Peanuts by Charles Schulz for October 25, 2021

That math looks a little advance for someone Sally’s age (whatever that is.)

Good grief indeed!

Is that correct? Anyone knows better?

No wonder Sally hates school. She’s what, six? and they’re giving her equations.

I’ve been out of (elementary) school since 1997. I don’t think I learned that kind of arithmetic then.

Algebra is vile! Torture. I thoroughly hated it.

I didn’t know that a brickhead could be so smart.

Math and I haven’t been on speaking terms since the 2nd grade.

The math looks pretty high level to me reminds me of a line I heard on the Beverly Hillbillies from Jethro: “Gosh Uncle Jed, that might require some of that Algae-bra to figure out” and you have to remember that he was the genius of the family. He made it all the way to the 6th grade and had his graduation in one episode. Jethro was also the top of his class at Oxford (not sure of the state but those at Ole Miss did not like the dig ;) )

The school is smart, very impressive. :D

Oh yeah! Good old (1/6x minus 3y squared) times (1/6x plus 3y squared). Gosh I use it all the time in the adult work a day world. So glad the school taught me that! Where would I be without learning that?

He’s right. Old School comes through again.

Math? You betrayed me, School Building… You betrayed me…

Vicious guy, this Al Gebra! And his cousin, Cal Culus!

What grade is Sally in?

And who was it who said, “Thick as a brick”?

I don’t remember any such factoring in algebra. It was a half century ago, long before Excel.

Thanks a lot, algebra!

The wall got it right.

I was doing it all in y head until that final step. I think it’s right but not sure. I did get a BS in Math in college and wound up taking 49 hours of credit. Looking back that was kinda over doing it.

That is top notch factoring!

Now even high school graduates couldn’t begin to do this…

What are they teaching her at this school?

Of course the school did well. It’s algebrick!

Actually, the elementary math curricula now teaches pre-pre-algebra, geometry, and data analysis; the kids are also given high-stakes, developmentally-inappropriate, poorly-written quasi-standardized state tests to measure their progress. Teaching & playing with the math concepts was fine with me; pretty sure I’m not being subtle about my opinion of wasting months of school in test-prep for the test-prep for the tests instead of (gasp!) learning.

Yet here I am still haven’t used any of that equation

More than I ever did, I guess!

“Well, Mr. Snelgrove, I happen to know that in the future I will not have the slightest use for algebra, and I speak from experience.” Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)

To factor out the difference of squares seems backwards to me…this looks like a better FOIL problem…

had to give this strip a “love” for being accurate

I remember doing those but never saw a practical use for it

Serious Question: What career or profession would need to know and use this kind of math? I’m sure it must be needed and useful. It got us to the moon for pete’s sake (Hidden Figures). But for the average high school kid – who needs it? I’m more along the line of teaching how to make correct change at the register.

How much have we put those kinds of math into practical use since we finished school?

Sad to think that back in high school I actually understood that kind of math. Today I can’t make heads nor tails of it.

My last semester of high school, just to prove the teacher wrong, I managed to get a perfect score of 100 for then entire term doing that kind of math. She said it couldn’t be done. Though she was a fantastic teacher and I give her all the credit for it!

Isn’t Sally in primary school?

<< sigh >> … If these walls could talk ~ Dena Twinem …

I loved that kind of math especially geometry

So factor means to repeat but in a more long winded way; right?

When our kids were in middle school, the school offered refresher math courses in the evenings so that their parents could help them with their homework.

The best way to teach most of the math, algebra, trigonometry, and geometry you’ll ever need: Build a gazebo.