
Can you solve this geometry problem for 6th graders in China? - breitling
http://mindyourdecisions.com/blog/2016/08/07/can-you-solve-this-geometry-problem-for-6th-graders-in-china/
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ulucs
I'm more appalled by my need to prove that I'm smarter than a sixth grader.
Yes, I solved the problem but why the hell do I feel the need to compete with
a _sixth grader_?

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wolfgke
The proof is trivial:
[http://www.theproofistrivial.com](http://www.theproofistrivial.com)

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api_or_ipa
Well the first problem is trivial. The second seems a bit harder.

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Grishnakh
"A bit" is an understatement considering you now have to figure out the area
of a sector of a circle, and also an isosceles triangle (not just a right
triangle and a rectangle as in the first problem).

For a high school geometry test, this is a great problem. But for a 6th grade
class, this is well beyond what 6th graders in the US are capable of I think.

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wahern
Just because it was given to 6th graders doesn't mean most of those 6th
graders answered it correctly, or were even expected to answer it correctly.
It could have been, e.g., a bonus question. Likewise for the easier problem.

On the other hand, instructors could have spent months drilling the particular
problem identification and solution pattern into the kids until they could
solve it without any rigorous thought.

Also, many countries put children on different academic tracks very early in
life. The US is arguably somewhat distinctive in the way we group children
into classes. Usually kids in a particular grade aren't broken out, if at all,
until late middle school or high school. I think it has something to do with
our concept of equality, and in particular how we organize and fund our school
systems. We tend to focus investments in the poorer students (poorer
financially and poorer academically), while some other societies do the
opposite.

In any event, my point is that the particular 6th graders given these problems
could have been more math savvy than the average 6th grader.

