Entrance Slip: A Man Left Albuquerque Heading West

     To begin, it is intriguing to learn about the history of word problems in relation to mathematics education. I had a wow moment reading about the different countries that implemented word problems during the early stages. China, India, and parts of Europe were among the countries listed for creating textbooks consisting of math concepts and word problems for different countries around the world. 

Two important questions were introduced in this reading are:

Question 1: Does the social and pedagogical purpose of word problems remain stable over time?

Question 2: Does generic form of mathematical word problems change overtime?

     Another relatable moment was reading about the types of questions asked. From my personal experience, my math teachers did use a lot of word problems containing themes like agriculture and construction. Relating to themes of "everday" living, teachers used math word problems that related to students life experiences outside the classroom. As most institutions were of a vocational curriculum, the importance of making these math connections was very significant.

    Eleanor Robson's commentary adds a great viewpoint to the reading, questioning if these math word problems are actually real. I remember in Grade 4, reading math word problems in class and, thinking to myself, "Johnny is going to receive all that bubble gum?" This question would be my natural thought and reaction if a word problem states that Johnny will receive 8 gum balls. As a future teacher candidate, currently in Week 3, I can verify that our roles as teachers are to make the course material relatable to students. The takehome message I received from this passage is that math word problems are instilled in the curriculum to draw on procedural skills. These procedural skills help students foster critical thinking and abstract ways of learning new mathematical concepts.