05-05-2007, 07:38 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-vishwas+May 5 2007, 06:51 AM-->QUOTE(vishwas @ May 5 2007, 06:51 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin--><!--QuoteBegin--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->However - some of these things are a gain in some ways and a loss in other ways. I have never seen a school maths textbook that uses Kannada (or Hindi) alphabet/numerals to say
(a+b)^2=a^2+2ab =b^2.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Please clarify what you wanted to say in the above extract.
Is it that the particular formula could not have been translated into Kannada letters and numerals, because Kannada is somehow deficient in these things? Perhaps it does not have the digit for 9, say?
Or is it merely that no school maths text does it that way right now? which is a truism, and was Bharatvarsh's point to begin with. Then, how did you count it as a gain or loss, anyway?
[right][snapback]68308[/snapback][/right]
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"Extracts" and selective quotes or partial reading always cause a deficit in cognition. No wonder education is such a vexing subject. People (such as sons of the soil policemen) in Karnataka are unable to recognize Kannada numerals because they have not been taught that in school.
In a system where people are unable to even recognise numerals, changing the education system to perform algebra in a local language will be an uphill task because even the teachers will require retraining and the textbooks will require changing.
When you have a huge population that has virtually no education, it would be an advantage to use the existing education system to educate more people rather than try and change the education system to include regional language numerals. So any sentiment (that anyone may feel) that there is a loss in terms of use of regional language tends to play second fiddle to the more urgent need to churn out kids with some education, even if their math happens to be in Roman numerals and alphabet.
If there is no sentiment that there is some kind of "loss" in not using regional language numerals there is no issue to be discussed.
But if there is any feeling that Indian regional languages are "losing out" - then changing that is not going to be easy because those languages are already at a disadvantage in the existing system. That disadvantage (I repeat for clarity) is the fact that teachers are themselves not familiar with math in regional language numerals, an will require large scale re training, and textbooks will require reprinting in regional languages.
There may be other methods to bring about a gradual change in perception but I don't think these are being applied to the use of regional languages in areas higher than primary school education. One fact is that Vedic methods of calculation are being taught in CBSE schools as a matter of course and it makes sense because some methods are elegant and easy to use. There is a graphical Vedic maths method of multiplying long numbers that children find easy to use. But the numerals are Roman numerals and I see no easy way of implementing math education using regional language numerals AND alphabet such as would be required for the simplest algebra.
(a+b)^2=a^2+2ab =b^2.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Please clarify what you wanted to say in the above extract.
Is it that the particular formula could not have been translated into Kannada letters and numerals, because Kannada is somehow deficient in these things? Perhaps it does not have the digit for 9, say?
Or is it merely that no school maths text does it that way right now? which is a truism, and was Bharatvarsh's point to begin with. Then, how did you count it as a gain or loss, anyway?
[right][snapback]68308[/snapback][/right]
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
"Extracts" and selective quotes or partial reading always cause a deficit in cognition. No wonder education is such a vexing subject. People (such as sons of the soil policemen) in Karnataka are unable to recognize Kannada numerals because they have not been taught that in school.
In a system where people are unable to even recognise numerals, changing the education system to perform algebra in a local language will be an uphill task because even the teachers will require retraining and the textbooks will require changing.
When you have a huge population that has virtually no education, it would be an advantage to use the existing education system to educate more people rather than try and change the education system to include regional language numerals. So any sentiment (that anyone may feel) that there is a loss in terms of use of regional language tends to play second fiddle to the more urgent need to churn out kids with some education, even if their math happens to be in Roman numerals and alphabet.
If there is no sentiment that there is some kind of "loss" in not using regional language numerals there is no issue to be discussed.
But if there is any feeling that Indian regional languages are "losing out" - then changing that is not going to be easy because those languages are already at a disadvantage in the existing system. That disadvantage (I repeat for clarity) is the fact that teachers are themselves not familiar with math in regional language numerals, an will require large scale re training, and textbooks will require reprinting in regional languages.
There may be other methods to bring about a gradual change in perception but I don't think these are being applied to the use of regional languages in areas higher than primary school education. One fact is that Vedic methods of calculation are being taught in CBSE schools as a matter of course and it makes sense because some methods are elegant and easy to use. There is a graphical Vedic maths method of multiplying long numbers that children find easy to use. But the numerals are Roman numerals and I see no easy way of implementing math education using regional language numerals AND alphabet such as would be required for the simplest algebra.