Should schools in America teach Arabic Numerals as part of their curriculum?

[FlightlessDuck]

How does the DisBoard stack up to the random polling done by CivicScience?

Should schools in America teach Arabic Numerals are part of their curriculum? Please answer before reading the article

https://triblive.com/news/roman-numerals-anyone-poll-suggests-bias-against-arabic-numerals/

 

[soccerdad72]

Got me - I'll admit it.

 

[tcufrog]

Will not provide spoilers but I read a similar article and was horrified by the ignorance of so many Americans.

 

[design_mom]

Before reading the article:

Spoiler: My answer

Aren't Arabic numerals the "normal" numbers? 1, 2, 3, etc?

After reading the article: (changed my previous answer to a spoiler)

 

[Praying Colonel]

Is this like our continued addiction to and dependence on Dihydrogen Monoxide?

 

[Anchored]

I saw this poll online yesterday and just shook my head. Reminded me of the Jimmy Kimmel Affordable Care Act poll

 

[Lilacs4Me]

lol

On a serious note, and article aside, I'm from Detroit, currently living in Chicago. Both have huge Arabic, among many other races/ethnicity, populations. I don't see a problem with teaching our kids anything in school that can help them relate or be informed about other cultures.

 

[Hikergirl]

Is this a trick question

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

No no MCMXVIII times no!!!

 

[siren0119]

I wish I could love this post.

 

[kdonnel]

Jay Leno had his Jaywalking bit where he showed how stupid people really are.

Best of Jaywalking

It's not unlike when people sign petitions to ban dihydrogen monoxide.

I have said it in multiple threads related to multiple topics. People are stupid.

 

[tvguy]

When did Roman Numerals become Arabic Numerals?

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Is this like our continued addiction to and dependence on Dihydrogen Monoxide?

We must stop this menace. Did you know our children are using it in something called "wetting"?

 

[cabanafrau]

lol

On a serious note, and article aside, I'm from Detroit, currently living in Chicago. Both have huge Arabic, among many other races/ethnicity, populations. I don't see a problem with teaching our kids anything in school that can help them relate or be informed about other cultures.

I think multicultural education is a large part of today's curriculum in most schools. Just within the last week or so there was a thread here discussing school choirs singing so many non English songs. I know in our school district that's been the norm for at least 15-plus years. When my daughters were in elementary school they began having a smattering of non English songs in music class, accompanied by some class discussion regarding not only what the song was about, but usually the event or occasion the song was meant to honor or celebrate. By the time they were in actual choir in middle school the songs they learned for the concerts were almost exclusively non English. The instruction that accompanied those songs dug even deeper into the culture and meaning behind them and they would have tests and sometimes a small essay about them. Only my youngest did a year of choir in high school and her concerts and competitive numbers were all non English songs and she studied the culture associated with each one and had larger essays due every unit regarding the culture associated with particular songs.

That's only one way the multicultural theme is being widely included in school curriculum in America today.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I should have made the answers visible.

 

[Anchored]

No no MCMXVIII times no!!!

Roman numerals IV life!

 

[Hikergirl]

Jay Leno had his Jaywalking bit where he showed how stupid people really are.

Best of Jaywalking

It's not unlike when people sign petitions to ban dihydrogen monoxide.

I have said it in multiple threads related to multiple topics. People are stupid.

I don't know if in this case it is all stupidity, but more like ignorance.
If students aren't actually "taught" that what we use is Arabic numerals then they don't know. I'm not excusing the fact that it isn't widely taught, the history of the actual numbers, but I can't blame people for not knowing what they don't know.

 

[RUDisney]

Did they get the idea for this poll after watching Veep? The biggest moron on the show, Jonah Ryan, started using this in his presidential platform, saying that we shouldn't be forcing our children to use Arabic numbers. I laughed and laughed and the delivery of this joke and also thought that enough people are too stupid to realize what this actually means.

 

[SirDuff]

When did Roman Numerals become Arabic Numerals?

Do you mean when did the switch occur from using one to the other? That would, of course, differ vastly by which society you are talking about (some only ever used one version).

 

[Anchored]

I don't know if in this case it is all stupidity, but more like ignorance.
If students aren't actually "taught" that what we use is Arabic numerals then they don't know. I'm not excusing the fact that it isn't widely taught, the history of the actual numbers, but I can't blame people for not knowing what they don't know.

Uh ... I am pretty sure this is taught. My 14 year old knew immediately what arabic numerals were when I showed him this poll. The history of writing and numbers is taught here in our district at least. He goes to a regular public school