Finding a dollar on the sidewalk growing up meant a trip to the one-stop pharmacy/convenience/self-care/candy store adjacent to the local grocery store. The candy aisle was the place I truly learned how to add & subtract decimals in my head.
A small box of Lemon Heads is $.35, so that leaves me with $.65.
Jolly Ranchers are $.05 each, I'll grab three of those (two watermelon and one fireball), and now I have $.50.
Uh oh. A Fun-Dip is $.60! I don't have enough. I'll put the Lemon Heads back, and grab the Fun-Dip. That leaves me with (a quick look toward the ceiling while I calculate) $.25 to spend.
Laffy Taffys are $.05 each, so I'll grab five of those (three banana and two grape).
A great day!
Today I feel like the old man yelling, "Get off my lawn!" at the youngsters in the neighborhood. Instead I'm telling students they don't understand the excitement and joy of Candy Math!
With the rise of technology, using payment options other than cash has also increased dramatically. First credit card companies made it easier to pay for your gas at the pump with a swipe of the card. I still remember Jerry Seinfeld's commercial for American Express when this technology first hit the petrol stations. Then that technology made it's way into the stores while shopping for groceries, or at the mall. Then banks offered Debit Cards to be used the same way, and that way you won't have to pat credit card interest.
Eventually chip readers were embedded so a person didn't even need to swipe their card. They could just hold it up to the machine. Now with pay apps like Venmo, Apple Pay, and PayPal, the need for cash is nearly nonexistent.
Gone are the days of adults carrying coins in their pockets. Missing are the days when kids could search through couch cushions to find change that may have fallen out of said pockets. Cars were designed with cup holders and change holders, but not anymore. No longer can kids sneak a few quarters out of the family car's coin pile to buy themselves candy at the store.
For years as a middle school math teacher I could use quarters as a way to discuss the fraction 1/4, or the decimal .25, and ask students, "How many quarters are in a dollar?" And the room would fill with every student voice, "Four!" In recent years, only a few students answer under an almost muted tone just in case they are wrong.
See a need, meet the need.
In order to create a learning experience with coins, I needed coins. And during the pandemic, their has been a cash/coin shortage, so getting enough coins for a class activity was a challenge. I visited several grocery stores buying rolls of coins until I had enough for each group in class to have: 5 quarters, 10 dimes, 9 nickels and 30 pennies. $3 in total.
Thanks for checking my math in your head just now. :)
Asking students to use a specific number of coins to equal a specific quantity, and then asking for the fraction and decimal math problems to prove the amount led students on a path filled with a teacher's favorite sounds, "Ooohh, Ahha." "That makes so much more sense." Some students used addition problems, while others multiplied, and some used both. The noise level grew with excitement as their learning increased.
As technology improves parts of our lives, we need to recognize where some learning might be lost. How can we recreate that learning in a lasting way? How can adapt our instruction to the ever changing world?
I know one thing. When my 3 and 5 year olds are ready for chores and an allowance, I'm paying them in coins!
