【RocketNews24】Japanese elementary school teachers may tell you “5 x 100 = 500” is wrong
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Posted by Michelle Lynn Dinh (Shimane-ken, Chibu-mura, 2010–13), editor and writer for RocketNews24. The following article was written by Master Blaster, writing team for RocketNews24, a Japan-based site dedicated to bringing fun and quirky news from Asia to English speaking audiences.
Here’s an elementary school math question for you all:
Apples are sold for 100 yen each. If you buy 5 what is the total amount?
If you said “5 × 100 = 500” then I’m sorry but you just flunked second grade math in Japan… if there were only one question all year. The reason is an old teaching method that is employed in elementary and middle schools throughout the country. It’s also a method that many, such as a blogger by the name of Uncorrelated, want stopped as it leads to strange logic where six times seven does not always equal 42 and five times 100 might not equal 500.
