PH #58 Among 58 Countries In Math & Science – So, Where Do We Get Our Youth Entrepreneurs?!

 

Led by Secretary of Agriculture William Dar, the Department of Agriculture, DA, now has the Kapital Access for Young Agripreneurs, KAYA, a loan program for farming or fishery offered to eligible young borrowers between 18 and 30 years of age, male or female[1] (DA.gov.ph). Tough luck! I say. For entrepreneurship, you need some knowledge of math and science and – lo and behold! The results of the 2019 “Trends In International Mathematics And Science Study” show this: “PH Lowest Among 58 Countries In Math, Science – Global Assessment[2]” (Bonz Magsambol, 09 December 2020, Rappler.com). Those are Grade 4 pupils; when they reach Senior High School, same story. Dull in Math, Dull in Science. It’s the system, stupe!

In entrepreneurship, you need some math, some science. So, where will the DA get our promising young entrepreneurs? I teacher say we have to produce them by all intelligent means possible.
(“youth entrepreneurs” image[3] from Youthentrepreneurs.org)

I Agriculturist will not bother Department of Education, let them solve their own problems. But I will recommend to the state colleges & universities, SCUs, care of Commission on Higher Education, CHEd, that SCUs create their own youth entrepreneurship diploma courses teaching intelligent math and discerning science.

That is a demanding task, but it has to be done. CHEd should able to come up with a youth entrepreneurship diploma or something.

Teaching math: The teaching must go beyond letters, numbers, calculations. Don’t teach Addition, Subtraction, Division and Multiplication – for those 4 operations, teach the use of the calculator instead! Or the laptop. Me, I use Word 2016: plus, minus, multiply, divide.

Rather, teach to think. Like, how do you get 2? 1 plus 1. 3 minus 1. 4 minus 2. 5 minus 3. And so on. Teaching series.

Thinking Math, from Prodigy[4]:

Adrianna needs to cut a pan of brownies into pieces. She cuts 6 even columns and 3 even rows into the pan. How many brownies does she have?

My answer: 28.
Your answer: 18.

When you cut 6 columns intothe pan, it becomes 7 columns; when you cut 3 rows into the pan, it becomes 4 rows. 28!

The answer is different if you say:

Adrianna needs to cut a pan of brownies into pieces. She cuts 6 even columns and 3 even rows out of the pan. How many brownies does she have?

My answer is the same as yours: 18.

What did I say? Teach thinking! (The problem is from Prodigy; the thinking is from Frank A Hilario.)

Clue: Check out the precise language of the 2 similar/dissimilar problems.

Thinking Science, from ResearchGate[5]:

(With AI), the first time in human history, we aren't the smartest creatures on the planet Earth

Answers:

Yes, if you consider speed of solving and complexity of problem being solved.

No, if you consider that it was man who invented AI in the first place!

In teaching youth entrepreneurs in agriculture or in any other related field, think about that:

Teach Thinking!@517

 

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[1]https://www.da.gov.ph/da-offers-youth-agripreneurs-affordable-start-up-loans/

[2]https://www.rappler.com/nation/filipino-students-lagging-behind-math-science-timms-international-results-2019?utm_source=Rappler+Subscribers&utm_campaign=6061f7d869-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_12_09_09_07_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d18b1557b8-6061f7d869-96270969&mc_cid=6061f7d869&mc_eid=c524af51e9

[3]https://www.youthentrepreneurs.org/about/media-resource/logo-gallery

[4]https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/blog/math-word-problems/#addition

[5]https://www.researchgate.net/topic/Education-Science