If you listened to episode 262 of the Paul Goebel Show, produced by Perspectives contributor Paul Goebel, you heard Paul, Tom, Jim, and special guest Paul Jay discussing Futurama and what a smart show it is. Paul referenced the special features on the Bender’s Game DVD, and the guys talked about a number of math-specific…. read more
Strange Disney Educational Films
The folks over at io9.com have compiled a list of six weird educational cartoons produced by Walt Disney studios. The topics include menstruation, malaria, smoking, drug abuse, and sexually transmitted diseases. Most Perspectives readers will have seen “Donald Duck in Mathemagic Land” before, but the other 5 may be new to you. Now, as un-Disney…. read more
A Most unScientific Study: Nutrition Bars
An informal survey of seven families with school age children revealed the following results. All 7 families allowed their children to eat “bars” (a category we defined to include “milk and cereal bars”, “granola bars”, and “health/diet/protein bars”). Only 2 of the families gave their children health/diet/protein bars. The reasons both families gave was that…. read more
A Most unScientific Study: Your Child’s First Car
An informal survey of twelve families with school age children revealed the following results. 9 of the 12 families said they planned to assist their children with the acquisition of their first car. Of those 9, 4 expected to pass on or sell to their child a vehicle the familiy currently owned. 3 planned to…. read more
A Most unScientific Study – Back to School Shopping
An informal survey of thirteen families revealed the following data about how families shop for school supplies for the coming year. 4 of the 13 families are done with their back to school shopping 6 of the 13 famlies have begun shopping but are not finished yet 3 of the 13 famlies have not begun…. read more
A Most unScientific Study – Fireworks
An informal survey of nine families revealed the following data about how families spend the Fourth of July holiday. 8 of the 9 families plan to view fireworks between July 2 and July 4. 3 of the 9 famlies plan to view fireworks between July 5 and July 10 (2 of the families will be…. read more
A Most unScientific Study: Summer School
An informal survey of seven parents of school age children revealed the following results. 5 of the 7 parents said their children were assinged summer work by their local school district. 4 of those 5 said they felt the schoosl’ assignments were poorly designed. 3 of the 5 called the schools’ assignments “not worthwhile”. Only…. read more
1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1-1+1+1+1+1+1+1×0 =?
One of the Facebook Questions currently going viral is this one. 1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1-1+1+1+1+1+1+1×0 =? As of noon PST on Tuesday June 14, the correct answer was NOt the most popular answer. 781,143 people believe the expression is equal to 0. [These people are forgetting their order of operations. The 0 is multiplied by the final 1…. read more
A Most unScientific Study – The End of School
An informal survey of ten teachers of Grades 2 – 6, revealed data which suggests education reform is not necessarily a matter of money, but of use of class time. 6 of the 10 teachers said they had stopped recording new grades for their students by May 20 8 of the 10 teachers said they…. read more
Following Up on the June 1 Post
On June 1, Today, Sea Shephard shared this video interview. Watch the latest video at video.foxbusiness.com Whether you agree or disagree with Sea Shephard’s efforts and methods, we felt it was important to share this because it seems to lend some credence to Parent X’s concerns. What are your feelings about letting the internet create…. read more
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