"This woman is underpaid," writes a student after solving a mathematics question about a woman worker and her salary. The snap of the solution was shared by a twitter user who in turn had received the same from a teacher. It isn't clear who wrote this answer or which school this student belongs to but the student has won hearts with his critical analysis of the social context of the mathematics problem in question.
The mathematics problem in question has given the amount earned by a woman in 15 months which is Rs. 18,000. The student has calculated - amount she earns in one month, amount she earns in 7 months, and number of months it will take her to earn Rs. 30,000.
After providing the solution, the student at the end has given his verdict that the woman in question is underpaid.
It is a Maths question. But look at the last line. This student is thinking beyond arithmetic. Teacher who shared this with me; her joy is unbound 😌 #education #criticalthinking #reasoning pic.twitter.com/q1kUAUK4Xr
— Rajagopal (@rajagopalcv) March 12, 2019
Twitter users were all praise for the student. One user wrote,"One great upbringing."
Parents and the teacher can be proud of this kid. One great upbringing..
— Raj (@Inspector_raj) March 12, 2019
This comment by the student is of great value. The figures have been assigned the real value they have in terms of the work rendered by a woman which the child feels unsuitable, inadequate, & inappropriate. Mathematical figures assigned economic & social value!
— Dr Jitendra Sharma (@Jitendr18995686) March 13, 2019
Another user applauded the way the student was taught to link Science with humanity.
Hope we have more such sensitive students who learn to link science(and knowledge) with humanity. Thanks for sharing this.
— Roshan (@RoshanReach) March 13, 2019
One user said this is why continuous evaluation is important.
This is exactly why continuous evaluation can be the only fair way of evaluating children and not giant public tests.
— Shreya Roy Chowdhury (@ShreyaR_C) March 12, 2019
Upon inquiry from tweeples, the user who shared the image originally said that the student studies in class 7 and that the teacher in question keeps discussing these issues with the students in the class.
7th. Not out of the blue; The Maths teacher does discuss these issues in the classroom, but was pleasantly surprised to see this in the answer paper
— Rajagopal (@rajagopalcv) March 12, 2019
The school education system in India is often blamed to have focus only on rote system of learning and not on development of critical and analytical thinking skills in India. Students are rarely taught to analyze problems in their social context.
This comment by the student is certainly a welcome change from all the jokes about mathematics problem that ask about a man/woman buying 40 watermelons.
Meanwhile, with an acknowledgement of the need to develop critical and analytical thinking in students. NCERT has advocated an approach of teaching which emphasizes on learning outcomes. CBSE recently announced it would be adopting art-integrated learning in all its affiliated schools.
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