21st Century Magazine illustrates the decay of American Education by chronicling the teaching of Math over the last 30 years.

 
1960
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of this price. What is his profit?

 
1970 (New Math)
A logger exchanges a set of L lumber for a set of M money. The cardinality of set M is $100, and each element is worth $100. Make 100 dots representing the elements of set M. The set of C of the costs of production contains 20 fewer points than set M.
Represent the set C as a subset of M, and answer the following question: What is the cardinality of the set P of profits?

 
1980
A logger sells a truckload of wood for $100. His cost of production is $80, and his profit is $20. Your assignment is to underline the number 20.

 
1990
By cutting down beautiful forest trees, a logger makes $20. What do you think of this way of making a living?

 
Topic for Class Participation: How do the forest birds and squirrels feel?
 
 

Sara G. Tarver, a University of Wisconsin professor and critic of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics standards, presented this sequence at a recent Core Knowledge conference.

Society for a Return To Academic Standards