Today's high school seniors.....ouch.

[brain55]

Actually that wouldn't be that hard to work correctly on a regular calculator if they knew the proper order to work a math problem.
1.Parentheses
2.Exponents
3.Multiplication
4.Division
5.Addition
6.Subtraction

Goes back to the basics.

My daughter was taught this in 6th grade last year. Actually it's 7th grade math but she's in advanced math. If she stays on this course she'll get into calculus before she graduates high school. I wasn't a big fan if common core math going in and voiced my opinion fairly loudly at the parents meeting discussing it. I let them know I had spent a lot of energy making sure my daughter wasn't afraid of math and that I was going to be pissed if they screwed that up. In a lot of cases the process is very similar to how I do math in my head, but not at all how I was taught on paper. The problems I have seen on the internet are the worst examples, the daily stuff that I've seen isn't quite as ridiculous.

Brian

 

[TnAndy]

Hmmm.....talking 401k to under 20 year old kids. That is 45 years into the future. I'd be scared to predict what 1.5 million bucks would buy 45 years down the road, (fair to guess a LOT less than it would today) assuming there is even a 'dollar' around at that point. When I was in high school, 45 years ago, I thought if I could earn $10k/yr, I'd be on easy street for sure.

You might be better off educating them to become more self sufficient (small hunk of paid for land, grow their own food, etc) and be a whole lot less reliant on a banking system that has proven the FED's unofficial motto "Making it harder to put food on your table for 100 years".

 

[Looking4new]

I learned it as B.O.D.M.A.S. but it is all the same.

 

[Egon]

So, is it agreed that the schooling system we/they set up for our kids is a failure?

 

[smstonypoint]

So, is it agreed that the schooling system we/they set up for our kids is a failure?

Egon,

I don't know anything about Canada's public school system.

Does your system have the equivalent of "charter schools"? Can parents receive tax breaks for sending their kids to private or parochial schools?

Steve

 

[Looking4new]

So, is it agreed that the schooling system we/they set up for our kids is a failure?

TOTALLY!

 

[Creamer]

So, is it agreed that the schooling system we/they set up for our kids is a failure?

I wouldn't be quite that dramatic but I would say there is a lot of improvements that could be made. My 21 year old daughter the other day was watching "The Men Who Built America" on netflix with my wife and I. She said "Now Dad, if they had taught history like this in high school I would have learned a lot more. This is interesting."

The methods that they are using to teach with like they tried with us - memorize and regurgitate - didn't work well then and surely are not going to work with this much more instantaneous generation. There is so much available now that could be used but education has not evolved. It also is not allowed to because of the state and federal standards that not only define what will be taught but how it is taught. I know I could put together a semester history class that would have students wanting to go to it and be considered scholars coming out of it as compared to today's standards. Because of the education system our schools are more concerned about 1) attendance, 2) number of days (or maybe it is down to hours) that the kids are in school and 3) being compliant to all the regulations versus what the students are learning. There is a lot of talk about what kids are learning but what gets measured is what gets focused on and the focus is on the three things I just listed.

 

[mjarrels]

When I was an active duty Chief Petty Officer in the NAVY, if I wanted a young kid to excel they did, if I wanted a young kid to fail, they did. Funny thing, I have many family members living in the Philippines who are sharper than a tack from the public schools. No school buses, no lunch programs, mixed grades, school uniforms for each sex. Can't tell the well off kids from the poor kids, all are the same in school. All are doing well and suceed in college also. Worst part, their education is worthless in the US. Exception is the medical field, my wife has got a few filipinos jobs at the local hospital where she works.

mark

 

[check]

Egon,

I don't know anything about Canada's public school system.

Does your system have the equivalent of "charter schools"? Can parents receive tax breaks for sending their kids to private or parochial schools?

Steve

Each province controls their own education system, with minimal interference by the Feds. And yes, you can get a tax break for private school attendance, but it is small and has to be through religion or sports. Most of the tuitions now here in Toronto are $30k for the better known ones like Havergal College or Bishop Strachan School or Upper Canada College. If you can afford that, the tax breaks don't mean that much to you.

 

[NorTracNY]

One item the OP did that may have been a disservice is to mention $100/month from 18 to 65 will create $1.5M. If you're going to show the magic of compounding interest, you should also include the loss of buying power over those 47years! The $1.5M will be worth about $206,000 in today's dollars because of inflation. Anyone thinking they can put away $100/month now at 18 years of age and retire rich are in for a big surprise.