Story Problems!!!
While looking over a book I acquired recently - White's First Book of Arithmetic (New Century Edition, copyright 1901) I came across the bane of every schoolchild's mathematical existence! THE DREADED STORY PROBLEM!! Just look for yourself! First it's just some simple story problems for addition/subtraction/multiplication and division, but then the throw this at the pupil! FRACTIONS! 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀 Ahhhh, now here's a familiar site.....everyone recognizes the ole multiplication table! But then right back to the fractions on page 98......(cue plaintive music) And this is just from the first half of the book! I don't know about anyone else - but I have always struggled with story problems. Maybe the 1800's version of me would have understood the lessons presented in these pages? Probably not.......
