First grade math problem causes online community to split into factions

The simple calculation '2+4=6' was judged to be wrong, and the online community immediately divided into factions to analyze and debate.

Many parents think that the first grade math program is relatively simple, just reading the questions can easily find the answer. In fact, many math problems and calculations seem simple at first glance but it is not easy to find the correct answer, causing parents to have a "headache".

Recently, on a social networking forum with more than 300,000 members, the forum administrator posted a photo of a math problem in a math exercise book. The question asked students to “Write the appropriate calculation” based on a drawing of two groups of chickens: one group had 2 chickens and the other group had 4 chickens. The student wrote the calculation 2 + 4 = 6, but the examiner did not accept the answer and wrote “Incorrect”.

Many people wonder why teachers think this is an incorrect calculation.

This simple calculation is a familiar exercise for first graders. The teacher’s refusal to recognize “2 + 4 = 6” as the correct answer has turned the problem into a topic of debate on social media. Many parents have questioned why a correct addition is considered wrong.

Hoang Ngoc Nguyen said that in the illustration, there are 4 chickens on the right side and 2 chickens are facing this group, so the correct calculation should be "4 + 2 = 6". According to this person, this type of exercise aims to train students' ability to observe and express situations using math, not simply test addition and subtraction skills.

Ngo Thu Thuy disagrees with the above argument. According to her, the illustration of the question does not accurately reflect the situation of 2 chickens running to a group of 4 chickens, so the above explanation is not reasonable. Therefore, the student's answer "2 + 4 = 6" should be accepted.

On the other hand, an anonymous user believes that teachers should be flexible in assessing and giving scores for this problem. Since addition is commutative, students still give correct answers, so it should not be evaluated too harshly, especially for elementary school students when doing a simple problem.

The seemingly simple math problems of elementary school students can sometimes be “puzzling” even for adults. This situation shows that when children go to school, parents also have to “learn”, creating many funny stories.

Giang Pham

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/bai-toan-lop-1-khien-cong-dong-mang-chia-phe-tranh-luan-ar986519.html