1510 Post 2: What's your number?

Perhaps I am alone on this one, but I am having a hard time with the different numeration systems. I really thought I had struck a certain genius when in fourth grade I could finally understand the grandfather clock in our front foyer. It was of course in Roman numerals and up until that time, I had only used digital means for telling time or my Mickey Mouse clock that had the numbers written in Hindu-Arabic. By the way, I did not even know what Hindu-Arabic was until a few years ago.

When I started this chapter in our class and saw that I needed to figure out the method behind the characters and how they correlated to numbers I knew; I was a little confused to say the least. I wondered out loud why I needed to know how many bent reeds (Egyptian)and pointed fingers would represent the amount left on my car loan. I started slipping into 13 year old Sarah. The one that sulks, makes things more difficult, and tries to undermine the meaning behind the lesson.



That was when I had to take a break and slip into the role of an educator, not a student. I tried to think of the different ways I could look at the information that would make sense to me and also provide a correct response. Working with the math lab available to us in our classroom and using the help provided there was just what I needed. While taking a math class like this has been a little difficult to adjust to, having these resources available provides the differentiation from the text that I needed.

While I still do not particularly like working with Babylonian, Mayan, and Egyptian numerals; I have learned how I work best with these ideas. I have also come to respect the idea that math has a place in history and art. Just as it is important to learn what is relevant in our world today, it is just as much so to learn what was relevant when civilization was advancing.

By the way, I am happy to report that I have less than one pointed finger, one bent reed, and a couple of coiled ropes until I can call that Minivan mine.