Just wanting ot rant, definitely OT

[John Brown]

Went to our local BBQ joint last week and ordered 2 loaded spuds. Total bill came to $15.11. I handed the young lady $20.11. She typed in $20.00 to the register, so it showed my change to be 4.89 instead of $5.00 as I really should get. I watched her put my money in the drawer, and pull out a 5 and a 10. She looked at the register, then the money in her hand, and realized (so I thought) her mistake. She then put both bills back in the drawer and counted out 4 ones and some coins. (At this point the lady behind me in line who could see what was going on was laughing out loud.) She the looked at the register again, looked at the money in her hand, and started to count it out to me.

I immediately said I know that's not right. She looked at me, then the money, the to the girl behind her. She asked the girl behind her for help, that girl came to the register and started talking with her about what had happened. Neither one of them seemed to have a clue. Fairly soon the manager came up and asked her what was wrong. She explained to him something (I'm still not quite sure what) and he then looked at me and asked, "Do you have your receipt?" "No she still has it." He grabbed the receipt, looked at it, asked her "How much did he give you?" "$20.11" "Ok he wants a five back." Reopened the drawer pulled a five out and handed it to me. Then he put her to emptying the trash and had someone else run the register.

HOW DO THESE KID GRADUATE? HOW CAN WE AS A COUNTRY HOPE TO COMPETE WITH THE REST OF THE WORD WITH KIDS THAT CAN'T EVEN COUNT CHANGE.

This is not an isolated incident, I hear similar stories all the time. Where are we going as a people if this is how dependent our kids are upon computers.

OK I'll step off the soap box now. Just one of those things that keeps bugging me so I had to share.

[Ron Pope]

It is called No Child Left Behind. They keep passing these kids so they won't be left behind, when they graduate they are really way behind. Sad about what graduates from school now days

[mike wade]

John, I bet anyone of us can tell that same story.............I could tell them for a couple hours and each time I think about that I get pi+sed................

[Dana Long]

I have a 22 year old grandson who has a high school diploma and not enough credits to validate it. He tried to join the navy. They told him no, go back to school. I write him a note in cursive and he couldn't read it.

[Big Bill]

The question is, is it the schools fault or the parents fault or both. Maybe we are all at fault because we vote people into office that create laws that force schools to teach kids to pass a test so that the school gets its federal dollars. The thing that blows me away is they are now teaching kids to add and subtract starting on the left side of the problem. This is supposed to make understanding calculus easier, but I think kids should learn regular math first then those who wish to take advanced math can do so later. The schools in our area are considering not teaching cursive, just printing and keyboarding. Wonder how they will sign their name. I discovered that schools were graduating students that had no writing or gramar skills back in the 70s when I would hand them a witness report and they could not fill it out. This was a normal thing in a highly rated school district. But our football team was great.

[Ron Pope]

The question is, is it the schools fault or the parents fault or both. Maybe we are all at fault because we vote people into office that create laws that force schools to teach kids to pass a test so that the school gets its federal dollars. The thing that blows me away is they are now teaching kids to add and subtract starting on the left side of the problem. This is supposed to make understanding calculus easier, but I think kids should learn regular math first then those who wish to take advanced math can do so later. The schools in our area are considering not teaching cursive, just printing and keyboarding. Wonder how they will sign their name. I discovered that schools were graduating students that had no writing or gramar skills back in the 70s when I would hand them a witness report and they could not fill it out. This was a normal thing in a highly rated school district. But our football team was great.

The scary part is these people vote.

A big part of the problem is they let the kids use calculators in class to do these problems. Then they become dependent on them and can't do simple problems without the calculator.

[Bill Holley]

oh boy.. are the above post right or what... my 9 yr old granddaughter is in 3rd grade and doing algebra. there is no way she has gotten enough of basic math for me.. she is learning to write.

[rbsWELDER]

Read a recent article that 70 % of the freshman class at Ohio State needed remedial Math and English!

My sense is that one of the key factors in this problem is the teacher unions fighting minimum standands / certification testing for teachers. We have some bad teachers out there and they are being protected!

[Lugnut]

VroomKrazy told me he has the same issues. He "used" to be real good at math, you know...figuring it out in his head or taking it to paper with a pen or pencil, but since his job involves all computers...he is dumbfounded now. He's found that he can no longer do math without a calculator.

Myself, I was okay at math...NOT my favorite subject, but I could still do the basic stuff either in my hear of with paper and pencil...anymore I look at numbers and my mind goes blank and I feel so silly that I cannot do simple math in my head...without having to take out the cell phone with the calculator. SUCKS!

LN

[Dewey Burton]

Now the fast food places around here ask for your name and write it on the receipt, for when your order is done..Not one kid has been able to spell my name.....I ask them : In school, didn't you learn about Admiral Dewey, Gov. Dewey, Thomas Dewey. Don't they teach history or civics anymore ?