Pet Peeves About Achievements

 Good morning to everyone, and coming at you from the usual place.  I was contemplating what to write this week, and some career training inspired a couple of ideas.  I want to give the story, and then a few reflections.

After achieving the monumental milestone of earning my Ph.D., it was only logical that I start looking at opportunities.  Over the past couple of days, I have completed substitute teaching training for the Department of Education in my home state of WV.  It was a rigorous process, and to be honest there are some things I questioned taking that I will get into momentarily, but I also picked up a couple of ideas too. So, let me begin by discussing one of those.  

I learned of a new quasi-mathematical concept called numeracy.  For those not familiar with the term, numeracy is defined as "the ability to understand, reason with, and apply simple numerical concepts," and further, applying those concepts in the real world to make the best possible decisions.  There is really nothing mysterious or earthshaking about this, as essentially it means being able to do daily tasks such as measuring water to boil a pan of pasta, calculating how much change you get back after purchasing a package of batteries, and knowing how to measure things to apply to daily chores.  In other words, it is just common-sense stuff that we all apply daily, and all elementary education does is help us to understand and use it.  As crazy as it sounds, I never knew this even had a name in all honesty - it is just to me a learned behavior that facilitates life's daily functions.  However, like much of academia, there are educational professionals who tend to overcomplicate things a bit with it, and let me illustrate that. 

If you have $5.00 and you buy a bag of potato chips at the local Sheetz for $1.35, basic math should tell the person that they will get $3.65 in change.  In our minds, we calculate that like this:

    $5.00

-   $1.35

=  $3.65

Not difficult, is it?   However, here is what they are trying to teach kids regarding how to do this simple calculation:

$3.65 - $0.65 = 3.00

$1.35 - $0.35 = 1.00

$0.65 + $0.35 = 1.00

3.00 + 1.00 + 1.00 = 5.00

5.00 - 1.00 = 4.00

4.00 - $0.35 = 3.65

While it leads to the same sum, the problem is this - why go through all that complication when you can teach more about helping kids with basic operations such as addition, subtraction, and decimals?  I do see the logic in it however in that deconstructing the numbers gives an idea of how calculations work, but no one does this in real life.  If you want to teach real life on this, here is how you do it - take five one-dollar bills, a five-dollar bill, and about a dollar in change.  Teach the kid how to discern which is which and then do a practice transaction with them - offer them something for a certain price, and let them count it out (use a juice box, a candy bar, a toy, etc.).  That is how they will fundamentally learn to count money.  If also you are teaching them about measurements, use the utensils you have and have the kid help you cook something - a box of macaroni and cheese, a batch of cookies, etc.   It is more fun for them and they will learn quickly.  That is how I would teach kids basic math.  Nothing complicated, it has incentives, and it is fun for them. Professional education "experts" need to stop screwing with working systems and let the kids learn in a more practical way. It would create much less confusion.  I will give numeracy education credit however - thanks be to God it is not the failed "Common Core" math technique!  Numeracy is basically literacy with numbers, and it is fundamental to development, but let's please not overcomplicate things with it. 

This leads to my main proverbial bone to pick with trying to establish career goals.  It is so interesting - and annoying - to me that despite anything you achieve and do, some jackass in a university or a corporate boardroom makes you jump through more hoops like a trained circus dog.  They tell you that you need this credential to do this or that, and you work hard to achieve earning the credential only to be told that it is not enough - you now have to do this, or that, or pay this fee or take this course, etc.  It is frankly ridiculous.  If someone has already earned an advanced degree such as a Master's or a doctorate, I think they have proven their abilities and should not be subject to more corporate and bureaucratic head games.  A lot of talented people have had to settle for far less than they are capable of because of stupid regulations, requirements, processing fees, and other crap.  There needs to be a reform in this, and capable people who possess talent and education need to be recognized and allowed to shine in what they have worked a lot to prepare for.  Until this happens, society will continue to falter.  And, if that garbage was not enough, now the political Left is trying to impose what is called DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) standards on industries which look at external attributes such as race, gender, and who you sleep with rather than the achievements and abilities required for certain positions.  If we got rid of DEI and these circus-dog hoop-jumping games, I would bet the unemployment rate in the US would drop dramatically as people would be actually working in fields they trained for instead of merely settling for a job just to pay the bills.  Maybe when President Trump is re-elected, I may write him a letter suggesting these reforms, and at some point I plan on doing a formal study on that and maybe publishing myself. America will never recover until she starts revamping the workplace a bit and getting rid of useless and wasteful requirements for jobs that people should automatically qualify for.  Any rate, that is my rant of the week. 

Thanks again for allowing me to share this week, and will see you next time.