Tanjong Malim, Perak, Malaysia

Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris

Math for Alms: Numeracy and Heuristics of

Unschooled and Non-Vending Street Children

Manuel R. Tanpoco mtanpoco@gmail.com

Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris Tanjong Malim, Malaysia

Background of the Study

• There are more or less 3000 highly visible street children in Manila alone.

• No study was yet conducted on the numeracy and heuristics of street children who have not experienced schooling or vending.

• Results of the study may lead to pedagogical ideas that may be applied to regular classrooms.

Objectives

• Draw the profile of sampled street children.

• Determine the numeracy skills and heuristics of unschooled and non-vending street children in Manila.

• Identify the contributory factors to these children’s incidental learning.

Conceptual and Theoretical Framework

• Numeracy, and the capacity to be numerate, is the ability to reason with numbers and to effectively apply mathematical concepts in everyday life (Ministerial Council for Education Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs [MCEECDYA], 2008)

Conceptual and Theoretical Framework

• The laws of the environment can be inferred to enable learners to solve problems (Shen, 1989).

• Necessity is the mother of invention.

• Most vendors had developed adequate strategies to solve arithmetical and ratio problems involving large numerical values (Saxe,1988).

Conceptual and Theoretical Framework

Sources of Learning Construct

Formal Informal

Methods

• Descriptive Method

• Guided Interview

• Oral Assessment of Numeracy Skills

• Observation

Discussions and Results • Eight unschooled and non-vending street children, 5

boys and 3 girls, were interviewed.

Aptitude/Skill Number 1. Count numbers in English. 12. Count numbers in Filipino or Spanish 83. Identify real numbers and integers 04. Determine the absolute value of a number

0

Discussions and Results

Aptitude/Skill Number 5. Add whole numbers in Filipino or Spanish with very good speed

6

6. with respectable speed 2

7. Subtract whole numbers in Filipino or Spanish with very good speed

6

8. with respectable speed 2

Discussions and Results

Aptitude/Skill Number 9. Multiply whole numbers with good speed

5

10. with respectable speed 2

11. Divide whole numbers 4

12. Understand decimal concepts 0

13. Knows how to operate arithmetic with 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75

8

Discussions and Results Heuristics Number 1. Perform mental addition 8

2. Perform mental subtraction 8

3. Perform mental multiplication 6

4. Use the “true value of a digit” concept in adding and subtracting whole numbers

6

5. Use groupings in performing arithmetic operations

4

Discussions and Results Heuristics Number 6. Relate money when solving 6

7. Use “grouping into sets” when dividing 8

8. Draw to represent math concepts 0

9. Follow graphic organizers in performing mathematical tasks

0

Conclusions• The interviewed street children are plain beggars, mostly boys,

living with their families in the streets, have mean age 10, and has been in the streets for at least 3 years.

• Unschooled and non-vending street children are not void of numeracy.

• They can count, especially money, up to really large numbers, but in Filipino.

• They can perform addition, subtraction, and multiplication of whole numbers, but only if asked in Filipino and numbers are said in Filipino or Spanish.

Conclusions

• They perform operations and do problem solving by relating the situation to how they play or gamble, buy items from the store, and count change.

• Most of their numeracy skills are learned from uneducated parents and through personal experience largely attributed to consumerism and alms begging.

• The results support that of Saxe’s study (1988) conducted in Northeast Brazil.

Recommendations

• That “vending” be practiced as part of the curriculum in pre-elementary and elementary years.

• That the government and NGOs with advocacy of helping the young reach out to these children and equip them with more skills needed in life.

• That a parallel study be conducted with a larger sample size, and employing a quantitative research design.

100%

• What makes 100%? What does it mean to give more than 100%? Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been to those meetings where someone wants you to give over 100%. How about achieving 103%? What makes up 100% in life?

100%

• To consider these questions mathematically, let use

represent the alphabet numerically by identifying

sequence of letters (A,B,C,...,X,Y,Z) with the

percentages (1%,2%,3%,...,24%,25%,26%).

100%

H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K = (8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11)% = 98%

K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E = (11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5)% = 96%.

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E = (1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5)% = 100%

100%

B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T = (2+21+12+12+19+8+9+20)% = 103%.

A-S-S-K-I-S-S-I-N-G = (1+19+19+11+9+19+19+9+14+7) = 118%

So, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that while hard work or knowledge will get you close to 100%, and attitude will get you there, it's the bullshit and ass kissing that will put you over the top.