How are children in Afghanistan taught mathematics?

[arthwollipot]

“If you shoot a gun and the bullet travels at X speed towards a soldier standing 500 metres away, how long does it take to kill him?”

But things are improving.

http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/06/education-in-afghanistan-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/

 

[theprestige]

...between 1996 and 2001, boys-only schools functioning under the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan studied material that actively promoted violence.

They live in a nation at war. Their education includes warlike instruction. How is this shocking? How is this a bad thing?

"Material that actively promoted violence." This sounds entirely like a bullet point on some naive, bleeding-heart liberal's checklist of Things From Which the White Man is Burdened to Save The Fuzzy-Wuzzies, Bless Their Savage Hearts.

ETA: I mean, they live in a world where a drone could strike them at any time, just for being related to a nearby warlord. Why shouldn't their education include calculations based on hypothetical bullet velocities?

Also, re: the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Yes, we know that Islam promotes violence. Funny how some liberals never notice that fact until they can find some kind of hand-wringing socially progressive spin to put on it. These are the same people that lose their minds when a schoolchild bites a pop-tart into the shape of a gun.

 

[SusanB-M1]

Interesting read.

 

[Orphia Nay]

I hope Arth won't mind me using this thread to post this from Malala Yousafzai:

We are in the middle of an Education Emergency:
At this moment there are 57 million children without access to education and millions more who aren’t learning in school. Working together, we can lower that number to zero by 2015.
On July 12 — less than a year after she was shot by the Taliban for her strong voice in this fight — Malala Yousafzai will mark her 16th birthday by delivering the highest leadership of the UN a set of education demands written by youth, for youth, to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
We can’t stand on the UN floor next to Malala — but we can all stand with her. Sign this letter to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to show your demand for emergency action in support for Malala’s education fight.

https://secure.aworldatschool.org/page/s/stand-with-malala

 

[Acleron]

“If you shoot a gun and the bullet travels at X speed towards a soldier standing 500 metres away, how long does it take to kill him?”

But things are improving.

http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/06/education-in-afghanistan-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/

That's very encouraging. Next get religion off the syllabus? Nah, just dreaming...

 

[Orphia Nay]

But things are improving.

http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/06/education-in-afghanistan-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/

Thanks for the encouraging link.

I liked the conclusion:

The deputy minister stressed, “Every day we build five schools. Every day we have activities for teachers (to gain more skills).”

He lambasted an overly critical media that jumps on flaws in the system and exaggerates their impact.

What the country needs during this phase of state-building, he said, is more support, correction of mistakes and adjustments to and reform of the system, a process that risks being derailed by negative media.

 

[geni]

They live in a nation at war. Their education includes warlike instruction. How is this shocking? How is this a bad thing?

Thats not warlike instruction (that would tend towards trig). Its just a gratuitous reference to violence.

ETA: I mean, they live in a world where a drone could strike them at any time, just for being related to a nearby warlord. Why shouldn't their education include calculations based on hypothetical bullet velocities?

Unlikely. We've sided with the warlords for the time being.

Also, re: the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Yes, we know that Islam promotes violence. Funny how some liberals never notice that fact until they can find some kind of hand-wringing socially progressive spin to put on it.

Ohh bad example. In fact by removing most of the warlords from play and forcing the remainder to unite in a small northern pocket the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan actualy reduced violence in the area.

 

[Crossbow]

“If you shoot a gun and the bullet travels at X speed towards a soldier standing 500 metres away, how long does it take to kill him?”

But things are improving.

http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/06/education-in-afghanistan-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/

Well when one is teaching, it often helps to relate the lesson to things that the student is already familiar with.

In my physics classes we had problems dealing with roller coasters and rope tension,
in my calculus classes we had problems dealing with springs,
in my engineering classes we had problems dealing with bridges,
in my finance classes we had problems dealing with retirement funds,

and so on.

 

[Acleron]

Well when one is teaching, it often helps to relate the lesson to things that the student is already familiar with.

In my physics classes we had problems dealing with roller coasters and rope tension,
in my calculus classes we had problems dealing with springs,
in my engineering classes we had problems dealing with bridges,
in my finance classes we had problems dealing with retirement funds,

and so on.

Lol, at my first stats lecture at university many years ago the lecturer started.

'I've been told that I have to give you real examples appropriate to biology. I have a population of worms with a mean length of 250 metres ...'

 

[A'isha]

They live in a nation at war. Their education includes warlike instruction. How is this shocking? How is this a bad thing?

Because "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" was the government under the Taliban?