JoeNovack Posted November 3, 2011 Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 I am a Woodworking teacher grades 8-12... In my effort to find out why my 8th grade students could not read a ruler I was told (by fellow teachers) that although the ruler is taught in 2nd and 3rd grade, it only constitutes 1 or 2 questions on the SOL... Not 'important' enough (SOL-wise) to spend time with... This is the mindset of most school systems across our nation right now... Astonished by the ignorance of this I googled up "What The Ruler Teaches?" and found nothing... Obviously biased, I started thinking about all the ruler teaches us... Order, symmetry, estimation, fractions...... I would love to 'publish' an online paper to impress upon school systems the importance of truly TEACHING the ruler... Here is your chance to be heard... Fill in the blank.... "The Ruler Teaches _____________________" I will give credit for every answer used... See below for example... "The Ruler Teaches Order" ~~~Joe Novack (Woodworker 35 Years) Please do this... This could be VERY powerful with your help... Thanks... Joe www.woodshopteachers.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapid Roger Posted November 3, 2011 Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 The ruler teaches addition and subtraction as well as multiplication and division. The ruler teaches fractions. The ruler teaches estimating distances. Rog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeNovack Posted November 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 Thank you Roger... How long have you been a woodworker? Thanks... Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeNovack Posted November 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 Sorry.... For you/us dinosaurs... SOL (Standards of Learning) tests are a nationwide standardized assesment of how well students are doing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jfitz Posted November 3, 2011 Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 Rulers teach patience. You can't go from 1 to 3 without going through 2 first. They also teach hand/eye coordination. It's not all mental/academic benefits.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeNovack Posted November 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 John...and others... Please give me a frame of reference of experience... Even if you have only been woodworking fo a few months, it shows your understanding of the importance of the lessons of the ruler... As in... Joe Novack (Woodworker 2 weeks) As a user it all has merit... Thanks much... Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jfitz Posted November 3, 2011 Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 Joe - my comments are based in my experience from being a parent, and working with my sons on their homework when they were learning measuring and marking with a ruler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeNovack Posted November 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 John... Thanks brother.... I hear that... Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted November 3, 2011 Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 the ruler teaches that when you mouth off the hand get wacked na just joking the ruller teaches that fractions are used in more places then your classroom. Daniel Clark (Shop teachers aid for 1.5 years) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger T Posted November 3, 2011 Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 The ruler teaches that I can take any random length, and divide it equally into however many spaces that I desire. The ruler teaches that I can place anything at an equal and set distance for infinity. The ruler teaches that I can take any length, and transfer it exactly to anywhere that I please. The ruler teaches that I can take any rectangle, or square and ensure that it truly is square, and not a parallelogram. Roger Turnbough Carpenter 25+ years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicks82 Posted November 3, 2011 Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 The ruler teaches not only fractions but how to manipulate fractions.how to reduce fractions even if they are simple fractionshow to add fractions with different denominatorshow to find a common denominator The ruler teaches you distance. The ruler teaches accuracy/tolerances. (for all the south park watchers the ruler teaches you how to measure your tmi lol) Charles Hicks (4th Generation Carpenter 9 years) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted November 3, 2011 Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 Having grown up in Canada, we learned how to use a ruler. During recess in winter, we'd play ruler hockey... toss out a rounded rubber eraser, your shoes as a net, use the ruler to make shots. This was pre-Metric conversion so I don't know if the sticks work differently now. Well, it's what I learned... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bywc Posted November 3, 2011 Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 If you went to a catholic school as I did back many moons ago the ruler taught me that a nun must have one hell of a bicep because I swear they could drive a 5 inch nail with one whack of a ruler. Serious tho, For me a ruler gave me my first physical reference of an hands on approach to understanding measurements I guess I could go as far as to say it is part of the foundation of what led me to wanting to become an engineer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapid Roger Posted November 3, 2011 Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 Thank you Roger... How long have you been a woodworker? Thanks... Joe Joe, I've only been a wood worker for about 6 years however, I spent 15 years as a sheet metal lay-out man and prior to that, I was a draftsman for almost 6 years. So, I have been using tape measures and rulers (scales) for many years in several vocations. Three or four years ago I was helping my Grandson learn a bit about working in my shop. He was six years old then. I was surprised to find out that not only could he read the numbers on a tape measure but, he knew what the 1/2" and 1/4" marks were! He could make a pencil mark at 12-3/4" in an instant! I was a very proud Papa! He is nine now and has the 1/8" marks down and can add and subtract dimentions in his head fairly well. Rog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted November 3, 2011 Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 Joe, I've only been a wood worker for about 6 years however, I spent 15 years as a sheet metal lay-out man and prior to that, I was a draftsman for almost 6 years. So, I have been using tape measures and rulers (scales) for many years in several vocations. Three or four years ago I was helping my Grandson learn a bit about working in my shop. He was six years old then. I was surprised to find out that not only could he read the numbers on a tape measure but, he knew what the 1/2" and 1/4" marks were! He could make a pencil mark at 12-3/4" in an instant! I was a very proud Papa! He is nine now and has the 1/8" marks down and can add and subtract dimentions in his head fairly well. Rog better then me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauchen67 Posted November 3, 2011 Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 the ruler teaches ratio/scale and perspective. I dont know how many times I have sketched up a drawing to scale that looks good on paper, but once I start putting a tape on it i quickly realize that a distance may be to large or to small for a piece of lumber. That same drawing might look good on paper, but might not look so good scaled up to full size. Josh been working on my house for 3yrs now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted November 3, 2011 Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 I am a Woodworking teacher grades 8-12... In my effort to find out why my 8th grade students could not read a ruler I was told (by fellow teachers) that although the ruler is taught in 2nd and 3rd grade, it only constitutes 1 or 2 questions on the SOL... Not 'important' enough (SOL-wise) to spend time with... This is the mindset of most school systems across our nation right now... Astonished by the ignorance of this I googled up "What The Ruler Teaches?" and found nothing... Obviously biased, I started thinking about all the ruler teaches us... Order, symmetry, estimation, fractions...... I would love to 'publish' an online paper to impress upon school systems the importance of truly TEACHING the ruler... Here is your chance to be heard... Fill in the blank.... "The Ruler Teaches _____________________" I will give credit for every answer used... See below for example... "The Ruler Teaches Order" ~~~Joe Novack (Woodworker 35 Years) Please do this... This could be VERY powerful with your help... Thanks... Joe www.woodshopteachers.org Here is my take. Understanding that rulers are available as a measuring tool is very elementary and they do show them this in younger years. If they didnt know what a ruler was that would be a different story. Now my view is that as a shop teacher I would be pretty darn disappointed in the math programs and teachers. If a kid has a good understanding of basic and I mean very basic fractions he should have the reasoning skills to look at a ruler and by default know how it works. I don't think it has anything to do with rulers and has everything to do with math and basic reasoning skills. Don 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WayneForeman Posted November 3, 2011 Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 Joe, My 8-year old daughter loves to help me with woodworking. For us the ruler teaches: Importance of fractions outside of school. Once she saw that fractions helped us to space pegs in a coat rack evenly apart, she instantly understood why fractions matterDifference between fractions (and how they relate to each other... i.e. 1/2 is larger than 1/4)How to add and subtract fractions (we are still tackling dividing fractions)How math in general can transform an item in her imagination (or in a book) into something tangible. Looking back, if I had started woodworking in school when I was learning math, it would not only have made math easier to learn and understand, but I would have "practiced" so much more than drudging through homework! Just my $.02. Wayne 2-year amateur woodworker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dak Posted November 3, 2011 Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 No matter how accurate you are you could be more accurate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpdorn Posted November 4, 2011 Report Share Posted November 4, 2011 geometry, the importance of standards, and why the french, japanese and chinese are brighter than the english.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeNovack Posted November 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2011 Here is my take. Understanding that rulers are available as a measuring tool is very elementary and they do show them this in younger years. If they didnt know what a ruler was that would be a different story. Now my view is that as a shop teacher I would be pretty darn disappointed in the math programs and teachers. If a kid has a good understanding of basic and I mean very basic fractions he should have the reasoning skills to look at a ruler and by default know how it works. I don't think it has anything to do with rulers and has everything to do with math and basic reasoning skills. Don Don, (dwacker) I came into education after 30 years as a general contractor. With politicians taking over the educational system, I'm confused by your statement that I should be " darn disappointed in the math programs and teachers."? Math programs are now dictated by the Feds and States...No Child Left Behind mandates this... Teachers must teach the curriculum provided to them in the allotted time. Most Math teachers I have spoken with want to spend more time with the ruler... A teacher can be dismissed because they spend too much time teaching the ruler over other SOL subjects. Need proof of this insanity???...Stop by your local high school... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted November 5, 2011 Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 ya as a teacher both the no child left behind and the testing that the feds regulate cause no small amount of trouble. we are forcing our kids to memorize useless facts rather then geting them to learn to think for themselves and to become better at real world learning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted November 5, 2011 Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 Need proof of this insanity???...Stop by your local high school... Even when I went to high school here, you couldn't fail. Some students took an extra year, but during that year, they couldn't fail because the teachers weren't going to hold them back from a high-school diploma or they wouldn't be able to get a job (what I was told when I asked a teacher by a Mr Bozo actually passed his class). It seems, too, that if you fail a student, you'll have a parent down your throat wanting an explanation of why and anything about the kid being a bozo will fly right back at you. This was long before this No Kid Left Behind thing. I'd imagine they've lowered the bar even further now; it might even be buried. Maybe they should save time and issue a high-school diploma with the birth certificates with a "valid after" date; think of the savings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeNovack Posted November 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2011 Last call... Thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Pants Posted November 8, 2011 Report Share Posted November 8, 2011 Having grown up in Canada where the metric system ruled, the ruler unfortunately didn't teach squat about fractions, but it did help with basic addition and subtraction, and helped with layout. What I've learned since starting woodworking, especially now in the States is how much it does teach about fractions. It's a very useful tool in that regard. Still, while a ruler helps with fractions, layout and some visualizing, it takes a stick to tell a story . oh as for length of time woodworking, overall about seven years, but practically probably about one and a half (I travel too much with work to get enough shop time). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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