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Writing from one jurisdiction is not good. It
must come from throughout the US. What I've tried to do is to show how is
can be done acceptably. Don't try to covert the public. Let the kids
do it.
Regards, Stan doore
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, April 26, 2006 11:28
AM
Subject: [USMA:36656] Re: metric
experience at home
Somehow I missed that email but good job on that one. Maybe we
can get all 140,000 students and the teachers to write into Congress and get
the FPLA amended and more metric friendly legislation :).
Mike
On 4/26/06, G Stanley
Doore <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
Just a reminder that the Montgomery County
Public School system (MCPS) in Maryland now is teaching and using the
SI exclusively to its 140 000 students in its science courses and
classes. And, the superintendent has told me on a couple of occasions
that he is committed to the SI.
The USMA now has a simplified poster of the SI
UNITS and most of its derivatives. The poster has been well received
by many groups here since its was first distributed last
week.
Regards, Stan Doore
-----
Original Message -----
Sent:
Wednesday, April 26, 2006 10:35 AM
Subject:
[USMA:36654] Re: metric experience at home
I'm glad that she's receptive. I've found many teachers
in my area who were also receptive to teaching SI. If I remember right SI
was introduced for me around fourth grade, but the New York state public
school system taught it well. Unlike the schools out here who just brush
over it and spend around ten minutes on it, the NYS schools had charts
showing meters and temperature in Celsius and the teachers would have us
pace out meters and find millimeters and such on the rulers.
I can
still recall the chart they handed us to, it had USC measures on it in the
form of 1 mile=1.6 km=5280 feet and 1 inch=2.54 cm, but it emphasized SI
first.
We even learned the teaspoon was 5 mL and tabelspoons were 15
mL and cups were 240 mL and to this day I really have to stop and think
before I can tell someone how many fluid ounces are in a cup :).
The
schools out here just teach that metric exists and these are the main
measures (kilogram, liter, etc). They don't even provide a frame of
reference or have students become familiar with it, and I've heard
complaints from many students who get just this passing familiarity with SI
in fourth grade then get into chemistry or other sciences later on in high
school and have to relearn it because it wasn't properly taught the first
time. As I said before the teachers are generally receptive but the
principles of the various districts I've talked to have a personal hatred of
S and refuse to acknowledge its existence or importance, even insisting the
kids run the mile instead of the 1600m in spite of the fact that all track
and field events are metric. Ah well, one step at a time.
On 4/26/06, Remek
Kocz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
James,
Actually, I did speak to my
son's kindergarten teacher on a tangential matter. Just wanted to
let her know that I was teaching my child metric at home, and that he will
be talking about temperatures in Celsius rather than Fahrenheit. I
assumed that his recent obsession with temperature was something they were
learning at school, but apparently they don't learn any measurements in
kindergarten. In the end, we did have a good conversation on
converting the US to metric, and about the stalled efforts in the
'70's. Needless to say, she was very supportive of metrication and
was sorry to see things fail they way they did 30 years ago.
Once
we're in an elementary school I plan to approach the teachers about
metric. I don't know when the kids start learning measurements, but
it would be good to make a presentation coincide with a lesson on such
topic.
From my experience, seeing metric applied and/or
related to daily life in an exclusive fashion (ie. no conversions)
completely demystifies it. Metric stands alone, and its advantages
become readily apparent.
Remek
On 4/25/06, James
Frysinger <
[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Remek,
That
is excellent! Now, how hard would it be for our schools to do that.
Have
you considered asking your son's teacher if she would like for
you to come in
and do something like that in class?
A few
years ago I taught kindergartners the Celsius rhyme ("30 is hot, ...).
And they knew what it was for because we talked about temperature. I
related
that to what they would wear to school, as you did with your
son.
Jim
On Friday 21 April 2006 11:45, Remek Kocz
wrote:
> My 6-year-old has been fascinated by the thermometer
lately, so I took that
> as an opportunity to teach him
Celsius. He wants to know each morning
> which jacket
to put on for school, so depending on how many degrees the
>
thermometer reads, we pick either a winter or a spring
jacket. As it
> happens, we started when the morning
temps were around 0C, and now we're up
> to 10-15C, so it's really
perfect time to give him a very practical sense
> of reading a
thermometer. He already knows that snow won't stay around if
> the temps are above 0C, and that it's t-shirt weather when we
go around
> 18C. It's a wonderful thing to be able to teach this
to one's kids, and I
> do gain another sense of appreciation of
the sheer elegance of centigrade.
>
> We're also working on
meters, since he started bringing feet from school.
> Right now
it's just kiddie banter like "giants are a million feet tall,"
>
but I may as well head off the USC pollution early. So, he
learned that he
> is a meter and a quarter tall, that a meter is
as long as dad stretching
> out his arms or as tall as he is to
the shoulder. Easy enough. Then I
>
estimated the height of our house at 10 m, the trees in the backyard at
20
> m, and told him that the clouds are up at 2000
m.
>
> Remek
>
> On 4/21/06, Howard Ressel
<
[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > I called my 13 yr
old son with a favor the other day (home alone on
> > spring
break). Asked him to get a tape measure from my toolbox and
> >
measure the length of a fluorescent bulb so I could get a new one
at
> > lunch. I have several tape measures, one in English, on
in metric and
> > several in dual - he could have taken any of
them. Without me prompting
> > he read me the length as 300. I
said is that millimeters he said yes.
> >
> > Next I
went to the store to find the bulb figuring id be looking for a
>
> 12" long bulb. To my surprise and delight I found what I needed on
the
> > shelf, only one choice. It was at Home Depot
(do not remember the brand)
> > and it was labeled as 30 cm
with no English units.
> >
> > Al in all a very
metrically illuminating experience for the day.
> >
>
> Howard Ressel
> > Project Design Engineer, Region
4
> > (585) 272-3372
--
James R. Frysinger
Lifetime Certified Advanced Metrication Specialist
Senior Member,
IEEE
http://www.cofc.edu/~frysingj
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Office:
Physics
Lab Manager, Lecturer
Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
University/College of Charleston
66
George Street
Charleston, SC 29424
843.953.7644 (phone)
843.953.4824
(FAX)
Home:
10 Captiva
Row
Charleston, SC
29407
843.225.0805
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