The Five Basic Concepts:

1. Mathematics is the study of numbers and all we can do with numbers is COUNT
2. The concept of SAME. The highest number we can count to (in base ten) is 9, the numbers tell you how many the places tell you what kind. Before we can count they must be SAME.
3. We form rectangles to facilitate counting.
4. O
Hero ZERO.
5. 1
No Fun Get Back To One. NFGBTO.

Math text books are always just variations on these five themes depending on subject matter. The trick (if there is one) is knowing how and when to apply them.

My students hear “hero zero, no fun get back to one” during problem solving and solving equations algebra constantly…and they realize very quickly just how easy it is when you apply these concepts. The reactions range from relief to joy to rage. Relief for some when they realize they aren’t stupid after all, joy for others who go from “F” to “A” so instantly that the teachers accuse them of cheating, rage by others who get mad when they realize all that fear, frustration and anxiety was for nothing.

Algebra as it turns out isn’t really that hard if you understand some basic concepts and can see what it is you are doing with the help of manipulatives. Even Algebra becomes child’s play: Once you understand the concepts doing the math is easy…and fun. At my website, Crewton Ramone’s House of Math students can actually see what they are doing because we do use base ten manipulatives to teach math concepts and along with detailed instructions and even some video parents, students and teachers alike can see what they are doing and it makes sense.

“Mathematics may be defined as the economy of counting. There is no problem in the whole of mathematics which cannot be solved by direct counting.” ~Ernst Mach

All math is is counting. Every math problem counts something. Believe me I’ve had this argument in seminars with professors and teachers across the USA. If you aren’t counting something you aren’t doing math. Period. So one of the most basic concepts I teach ANY student is to ask “what are we counting?” when confronted with a math problem.

“Although I am almost illiterate mathematically, I grasped very early in life that any one who can count to ten can count upward indefinitely if he is fool enough to do so.” ~Robertson Davies, “Of the Conservation of Youth,” The Table Talk of Samuel Marchbanks.

In the mathematics there is a concept known as economy of symbol. That is, we use the fewest symbols possible to express an idea making the mathematics a beautiful concise language.

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After the government in England announced large budget cuts for this coming year, teaching unions and associations have suggested strikes are possible. Many are outraged at the move by the government and have threatened to strike for indefinite durations.

The drop in funding came after a record number of students decided to apply for higher education programs, far more than the goverment predicted. Rather than celebrate the increasing desire of students to stay on a school or college, Labour have announced that there will be a £200m shortfall in funding this year. This will likely put the future of as many as 50,000 young adults in jeopardy, lead to a decrease for school bursaries, and will mean that many will have to look for paid work instead. Given that we are in a time of very low employment levels, this point is something many in the sector are deeply concerned about.

The National Union of Teachers have spoken out and called the cuts “an absolute disgrace”. A ‘lost generation’ is what they think will be the result of this, simular to the situation with school leavers in the 1980’s. “This would not happen in independent or boarding schools and should not happen in the state system” they said. The cut came about as a miscalculated estimate on the percentage of young people who would choice to continue on to colleges, sixth forms or paid training schemes. Institutions have thus been given less money than they had expected to receive (estimated around 4%) and so will probably have to make up the deficit by cutting courses and even teaching jobs.The annual NUT conference in Cardiff saw the first suggestions of strike action when speakers voted to take a stand at the schools and colleges in question

The Schools Secretary, Ed Balls has admitted that schools do face a very real problem currently in terms of providing funding for those who wish to continue education. He claims that the cause for the rise in higher education program applications is down to the poor job market putting people off entering work. He suggests that teenagers are not wanting to enter work at the moment as there are few good job prospects on account of the recession

We, the male populace, had it coming, I guess. After centuries of keeping women down with often inequitable social mores and often ridiculous fashion demands, we had to expect that sooner or later there would be a backlash, that one day the “fairer sex” would come out swinging, eager to drive out those ages of subjugation. Well, newsflash for all you men out there and congratulations to all the women: that day has come.

Women are officially trouncing men in school. That’s right, the ivory towers once inhabited almost solely by guys have been penetrated, ravaged, and repossessed by females. According to figures, 60 percent of university students are now women. Females obtain 170,000 more bachelor degrees yearly than their male counterparts. The ratios of females to males at business and medical schools are progressively going up, and, at law schools, women now claim a majority. At the same time, growing numbers of boys from elementary to high school are struggling to meet the least requirements, leaving educators and administrators scratching their heads, wondering what happened.

Where did this development come from? A few theories exist. One suggests that girls, who have a propensity to move toward teamwork, alliance, multi-tasking, and sitting quietly, are better matched socially for the traditional school system. Men, on the other hand, who yearn for exploration, competition, and physical motion, have a tendency to be square pegs in round holes, so to speak, in academics. Other explanations indicate that the feminist movement, with its continual barrage of “girl power” messaging, and the comparative silence from the male side are responsible for this striking shift. For almost 40 years now, girls have had armies of supporters telling them they carry the torch for those who didn’t have the chances they did, that they must go out and prove that they can do it- for their mothers, aunts, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers. Males, on the other hand, sitting high on the hog, have had very little to struggle for; encouragement usually involves athletics rather than school.

Two bastions of male dominance still remain, however: administration and salary. Males still vastly outnumber women in management jobs. Typical male salaries in similar positions uniformly outperform those of their female peers.

It may just be a matter of time before those ladies who now fill schools expand into the companies of the world. It may just be a matter of time before women come to take over business, politics, and life as we know it. It may be just a matter of time before guys find themselves wearing really unpleasant corsets and having to watch their figures. (Kiss your 32 oz. steaks and belching contests goodbye!)

All of Mom’s counsel about being polite to women totally makes sense now. Back then, it was about chivalry. In the future, it may be about survival.

About the author: Marcus Varner earned his Marketing MBA and a BA in English with a Creative Writing emphasis from Brigham Young University. He specializes in writing about education issues, online education, online schools, workplace trends, and careers.

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