I really need to stay off the internet....Math methods

I was reading up on FARK.com and came across this video post on Youtube of two competing math methods in US elementary schools, being discussed and demonstrated by a meteorologist. Trevelian and I watched this and even he shook his head (4th grade) and said "what is she doing? I could have had that done by now......".

Scary stuff. Im no math wiz. In fact, im reading Algebra II for Dummies and Calculus for Dummies-partly for when he starts algebra, and partly because Im reading "The Universe in a Nutshell" by Stephen Hawking, and I thought it might be useful. I never took more than Alg I, II, and Geometry and I don't remember much of any of them.

Im not one for dissing on new ways to teach things, if they work, but watching this lady spend 5 minutes setting up a basic multiplication problem or division problem, and then solve it in some long convoluted fashion, and THEN say if I was just to write the correct answer without going through the other method that it would be 'wrong' is BS. Math is math, it is right or not. My bank doesn't care how I felt about my balance if I overspent last week and they ding me with fees-they say "X-Y=Z and z=<.01. Sucks to be you....".

Followup Post RE Spyder and research

From Spyder's own post to another member-



"Actually, R---, that was the inspiration for one of my speeches, but, as to your other point... (RE: the Yang/Kohlm speech by Kirk from Star Trek)

I was going to post a response with quotes from George Washington, Ben Franklin and others that I got from my class, yet, as I was typing them, I decided to google them...

I found that each of the quotes was an actual MISQUOTE

This is actually quite embarrassing

Instead of doing my homework on the course study, I was taking it all as truth

George Washington was a DEIST, not a THEIST, as were many of the other Founders

In fact, fully 1/3 of The Founders were Freemasons, who were ALL Deists

The reason I haven't responded yesterday was that I was busy doing my homework, and I'm glad you called me out on it so that I would

Trust me, at my next class on Monday night, I'm going to confront the teacher with what I've learned...."

and

"I assure you, however, that I would not be part of this movement if I wasn't already questioning everything I've been taught

So far, it seems that everything I know is wrong, even tho I don't want to believe it

I'm going to change that

I'm going to find the facts, even if it means disrupting my own worldview"

Scary thread read in another forum Im a member of

Back story-one of the members had been posting on DailyKos, in part using information that he/she had gotten from a class they are taking on the Constitution. They are apparently getting very involved in the 'tea-party' movement and have posted rather vitriollically on Yahoo and Kos about it, using as the basis their Constitution class.

For example:

"I've been praying every day for my friends and family, and recently have added "my Country" to that prayer

No, it's not a written prayer that anybody else knows, it's just something I ask God for every morning before I start my day

I've been doing that for years, and it's only recently that I added "my Country" to it

I don't know if it was because of reading your and Val's conversations or not, but, it sure coincided with 'really close to that timeframe'

Me and Val took our first class on The Constitution Monday night, and we learned some very important things

Some that I have been arguing for months, and some that I didn't understand until it was pointed out to me

What I already knew was that The Founders were Christians, what I didn't realize was that The Constitution was BASED on SCRIPTURE

Yea. Every single word

If God said it was a law, the The Founders said it was a law. That's something I already observed for myself, but, the DETAILS are the difference

If God said it was bad, The Founders said it was bad, and they made it law

snip

Now, a homework question was given in the first class. "How many times was God mentioned in these documents ?"

Once

In the Declaration of Independence. And not once in The constitution

God didn't write The Constitution, Man did, with God's guidance, so he has given us a test

He gave us 0bama

0bama is our test

Will we follow 0bama, and behave like Sodom and Gomorrah and be destroyed ?

Or will God's Army wake up and do what needs to be done to stop it ?

It's up to US to answer that question to the best of our ability, and I'm proud to say that most Patriots... are Christians

And everybody OPPOSED to us claims that we "cling to their Bibles..."

Go figure

I like to be on the winning team, and it doesn't look right now like The Patriots are on the winning team, but...

They don't know that we have God on our side

On the other hand, if God sees that there aren't enough people who BELIEVE, then 2012 WILL be the end of the world as we know it

And we'll go the way of Sodom and Gomorrah

It's up to US to prove to God that WE are worthy of continuing"

And here is more of his/her posting, RE: the Constitution and the Founders:

"However, don't the basic tenets of The Constitution bear a striking resemblance to what's written below ?

The Right to Keep and Bear Arms

Luke 22:36 wrote:

He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one

The Right to Own Private Property

Deut. 19:14 wrote:

Thou shalt not remove thy neighbor's landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.

The Freedom of Speech and Religion

Luke 6:45 wrote:

Speech and worship are matters of the heart and conscience

John 4:24 wrote:

Only tyrants seek authority over matters of the heart. But, of course, that is what tyrants do: they seek to control men's thoughts and beliefs.

Even tho those tenets were inspired by scripture, they followed their own doctrine of freedom of (and from) Religion by not mentioning the word God even once in any of the "actual" documents because they knew the trouble it could cause."

The problem with this is that the basis of the class he is taking is from the syllabus below:

"INSTITUTE ON THE CONSTITUTION

A 12 week class to study the Constitution with a video series by John
Eidsmoe, a constitutional attorney and a professor of Constitutional
Law. He holds degrees in theology, law and political science. He is an
author and a Lt Colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.

A Study on Christianity & the Law of the Land

Did you know?

That the government does not give us our rights under the Constitution?
What the government can give, the government can take away!

That our form of government was founded on basic ideals found in the scriptures?

That almost all of the framers of the Constitution were Christians?

That they frequently quoted from the Bible and used it as a primary
source of their decision-making? "

That our form of government is a republic and not a democracy?

Do you know the difference or why it is important? "

WTH? After posting in another forum that I happen to be a member of, Spyder was shown over and over that the Constitution of the United States has little to no basis whatsoever on Scripture. Many links to alternate analysis were provided, along with links to actual Founder's writings, in the hopes of not destroying his/her argument, but at least showing that the class being taken is based on a flawed premise. Spyder has agreed to research some and get back to us with how the questions being inspired go over in class. Should be interesting.