[Maths-Education] Money counts..or money talks?

[Peter Gates]

I have just come across two UK publications 

"Money counts" by BEAM and the Financial Services authority  which claims
to be developing financial capability in the primary school linked to the
numeracy strategy. 

Another is a published by the "4 learning and maths year 20002" (never
heard of them myself). this is called "Your family counts". 

Both books give classroom resources purporting to develop childrens and
families numeracy by looking at matters financial. 

Nothing in these books seems to be developing in children the real values
of money - i.e. the issues of disadvantage, poverty, social injustice,
usury, etc. etc.

I am interested in thinking about whether some of us could put something
together (e.g. "Money Talks" or "It's only being really rich that matters")
that consists of activities, examples etc. that raise the critical aspects
and uses of mathematics. There might of course be a wealth (ooops) of
resources out there of which i am  unfamiliar, but it strikes me as
potentially useful to consider giving teachers some tasks that raises real
social questions about the way in which poverty is both unevenly
distributed, how poverty is spread, how it costs the poor more to live than
it costs the rich and all that stuff.

Is anyone interested, or does anyone have ideas??


Best wishes,
Peter

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Peter Gates
Centre for the Study of Mathematics Education
University of Nottingham
Nottingham, NG7 2RD
Great Britain

peter.gates@nottingham.ac.uk

Tel: +44 115 951 4432
Fax: +44 115 846 6600

Mobile: 0773 080 8353 (pgates@genie.co.uk)






http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/csme
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