without communities and the problem still takes several generations to break down stereotypes. In a way US television could have a much larger role in changing stereotypes in this way. Alas, I have not seen any programs that do this in my channel surfing (admittedly limited) this year. Regards, Maree Ludenia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
