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Re:Can 1/3 and 1/3 = 2/6? It seemed so by Wowfunhappy on Tuesday May 26, 2020 @11:43AM (#23312533)
I'd absolutely agree if you were tutoring the child one-on-one. My concern is about leading the other 19+ kids astray with a confusing example before they're ready for it.

Ignoring it does feel wrong, but I don't know that it is. There's only so much time in a class period, etc.

That said, I really liked where mnsc went with it: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23312266

Re:Can 1/3 and 1/3 = 2/6? It seemed so by karatestomp on Tuesday May 26, 2020 @02:10PM (#23314475)
My observation of points at which even very smart people fall off the "math train" k-12:

- Fractions

- Factoring

So yeah, I'd say great care is warranted in teaching kids fractions. Screw that up and there's a good chance you've lost them for life.

Re:Can 1/3 and 1/3 = 2/6? It seemed so by dwild on Wednesday May 27, 2020 @11:05AM (#23324439)
> My concern is about leading the other 19+ kids astray with a confusing example before they're ready for it.

Except that the kids were all agreeing with her. Whether she did made that statement or not, they still believed that made sense.

I agree with you about the solution from mnsc, that was a good way to skip that without confusion.