+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| **Date**             | **Author**           | **Subject**            |
+======================+======================+========================+
| December 15, 2006    | Jordan, Don M.       | [Not Using Metric Is   |
|                      |                      | Costing the USC        |
|                      |                      | Classroom Teacher      |
|                      |                      | Time](#DonJordan)      |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| September 24, 2006   | Sosa, Souad          | [I Just Discovered     |
|                      |                      | Your                   |
|                      |                      | Website](#AnonymousA)  |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| September 19, 2006   | Bladon, Philip       | [President Bush's      |
|                      |                      | Executive              |
|                      |                      | Order](#PhilipBladon)  |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| September 07, 2006   | Doore, Stan          | [Re: Comments          |
|                      |                      | Follow-up](#StanDoore) |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| September 06, 2006   | Young, Lorelle       | [U.S. Students Must    |
|                      |                      | Know the Metric        |
|                      |                      | System](#LorelleYoung) |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| September 02, 2006   | Payne, Michael       | [Public Comment,       |
|                      |                      | National Mathematics   |
|                      |                      | Advisory               |
|                      |                      | Panel](#MichaelPayne)  |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| September 02, 2006   | Brownridge, Dennis   | [Teaching of           |
|                      |                      | Measureme              |
|                      |                      | nt](#DennisBrownridge) |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| August 25, 2006      | Abbat, Pierre        | [National Math Panel   |
|                      |                      | C                      |
|                      |                      | omments](#PierreAbbat) |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| August 25, 2006      | Carver, Gary P.      | [Comments to           |
|                      |                      | NMAP](#GaryCarver)     |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| August 23, 2006      | Elwell, Jim          | [Letter to             |
|                      |                      | NMAP](#JimElwell)      |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| August 22, 2006      | Brenner, William     | [Teaching the Metric   |
|                      |                      | Sy                     |
|                      |                      | stem](#WilliamBrenner) |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| August 21, 2006      | Gerke, Mary          | [Metric                |
|                      |                      | Education](#MaryGerke) |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| August 20, 2006      | Hooper, William      | [Comments to Nat'l     |
|                      |                      | Math Advisory Panel    |
|                      |                      | Me                     |
|                      |                      | eting](#WilliamHooper) |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| July 19, 2006        | Young, Lorelle       | [Teach Only the Metric |
|                      |                      | S                      |
|                      |                      | ystem](#LorelleYoung2) |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| July 10, 2006        | Jordan, Don M.       | [Teaching Metric in    |
|                      |                      | the US](#DonJordon)    |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| July 03, 2006        | Henschel, Mark       | [The Need to Teach SI  |
|                      |                      | in the Early           |
|                      |                      | Grades](#MarkHenschel) |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| June 29, 2006        | Mitchell, Sally      | [Metricate as soon as  |
|                      |                      | pos                    |
|                      |                      | sible](#SallyMitchell) |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| June 28, 2006        | Trusten, Paul        | [Metric System Should  |
|                      |                      | Be Sole Measurement    |
|                      |                      | System Taught In       |
|                      |                      | U.S.](#PaulTrusten)    |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| June 19, 2006        | Hillger, Don         | [Need for metric       |
|                      |                      | e                      |
|                      |                      | ducation](#DonHillger) |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| June 17, 2006        | Doore, Stanley       | [Suggestions &         |
|                      |                      | Comments for the       |
|                      |                      | NMP](#StanleyDoore)    |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| June 16, 2006        | Antoine, Valerie     | [Teaching math in the  |
|                      |                      | metric                 |
|                      |                      | sy                     |
|                      |                      | stem](#ValerieAntoine) |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| June 02, 2006        | Kocz, Remel          | [Math                  |
|                      |                      | Education](#RemekKocz) |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| June 02, 2006        | Armstrong, Paul      | [Mathematics and       |
|                      |                      | measur                 |
|                      |                      | ement](#PaulArmstrong) |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| May 26, 2006         | Vij, Brij Bhushan    | [FW: \[USMA:36852\]    |
|                      |                      | Kilo-Shilas Re: Using  |
|                      |                      | Sidereal Days &        |
|                      |                      | Side                   |
|                      |                      | real](#BrijBhushanVij) |
|                      |                      |                        |
|                      |                      | [Years Re: Octaeteris  |
|                      |                      | Spreads                |
|                      |                      | heet](#BrijBhushanVij) |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| May 26, 2006         | Naughtin, Pat        | [Pat Naughtin          |
|                      |                      | Submission to National |
|                      |                      | Math                   |
|                      |                      | Panel](#PatNaughtin)   |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| May 20, 2006         | Werling, Norman and  | [Full use of the       |
|                      | Nancy                | International System   |
|                      |                      | of Units (SI), the     |
|                      |                      | metric                 |
|                      |                      | system                 |
|                      |                      | ](#NormanNancyWerling) |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| May 17, 2006         | Meselsohn, Glenn     | [Metric Education in   |
|                      |                      | Ame                    |
|                      |                      | rica](#GlennMeselsohn) |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| May 16, 2006         | Hooper, Bill         | [Comment for National  |
|                      |                      | Math Panel             |
|                      |                      | Meeting](#BillHooper)  |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| May 16, 2006         | Doore, G Stanley     | [The SI and Video game |
|                      |                      | platforms for          |
|                      |                      | educ                   |
|                      |                      | ation](#GStanleyDoore) |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| May 15, 2006         | Millet, Mike         | [Metric                |
|                      |                      | e                      |
|                      |                      | ducation](#MikeMillet) |
+----------------------+----------------------+------------------------+

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--\
From: Don Jordan\
Sent: Friday, December 15, 2006 11:02 PM\
To: National Math Panel\
Subject: Not Using Metric is costing the USC Classroom teacher time

Subject: Metric Education in the Classroom

Every Student who attends college must take chemistry. Each year I

hear Chemistry teachers talk about how much time they waste teaching

metric because it is not taught in the early years.

I recommend that the Math Panel issue a strong statement that metric

is primary language of measurement and should be taught first in grades

K-8. and

That Colleges of Education at our Universities should have somewhere in

the curriculum a strong and lengthy content on metric measurement. That

all teachers should be tested on metric measurement.

The teacher, especially the teachers in grades K-8, should feel very

comfortable teaching metric. Today they are not. When the doors are

closed the teacher will teach what she or he knows\... the old customary

language of measurement.

We are recycling the problem and your panel has a chance to do

something about it. I hope you will.

Thanks for taking the time to read my statement.

Don Jordan, Ph.D. Mathematics Linear Algebra, USC

Center for Science Education

![](media/image1.wmf)

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--\
[]{#AnonymousA .anchor}**From:** Souad Sosa
\[mailto:souad33@sbcglobal.net\]\
**Sent:** Sunday, September 24, 2006 7:03 PM\
**To:** Flawn, Tyrrell\
**Subject:** I just discovered your website

I am currently pursuing a Bachelor\'s degree in Biotechnology. I possess
a degree from France where I was born and grew up. The biggest challenge
that I must face in my science classes (beside having to learn all the
terminology in English) is the fact that I must convert my answers to
the English system, which I find difficult to master for its lack of
practicality.

 

I have sometimes challenged my teacher as far as the usage of the
English system in scientific applications is concerned.

 

I am sending you these words to share with you my support for your
organization.

 

Sincerely,

Anonymous

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--\
[]{#PhilipBladon .anchor}**From:** Philip Bladon\
**Sent:** Tuesday, September 19, 2006 7:16 AM\
**To:** National Math Panel; Flawn, Tyrrell; Graban, Jennifer; Kelley,
Ida Eblinger\
**Subject:** President Bush\'s Executive Order\
**Importance:** High

Dear Sir

With reference to [President Bush\'s Executive Order to improve
performance in mathematics]{.underline} I am pleased to have the
opportunity to provide recommendations to your panel.

1\. A major part of the solution to solve the problem would be to teach
and fully adopt the SI / Metric system as quickly as possible throughout
all schools and colleges.

2\. The vocabulary of the SI / Metric system with units, prefixes, and
symbols should be fostered across the curriculum (all subject areas not
just math and science). My book\* is one \'tool\' to help that. (\* ref
below)

3\. This major task to improve mathematics can be assisted by the Metric
Associations in the USA and the United Kingdom.

4.I also recommend adoption of SI units wherever possible and avoid
using confusing metric units such as calorie, kilocalorie, etc. These
units should be archived. The SI unit for \'energy in food\' is
kilojoule (symbol:  kJ )

Please do not hesitate to contact me for more information. I am willing
to attend one of your meetings.

Yours faithfully

Philip Bladon

[www.simetricmatters.com](http://www.simetricmatters.com/)

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--

From: []{#StanDoore .anchor}Stan Doore

Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2006 12:15 PM

To: National Math Panel

Subject: Re: Comments followup

Hi:

I mailed a copy of the recommendations to Dr. Olsen at the NAS last
week.  I then thought I should email a copy to you all.  I hope this
didn\'t confuse you too much.  A copy of the letter is attached in PDF
format.

 

Regards, Stan Doore

![](media/image2.wmf)

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--

From: []{#LorelleYoung .anchor}Lorelle Young

Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 3:40 AM

To: National Math Panel

Subject: U.S. students must know the metric system

National Math Advisory Panel:

 

I believe this article should be brought to the attention of
the National Math Advisory Panel members.  If our schools do not
produce metric-literate graduates, how can the U.S. compete globally if
companies must spend money on metric training that should have been
accomplished in U.S. schools?  Companies in foreign countries do not
have to make this investment in metric training.  These countries
graduate students who know and can use the metric system with facility
while we confuse our students by trying to teach both the outmoded
inch-pound system and the metric system, with the result that they
master neither system. 

 

Thank you for your attention.

 

Sincerely,

 

Lorelle Young, President

U.S. Metric Association, Inc.

\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--

From: []{#MichaelPayne .anchor}Michael Payne
\[mailto:mike_payne@verizon.net\]

Sent: Saturday, September 02, 2006 10:05 AM

To: National Math Panel

Subject: Public Comment, National Mathematics Advisory Panel

I'm an Airline Pilot flying a long-range business jet for a major

Private Equity Corporation. My travels expose me to a view of the world

that few other people have. From this perspective I'd like to give my

opinion on recommendations for the teaching of mathematics in the United

States.

The World economy is now Global, the United States is now the only

country on the planet that uses predominantly non-metric units, despite

federal legislation that promotes the Metric system as the preferred

system for trade and commerce. But do we teach our students what they

need to know in terms of measurement? We presently teach them both

metric and non-metric "customary" units leaving them with little

comprehension of either system of measurement. This fact alone leaves us

at a large competitive disadvantage when manufacturing articles, writing

manuals for the product and other technical literature. It's hard to

appreciate the total lack of inch-pound units being used in most of the

world, until you visit other countries. I travel worldwide on a monthly

basis as part of my job and noticed a total lack of understanding of

what inches or pounds are. I am therefore writing to ask that the only

system used in the math and science classes of the United States be that

of the Metric System or SI (System International) as it is now called.

We as a nation waste a considerable amount of time (research suggests a

whole semester) on teaching students both the inch-pound system and the

metric system. In Mathematics, Science, Commerce and Trade the only one

students need to know is the metric system. I believe the only way we

can increase the proficiency of math education in the United States is

to recommend the teaching of only one measurement system and that is the

metric system. It is noteworthy that the performance of US 8\^th and

12\^th graders is extremely low in the "measurement" area of math

compared to their foreign counterparts. Measurement if the foundation of

Science, the SI system is the only system used in Science and advanced

Mathematics. Outside (and inside) the United States the metric system is

used in every industry. Corporations in the United States waste too much

time teaching graduate students the basics of the metric system and the

measurement system used with either. If you want to export, the product

has to be metric and the manuals have to include metric units written by

someone who understands what they are talking about. This can only

happen when we teach \_only\_ the metric system.

Michael Payne

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--\
[]{#DennisBrownridge .anchor}**From:** Dennis Brownridge\
**Sent:** Saturday, September 02, 2006 12:10 AM\
**To:** National Math Panel\
**Subject:** Teaching of Measurement

 

August 31, 2006

 

**Comments to National Mathematics Advisory Panel**

NationalMathPanel@ed.gov

 

            As a teacher with 30 years experience, I'm convinced that
the greatest single weakness of our current mathematics curricula is our
failure to teach a coherent system of measuring units. Measurement is
the most widespread use of mathematics, but our textbooks don't explain
the most fundamental measurement concepts, such as coherence (units
defined with the same equations as the quantities they measure), base
vs. derived, precision vs. accuracy, manipulation of prefixes, and
engineering notation. These are essential skills that students need in
their science courses, the workplace, and everyday life.

            The only complete, coherent, and practical system of units
is the International System (SI), the simplified modern version of the
various metric systems. SI has become the world standard and was adopted
by Congress in 1988 as the preferred system for the United States. It is
a simple system that, in my experience, students can master very
quickly.

            But alas, measurement coverage in our current textbooks is
woefully inadequate and outdated, if not plain misinformed. Even
elementary quantities such as volume, mass, weight, and density are
confusing to our students because we measure them with such a
bewildering array of non-SI units.

          There are literally hundreds of non-SI units used in the
United States today, in one field or another. To be fluent in all of
them, a person would have to memorize countless definitions and
multi-digit factors. Clearly this is an impossible task. The schools
couldn't hope to teach more than a tiny fraction of those non-SI units a
student might encounter. And textbooks don't attempt to do so. They
don't define such common but irrational non-SI units as the acre (43 560
square feet) or fluid ounce (231/128 cubic inches). So students are
unable to do even everyday calculations in area and volume.  

          The only solution to this dilemma is to teach SI as the
primary system, as NCTM has recommended. Of course, we must also teach a
few non-SI units that are used worldwide and essential in everyday life,
such as the minute, hour, and angular degree. But the mistake made by
our current texts is to reduce the whole subject of measurement to
little more than a tedious exercise in converting units. Math courses
today generally teach a few token relationships, such as 12 inches per
foot, 3 feet per yard, and 16 ounces per pound. But this isn't nearly
enough information to do simple, real-world problems with non-SI units.
(If a rectangular aquarium measures 10 × 10 × 20 inches, how many
gallons does it hold?)  Moreover, by teaching a handful of relationships
and ignoring the rest we are giving students a false sense of
understanding. They don't realize that a pound of force is entirely
different from a pound of mass; that ounces of soft drink are volume
units unrelated to avoirdupois ounces; or that an ounce of gold or
silver is 1/14.583 pound, not 1/16 pound.

          The result of all this is that---unless they have learned SI
in their science classes---most students today are completely unequipped
to do realistic problems involving measurement. They are ignorant not
only of SI, but of non-SI units as well.

          Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this important
issue.

 

 

Dennis R. Brownridge, PhD

The Orme School of Arizona

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--

From: []{#PierreAbbat .anchor}Pierre Abbat

Sent: Friday, August 25, 2006 10:54 AM

To: National Math Panel

Subject: National Math Panel comments

To retain and increase American competitiveness, it is important to
teach the

metric system as the only system of measurement. Scientists and
engineers

have been using metric for over a century. When American children enter

physics class not knowing their own height in meters or their mass in

kilograms, they are at a disadvantage compared to children who have been

using these units all their lives.

The Internet has brought people all over the world together. I talk
daily with

people in Europe and Asia about hair care, food, and health. Using
different

units causes confusion when we talk to each other.

The metric system is based on 10. The customary system has a mixture of

different bases. In metric you have no unround internal conversion
factors

such as between gallons and acre-feet or between dry pints and liquid
pints.

All internal conversion factors are powers of 10.

Besides base 10, we should also teach base 2 (or 16) and base 60. Base 2
is

used with computers, and base 60 is used with time (we can\'t avoid it,
as a

second is 1/86400 day) and angles. These don\'t need to be taught as

intensively as base 10; no one I know of multiplies in base 60.

Pierre Abbat

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--

From: []{#GaryCarver .anchor}Gary P. Carver

Sent: Friday, August 25, 2006 10:04 AM

To: National Math Panel

Subject: comments to NMAP

Comments to the National Mathematics Advisory Panel, U.S. Department of

Education:

To meet its purpose, the National Mathematics Advisory Panel must find

that teaching only the metric system of units in American schools should

begin immediately.

Everyday, people see and use both metric and customary units almost

interchangeably everywhere, except perhaps on highways and in gasoline

stations. As more and more metric products entered our economy, people

easily switched to, for example, buying soft drinks in liters and
aspirin

in milligrams. People adapted to using computers and the metric

terminology associated with them. People who work in many industries,

particularly technical industries such as medicine, engineering, and

science but also basic industries such as automotives, electrical, and

food packaging, use metric units at work and conventional units on their

drive home.

Students don't need to spend time in mathematics classes to learn both

systems and to learn the useless conversions among units. It is not only

a waste of time; it also is an activity that misleads students into

thinking that converting among units is an end in itself. In fact, units

are merely the means of measuring quantities. Measurement, including its

attributes such as precision, accuracy and uncertainty, and the way it
is

used to describe our perceptions of reality are the important concepts.

Despite the persistence of U.S. customary units in our society, the

National Mathematics Advisory Panel would fail if it missed the

opportunity to declare the metric system of units the only system of
units

to be taught in our schools. Students need to learn the concept of

measurement---and they can learn it best using metric units.

In summary, I have two recommendations:

1\. I urge the Panel to look beyond the unproductive teaching of our old

system and reject any classroom conversion of its units to the metric

units used in the global community.

2\. I propose that the Panel elevate the concept of measurement and
lower

the mechanical manipulation of measurement units in mathematics
education.

Sincerely,

Gary P. Carver

Former Director

U.S. Department of Commerce Metric Program

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--

From: []{#JimElwell .anchor}Jim Elwell

Sent: Wednesday, August 23, 2006 3:12 PM

To: National Math Panel

Subject: letter to NMAP

Please see attached PDF letter.

Thank you.

Jim Elwell

[www.qsicorp.com](http://www.qsicorp.com/)

![](media/image3.wmf)

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--

From: []{#WilliamBrenner .anchor}William Brenner

Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2006 10:48 PM

To: National Math Panel

Subject: Teaching the Metric System

I am writing to urge the National Mathematics Advisory Panel to include

metric education among its priorities.

Thomas Jefferson introduced the metric system to this country about 200

years ago but was unsuccessful in getting it adopted, primarily because

Congress was unsure it had the constitutional authority to do so.

Jefferson did convince Congress to adopt a decimal-based money system,

however, saving us the horrors of 200 years of the highly unwieldy

shillings, pence, bobs, and pounds from which the British only recently

have been able to free themselves.

Today metric measures are used by 95.4 percent of the world\'s

population - - 5.7 billion people - - for everything they do. Even in

this country, people buy cola in liters, aspirin in milligrams, and

light bulbs in watts (electrical measures, and everything in science,

have always been metric-based). Our largest trading partners, Canada and

Mexico, are metric countries. Major U.S. industries, such as auto,

machine tool, electronics, soft drink, liquor, pharmaceutical, and

health care, are primarily or completely metricated.

The metric system is decimal-based, easy to use, and coherent; the

inch-pound system is not. The final step in fully aligning our
country\'s

measurements with the rest of the world is to teach the metric system as

the primary means of measurement in our nation\'s schools.

William Brenner, Vice President

National Institute of Building Sciences

Washington, D.C.

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--

From: []{#MaryGerke .anchor}Mary Gerke

Sent: Monday, August 21, 2006 3:05 PM

To: National Math Panel

Subject: Metric Education

I am writing to urge you to recognize the importance

of the language of science; namely, the expanded

metric system known as SI.

As a science teacher, I am yearly embarrassed to tell

my students that the United States is the ONLY country

still using an antiquated and incoherent measurement

system. These students find the SI vocabulary simple

to learn and easy to use. Why SI is not a subject of

maximum priority for the National Math Advisory Panel

is NOT understood.

Why must our students be burdened with TWO measurement

systems and yet be expected to surpass students from

other countires not so burdened?

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--

From: []{#WilliamHooper .anchor}William Hooper

Sent: Sunday, August 20, 2006 8:33 PM

To: National Math Panel

Subject: Comments to Nat'l Math Advisory Panel meeting

I should like to submit the following comments and recommendations to

the National Mathematics Advisory Panel meeting on 2006 September 13

and 14.

===================================

If we wish to keep America competitive in a world where everyone else

uses metric measures for everyday trade and commerce, it is vital

that we have a major effort to educate our children to use the

International Metric system (SI). For our children to succeed in this

world, where 95% of the population uses metric, our children must be

able to use the metric system with ease and familiarity. Familiarity

with metric is especially important for high tech jobs that are so

critical to American competitiveness.

Teaching an occasional unit on the metric system won\'t do. Just

learning \"about\" the metric system won\'t do either. Our students need

to learn to USE the metric system with facility. What is needed is a

major emphasis on using and teaching metric consistently throughout

the mathematics curriculum.

The best and surest way to do this is to stop teaching (and stop

USING) the Old English system at all levels of mathematics. Indeed,

mathematics teachers need to solicit the aid of their colleagues in

other disciplines to assist this effort by using metric in their

teaching as well, from 2 cm margins on reports in English to 100 m

dashes on the athletic track.

Teaching metric rather than Old English measurements has additional

advantages. It saves time and money because it is easier to teach.

When used in everyday business it saves more time and money because

it is easier to use and reduces errors. Since metric is used

virtually everywhere else in the world, teaching it will facilitate

travel and tourism, both making it easier for our people who travel

to metric countries as well as making it easier for us to accommodate

visitors from metric countries who come here.

There are those who would argue that we still need to teach Old

English measurements because students will encounter them, since

those old mesurements are still in wide use in the US (although

nowhere else). I disagree! Instead, I maintain that the students know

enough of it already. Those in the upper grades who will soon be in

the job market have already had at least 12 years of schooling in the

Old English system. They don\'t need any more. Those in the earlier

grades who have 12 years of schooling yet ahead of them, will find

that by the time they finish those 12 years, the metric system will

be even more prevalent than it is now and it will be more necessary

to know metric than to know the Old English measures.

I ask the Panel, please, not to relegate the metric system to a long

\"list of topics to be taught\"; instead, please make metric education

one of the main pillars of mathematics education. There are few

specific recommendations that could go further to fostering greater

knowledge of and improved performance in mathematics among American

students. That should be our goal and teaching metric will help us

get there.

Sincerely,

(Dr.) William Hooper, BS, MS, EdD

Professor of Physics and Astronomy (ret.)

The University of Virginia\'s College at Wise

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--

From: []{#LorelleYoung2 .anchor}Lorelle Young

Sent: Wednesday, July 19, 2006 1:54 PM

To: National Math Panel

Subject: Teach only the metric system

Ladies and Gentlemen.

 

Thank you for inviting letters from interested parties.  My letter is
attached.

 

Sincerely,

 

Lorelle Young, President

U.S. Metric Association, Inc.

![](media/image2.wmf)

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--

From: []{#DonJordon .anchor}Don Jordan

Sent: Monday, July 10, 2006 5:16 PM

To: National Math Panel

Subject: Teaching Metric in the US

To Members of the National Metric Panel.

From: Dr. Don M. Jordan, professor Univ of South Carolina

Six months to two years of elementary arithmetic could be eliminated
with the adoption of SI-Metric.

I have attached documents in support of my belief that the US
Educational Systems suffers because of the lack of a strong plan to
teach metric to students K -12. The Child receives the old US English
System at home. The Student must receive metric education in grades k-12
at the schools with very little time spent on the old US English system.

\*\*\*\*

Did you know that..?

? Metric minimizes the likelihood of error.

? Metric does not have the numerous conversion factors of other systems.

? Metric has one unit for a quantity.

? Metric is legal, logical and preferred.

? Six months to two years of elementary arithmetic could be eliminated
with the adoption of SI-Metric.

? IBM during metric conversion reduced fastener part numbers from 38,000
to 4,000.

? One bottling industry reduced its container sizes from 53 to 7.

? You would weigh 82 kilograms instead of 180 pounds.

? Public Law 103-227 of March 31, 1994, asserts that mathematics and
science education, including the metric system of measurement, will be
strengthened throughout the system, especially in the early grades.

? All major science and education organizations have encouraged the
United States to fully adopt the metric system as the language of
measurement.

? The National Association of Academies of Science and the United States
Metric Association are writing the National Metric Education Guidelines.

METRIC FACTS

English is the international language of business.

Metric is the international language of measurement.

? The Metric System - How to teach young people what they need to know!

1\. Teach using only the Metric System.

2\. Use rulers and measuring tools that have only metric scale units.

3\. Teach measurement and physical quantities using materials and
examples that students can see and touch.

4\. Select, estimate, compare and use appropriate units to measure:

length (meter/centimeter); mass (kilogram/gram); volume;
(liter/milliliter); temperature (degree Celsius)

5\. Teach by actively involving the students in measuring activities.

6\. Universities and Colleges that educate elementary school teachers
should teach the system and how to use it.

7\. The change to the metric system is for all people and all
disciplines (not just science, engineering and math).

What US Needs:

A Certified Metric Specialist in each of the 1,646 Schools in the United
States.

See www.cosm.sc.edu/jordan under Metric for more information

If you want to know how to become a Certified Metric Specialist, write
or email

Dr. Don M. Jordan / Center for Science Education / College of Arts &
Science / Sumwalt Rm. 323 / USC Columbia, SC / 29208 jordan@gwm.sc.edu /
803.777.7007

Metric Week in South Carolina is sponsored by the

South Carolina Academy of Science, Founded in 1924 &

The Center for Science Education at USC

\*\*\*\*\*

See attached for more information:

We need to establish the National Metric Teaching Guidelines and have
every teacher in K-8 trained in metric measurement. Until this is done,
the US will continue to have teachers in the class room that do not feel
comfortable or knowledge about the metic system. The teacher needs to
become a believer!

thanks for taking the time to read my comments.

don jordan

Dr. Don M. Jordan

College of Arts & Sciences

Center for Science Education

![](media/image1.wmf)![](media/image1.wmf)![](media/image1.wmf)

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--

From: []{#MarkHenschel .anchor}Mark Henschel

Sent: Monday, July 03, 2006 1:47 PM

To: National Math Panel

Subject: The need to teach SI in the early grades

Dear Sir/Madam:

On the issue of teaching math in American schools, I just want to

reinforce what numerous other people have probably already mentioned to

you, and that is the need to teach SI metric units in all math classes

at all grade levels.

The thing I have noticed about science education is that often the only

time students are exposed to the use of SI units is in high school

science classes. Math teachers tend to concentrate on teaching

inch-pound units, so students do not become proficient in the use of

both systems.

The Metric System can be looked upon as a foreign language. Students

must be exposed early and often to a foreign language to become

proficient. Thus, teachers in elementary school classrooms, fourth,

fifth, and sixth grades especially, should concentrate on teaching

students to understand and use SI units.

Then, when students do take science classes in high school, students

will be able to concentrate on the science, and not on learning the

Metric System.

I would hope that all elementary school teachers learn to use and teach

SI units. Certainly, they should not be afraid to teach the metric

system. If they are comfortable with the use of SI, this attitude will

carry over to students, and the students will also be able to use the

Metric System as they work their way through high school, college, and

into adult life.

Mark Henschel

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--\
**From:** []{#SallyMitchell .anchor}SBMITCHELL@aol.com
\[mailto:SBMITCHELL@aol.com\]\
**Sent:** Thursday, June 29, 2006 1:50 AM\
**To:** National Math Panel\
**Subject:** Metricate as soon as possible

Dear National Math Panel,

I am researching science education for my dissertation at Syracuse
University and mathematics plays a large role in science education. 
Estimation skills are non-existent since the advent of the electronic
(required) calculator in math class and this has hurt science education
tremendously.  One aspect of mathematics education is the measurement
system.  The entire world is metric, science is metric, medicine is
metric, the liquor stores are metric, everyone is metric except the
general American public!!!!  Mathematic educators need to take a stand
and metricate the USA once and for all.  Set a goal:  By 10/10/10 the
USA will be metric!!!!!!

 

Please contact me for more information, suggestions, and help.

 

Sincerely,

Sally Mitchell

Chemistry Teacher

East Syracuse-Minoa High School

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--

From: []{#PaulTrusten .anchor}Paul Trusten, R.Ph.

Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2006 11:36 AM

To: National Math Panel

Subject: metric system should be sole measurement system taught in U.S.

To the members of the National Math Panel,

 

With U.S. students now demonstrating declines in their scientific
abilities,  and our nation itself facing formidable intellectual
competition from the rest of the world, it is time for our country to
take a necessary step forward, and adopt the International System of
Units (SI), the modern metric system, as our primary system of
measurement. To do that, we must teach the SI as the *sole* system of
measurement in our schools.

  To many Americans, such a call for change seems to reek of political
correctness, or to represent yet another act of bureaucratic meddling in
their lives . These are misconceptions. On the contrary, metrication  is
a long-overdue, practical change for the nation.  Nor is it intended to
be a short-term, patchwork action for change. It is a change for all
Americans, and in all future times.  In granting powers to Congress, The
U.S. Constitution ranks measurement as important as money;  the powers
to set both are enumerated in the same article.

  For many years in U.S. popular culture, measurement has been perceived
as a nationalistic, and even a poetic, activity.  And, it used to
be convenient for Americans to teach a traditional system of measurement
units when our country was isolated and primarily agrarian.  *But, it is
now time for U.S. educators to demonstrate  to their students that
 measurement is a part of science*.  The measurement language of science
is the SI, which is the legally preferred system of measurement for
trade and commerce in the U.S.  (*Metric Conversion Act of 1975*, Pub.
L. 94-168, enacted December 23, 1975, as amended by the *Omnibus Trade
and Competitiveness Act of 1988* \[Pub. L. 100-418, August 23, 1988\]).

  We no longer have the agrarian luxury of using pounds and miles
officially.  We can no longer hide behind the delaying effects of
telegraph, telephone, and teletype. This is the global, digital age.
 The age of the kilogram and the kilometer are upon us.

Our old units of measurement will remain secure in song, story, and
tradition.  But, In trade, commerce,  and academia, measurement can no
longer be perceived a jingoistic tool or a vent for poetic license.  It
is what you as a panel are using this week to assess U.S. mathematics
education, what U.S. industry uses to understand its problems and
processes, what American highway designers and architects use to solve
crucial problems of structural integrity and safety, what our science
workers use to conduct science, and what the U.S. consumer uses to
easily reckon a fair deal.  In all of these activities, Americans need
to have the same measurement advantage that the citizens of most other
countries have had for centuries: a true standard of measurement based
on decimal numeration.

  Not only will metric-only education equip U.S. students for global
competition, it will also relieve them of the useless burden of learning
an obsolete measurement system and  performing the exercises in
fractions that accompany it. So, in that sense, a change to teaching the
SI as the sole measurement system will represent a synergistic advance
in U.S. mathematics instruction. It will free up the process as well as
the knowledge.

Take a look at the bottled water being served at your panel discussion
this week. It is likely that the water is bottled in half-liters. The
overwrap on many bottled water products sold in the U.S. now features
the prominent statement (the part that \"screams\" at you)  that the
bottles are in half-liter sizes, even though federal law requires U.S.
customary volume also to be stated on the labeling.  U.S. students are
participants in this increasingly metric society, and they must be able
to master it comfortably.  In your deliberations this week, please work
to establish the teaching of the SI as the sole system of measurement in
U.S. schools. We need to get ready now!

\"SI\"ncerely,

Paul Trusten, R.Ph.

Public Relations Director

U.S. Metric Association, Inc.

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--\
**From:** []{#DonHillger .anchor}Hillger, Don
\[mailto:Hillger@cira.colostate.edu\]\
**Sent:** Monday, June 19, 2006 10:32 AM\
**To:** Flawn, Tyrrell\
**Subject:** need for metric education

Tyrrell Flawn,

 

Input for National Mathematics Advisory Panel Meeting meeting:

 

As a scientist, I deal with metric system units in nearly all of my
duties.  Besides the basics of math, the use of measurement is
fundamental to so many quantitative disciplines.  It is also a fact that
most of the world uses the metric system in its activities, including
daily life, unlike the situation in the United States.  The U.S. remains
the only major holdout in an otherwise metric world.  I think part of
our reluctance to adopt metric, is due to metric not being a priority in
teaching.  Metric would also simplify the teaching of measurement,
unlike the absurd mixture of units currently in use in the U.S.  I can
still remember the delight I found when I encountered metric, and found
it to be so logical, compared to our currently-used units.  Are those
non-metric units hindering our students?  Could that be why they don\'t
like math and science?  Why can\'t we make the change to metric use, and
start with the teaching of metric as a priority for all students, so
that they not only learn it, but also are not hindered in an otherwise
metric world.

 

Don Hillger, PhD

Meteorologist

Colorado State University

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--\
**From:**[]{#StanleyDoore .anchor} STANLEY DOORE
\[mailto:stan.doore@verizon.net\]\
**Sent:** Saturday, June 17, 2006 6:51 AM\
**To:** National Math Panel\
**Subject:** Suggestions & Comments for the NMP

Attached are two white papers (without graphics) which I gave to the
NMP: one on the use of video game platforms for educational purposes and
the other about teaching and using the International system of Units
(SI) exclusively in science courses and classes.

 

I sent these together with five copies of the SI UNITS poster with a
cover letter by mail to many members and ex-officio members of the NMP
following its May 22 meeting.  (I couldn\'t find addresses for some
members.)  Also, following is my letter to the editor published in The
Washington Times on 2006 June 16 which should be of interest to the NMP
concerning the evaluation of schools.

 

Please see that the NMP and others get these suggestions and
information.

 

Regards,

 

G. Stanley Doore

email:  <Stan.Doore@verizon.net>

 

  From **The Washington Times 2006 June 16** issue\
  \
    **Evaluating schools**\
    The manipulation of school evaluation, outlined in \"Student pool
manipulated for tests, report finds\" (Nation, Wednesday) can be reduced
substantially by using automated assisted learning (AAL). The article
tells how schools use tactics to prevent students who perform poorly
from taking tests used to measure school performance.\
    It\'s time to implement AAL across the board because it focuses on
learners rather than on schools. Evaluation of schools can be an
objective byproduct.\
    Video-game platforms such as the PlayStation Portable, Nintendo and
other video devices are ideal for providing more flexibility and
accountability in learning. Results can\'t be manipulated easily because
progress (testing) is built into AAL software. AAL can measure how much
students have progressed in a subject and help teachers identify much
more quickly those who need help. It\'s student-centered learning.\
    Because scoring is inherent in the software, automated assisted
learning scores could be used for graduation purposes. There would be no
need for the \"high stakes\" mass testing and test-taking preparation
being used now. Learners could progress at their own pace, wherever they
are, at times convenient to them. Moreover, AAL could be used by people
of all ages to help raise the education level of the entire population.
AAL would be a consistent and known standard.\
    It\'s time to transform our education system into a modern system of
learning using inexpensive technologies readily available.\
    \
    G. STANLEY DOORE\
    Silver Spring \
    

![](media/image2.wmf)![](media/image3.wmf)![](media/image4.wmf)

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--\
**From:** []{#ValerieAntoine .anchor}valerie antoine
\[mailto:valerie.antoine@verizon.net\]\
**Sent:** Friday, June 16, 2006 12:36 PM\
**To:** National Math Panel\
**Subject:** Teaching math in the metric system

I urge your panel members to recommend that nothing but the metric
system be taught in math.   This will not only help get the U.S. in tune
with the rest of the world concerning measurement, but will make it
easier for young people to learn to do math.  The current inch-pound
system that students have to work with, now, is a mixed-up mess with no
coordination of the units.  This makes math a lot harder for students to
learn.

 

If students are given only metric instruction in math, it can be the
beginning of having our nation adopt the measurement system used by the
rest of the world.  Teaching math in only metric units should  quickly
move *all* education subjects toward using the metric system.  The
result will be a help to students and a common world-wide measurement
system for U.S. commerce.  Our companies will profit by not having to be
concerned about supplying only metric products for some countries while
they must supply inch-pound goods to U.S. customers. 

 

There is no doubt that we\'ll have to join the rest of the world,
eventually, in a common measurement system.  Your panel can be the
catalyst that will start that movement, to the betterment of students
and our citizens and industry. 

 

Valerie Antoine

10245 Andasol Ave

Northridge CA 91325

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--\
**From:** []{#RemekKocz .anchor}Remek Kocz \[mailto:rekocz@gmail.com\]\
**Sent:** Friday, June 02, 2006 12:18 PM\
**To:** National Math Panel\
**Subject:** Math Education

Ladies and Gentlemen,\
\
I am writing as a concerned parent of a child who will be entering first
grade in September.  As the world  is changing, and as globalization is
increasingly integrating us with that changing world, it is critical
that our children are offered the kind of education that aptly prepares
them for the future.  If the next generation is to compete on the
playing field that is no longer limited by national and geographic
boundaries, it needs to be outfitted with the skills that will allow it
to succeed in such an environment.\
\
Along with higher mathematics standards in our education, we need to
address the teaching of the metric system, which is the lingua franca of
global measurement.  The metric system should be taught as an integral
part of a mathematics curriculum, starting at the elementary level.  It
should permeate to every level of a student\'s activity in the
classroom, from as early a grade level as possible.  The children should
learn how to use the metric side of their rulers, they should learn how
to relate metric to the world around them, how to solve word problems in
metric, and so on. They should not be learning metric as a mere
curiosity that offers a distraction from the business as usual of feet,
gallons, and pounds. \
\
A properly structured mathematics curriculum that introduces, reinforces
and, most importantly, fosters the use of the metric system, would go a
long way towards enabling the future generations to compete in the
global environment.  I hope that the National Mathematics Advisory Panel
recognizes this, and that it will take steps towards promoting metric
eductation in our math classrooms.\
\
Thank you,\
\
Remek Kocz\
Rochester, NY

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--

From: []{#PaulArmstrong .anchor}Paul Armstrong \[mailto:psa@otoh.org\]

Sent: Friday, June 02, 2006 8:54 AM

To: National Math Panel

Subject: Mathematics and measurement

I recently came across the education department page on the

mathematical education panel. One thing that I see as a great roadblock
in the current state of US

education (and advancement in science and technology in general) is not
using SI.

The old measurement system is difficult to use (particularly when

you\'re having to do conversions, even within the same system) and
teaching two systems is a waste of

a significant amount of time (there are estimates that teaching the old
measures sets back

American students 1 year in math). All science and technology throughout
the world is done in metric and children who don\'t have a good basis in
it are at an immediate disadvantage (and so are the universities and/or
businesses as it ends up being one more thing they have to teach but
without the

benefit of having it become part of the students natural language
through general schooling).

I would like the advisory panel to strongly consider changing math
education to use only metric

throughout all years of schooling. Students will pick up enough of the
old measures through social interaction and, hopefully, we\'ll
eventually get rid of this frustrating state of dual measures.

Regards,

Paul Armstrong

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--

From: []{#BrijBhushanVij .anchor}Brij Bhushan Vij
\[mailto:metricvij@hotmail.com\]

Sent: Friday, May 26, 2006 3:16 PM

To: National Math Panel

Subject: FW: \[USMA:36852\] Kilo-Shilas Re: Using Sidereal Days &
Sidereal

Years Re: Octaeteris Spreadsheet

Sirs:

I am taking the liberty of forwading my recent communication to

\<usma@colostate.edu\> and at

\<CALNDR-L@LISTSERV.ECU.EDU\> as input for the theme THINK METRIC
education. I

have remained on these lists since mid-2002 discussing various options
for

the Possibility of A World Calendar, from the view point of a common

man-on-street.

Some among my other inputs can be viewed at: <http://www.brijvij.com/>

my \'Home Page that is created recently and being updated\'.

Regards,

Brij Bhushan Vij

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--

From: []{#PatNaughtin .anchor}Pat Naughtin

Sent: Friday, May 26, 2006 4:33 AM

To: National Math Panel

Subject: Pat Naughtin submission to National math panel

National Math Panel\
Department of Education\
USA\
NationalMathPanel@ed.gov\
\
Ladies and Gentlemen,\
\
I am writing in response to Executive Order 13398 and your inquiry into
shortfalls in mathematics education in the USA. Specifically, I am
responding to Section 1 of the Executive Order 13398: National
Mathematics Advisory Panel that reads:\
\
*To help keep America competitive, support American talent and
creativity, encourage innovation throughout the American economy, and
help State, local, territorial, and tribal governments give the
Nation\'s children and youth the education they need to succeed, it
shall be the policy of the United States to foster greater knowledge of
and improved performance in mathematics among American students.\
*\
I am aware that not being a citizen of the USA --- I live in Geelong,
Australia --- could be seen as an impediment but I consider that I am a
suitable respondent under:\
\
*(iii) experts on matters relating to the policy set forth in section 1\
\
 (v) such other individuals as the Panel deems appropriate or as the
Secretary may direct\
*\
or simply as a faraway foreign friend of the USA.\
\
I am aware that the USA faces significant issues in the area of
mathematics:

Almost half of American 17-year-olds do not have the basic understanding
of math needed to qualify for a production associate\'s job at a modern
auto plant.

On the most recent PISA test, American 15-year-olds performed below the
international average in mathematics literacy and problem-solving.

Only seven percent of fourth-and eighth-graders achieved the advanced
level on the 2003 TIMSS test.

Students from low-income families who acquire strong math skills by the
eighth-grade are 10 times more likely to finish college than peers of
the same socio-economic background who do not.

USA students are currently performing below their international peers on
math and science assessments.

And I agree with Secretary Spellings when she says that there is a
\'*need for today\'s high school graduates to have solid math skills ---
whether they are proceeding to college or going straight into the
workforce*\'.\
\
**I am writing because I believe that almost all of these issues and
problems will evaporate once you have adequate metrication policies and
practices in place. I am writing to encourage you to support the use of
direct metrication in USA schools.\
**\
I recommend that your committee considers how best to encourage the use
of the metric system in schools, to discourage the use of old pre-metric
measures and, critically, to avoid conversions between measuring methods
altogether.\
\
Let me refer back to the beginning of the 20th century when Alexander
Graham Bell (1847/1922) said:\
\
*All the difficulties in the metric system are in translating from one
system to the other, but the moment you*

*use the metric system alone there is no difficulty.\
*\
That in a nutshell is a major problem of the current mathematical
education system. You have just spent 100 years trying to translate.
\'*from one system to the other\'* with little success. I suggest that
you abandon this approach.\
\
Speaking of Alexander Graham Bell, I would like to recall an address
that Dr. Bell gave to a House committee in support of a bill to switch
to the metric system. This was exactly 100 years ago, in 1906.
Fortunately, his speech, \'Our Heterogeneous System of Weights and
Measures\' was recorded in the March, 1906 issue of The National
Geographic Magazine, and can be found at:
<http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/laws/bell-1906-03.html>\
\
There is also further, more recent, evidence that this approach does not
work.\
\
Richard P Phelps in his paper, \'The Case for U.S. Metric Conversion
Now\' in Education Week (1992 December 9) estimated that each child in
the USA currently spends around a year of their life at school learning
how to convert from old measures to other old measures, or how to
convert from metric units back to old pre-metric measures.\
\
In this article, Richard P. Phelps states:\
\
*It (USA education system) teaches two systems of measurement in the
schools and, the confusion from learning two systems aside, there is a
cost to the time spent in teaching two systems. A full year of
mathematics instruction is lost to the duplication of effort.\
*You can view Phelp\'s article at:
<http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/1992/12/09/14phelps.h12.html> .\
\
When students from the USA are compared with students from other nations
it is no wonder that they compare unfavourably given this (conversion)
handicap.\
\
Lorelle Young, President of the United States Metric Association
(founded in 1916) estimates that about 60 % of industry in the USA is
now metric. As children who are currently in school leave for the world
of work, they will mostly work in industries that are already
predominately metric. As their schools have not prepared them to be in
the workforce they will have to learn the mathematics they need \'on the
job\'.\
\
Personally, I disagree with Lorelle Young; I think that her estimate is
too low. I travelled extensively in the USA from March to May last year
and I found factory after factory internally using metric units for all
their work and then, as I put it in an article in the USMA newsletter
Metric Today, \'Dumbed it down at the door\' of their factory so that
others would not know that they preferred metric units internally. From
an educator\'s point of view you need to investigate how much of this
\'hidden metric\' will be relevant to your students. Surely one of your
goals is to prepare student for work in industry in the USA.\
\
Somewhat facetiously, I wrote about my experiences in the USA in an
article entitled, \'Don\'t use metric!\' that you can download as a pdf
file from <http://www.metricationmatters.com/articles.> You might find
this amusing but I wrote it with serious intent -- to highlight the fact
that the USA is now all metric.\
\
**There is now no activity in the USA that is not wholly based on the
metric system.\
**\
Sure many deny this, but while:\
·    all medicine is totally metric,\
·    all food values are totally metric,\
·    every car, truck, and tractor is totally metric, and\
·    every yard that a football team achieves is defined legally as
exactly 914.4 millimetres\
they don\'t have much room to manoeuvre.\
\
In his 1906 address to the House committee, Alexander Graham Bell said,

*Few people have any adequate conception of the amount of unnecessary
labor involved in the use of our present weights and measures.\
*\
I believe that the cost of this \'*unnecessary labor\'* is still with
us. But I have seen few serious attempts to put a figure on this cost.
My own researches have only found three attempts to answer this
question. They are from Jos. V. Collins in 1915, Richard P. Phelps in
1992 (cited above), and some thoughts of my own in 2006.\
\
In 1915, Collins in \'A metrical tragedy\' estimated the cost of
non-metrication at that time as \'a total annual loss of \$315 000
000\'. You can find a full transcript of Jos. V Collins\' article at:
<http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/socl/education/AMetricalTragedy/Chap1.html>\
\
Richard P Phelps estimated that, *\'there is a cost to the time spent in
teaching two systems. A full year of mathematics instruction is lost to
the duplication of effort\'.* My estimate of the cost of this wasted
effort in the schools of the USA is about 85 billion dollars per year
based on the idea that 10 % of the education budgets of the USA is
wasted effort.*\
*\
My own estimates of non-metrication costs in the USA are based on a
Confederation of British Industry (CBI) survey of its members about
metrication in 1980 --- after 15 years of British metrication. They
found that:\
\
*\... the extra cost of continuing to work in dual systems of measuring
was around £5 000 million every year (in the UK).\
*\
For companies on which the survey was based, the increased production
cost for each company who used dual measures averaged at 9% of the
company's gross profit, and 14% of its net profit when compared to a
fully metric CBI company.\
\
If this percentage (9 %) is applied to the USA economy as a whole and we
make a bold, but not wild, assumption that it costs about 9 % of gross
turnover to use dual measurements (metric and U.S. Customary) then based
on a 2005 estimated Gross Domestic Product for the USA of \$12.735
trillion dollars it costs the USA about 1.15 trillion dollars per year
to use dual measures instead of metric units.\
\
My estimate sounded so outrageous that I was moved to compare it with
Jos. V Collins\' and Richard P Phelp\'s estimates of costs to the USA
economy. In 1915, Collins wrote \'Total annual loss of \$315 000 000\'
could be attributed per year to non-metrication in the USA. If you allow
for inflation between 1915 and 2005, Collin\'s figure for annual losses
becomes \$6 100 000 000 per year. If Richard P Phelp\'s estimate of 10 %
wasted costs in education were applied to the whole economy, the loss
would be about \$1.27 trillion per year. To paraphrase the USA Senator
Everett McKinley Dirksen (1896/1969):

**a trillion this year, and a trillion next year, pretty soon adds up to
real money.**

I wish the National Mathematics Advisory Panel every success with their
deliberations, and I sincerely hope that you will achieve the goals as
laid out in your charter. However, I don\'t think that you can achieve
them unless you boldly confront the issues related to the international
metric system. Please don\'t sweep it under the carpet yet again --- I
even doubt that your great nation can afford to do so.\
\
Yours faithfully,\
\
Pat Naughtin\
2006-05-26

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--\
**From:**[]{#NormanNancyWerling .anchor} Norman & Nancy Werling
\[mailto:nwerling@bellsouth.net\]\
**Sent:** Saturday, May 20, 2006 10:32 PM\
**To:** National Math Panel\
**Subject:** Full use of the International System of Units (SI), the
metric system

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

About a week ago, our ten year old granddaughter came home from school
and told her mother that they had learned the metric system.  I think
that her use of words was really accurate because once the children
learned the prefixes: milli, centi, deci, deka, hecto, and kilo; they
have really learned the system.  This is true because once these are
learned the addition of the unit name identifies the rest.  

 

I have often asked adults if they would like prefer it if our money were
not decimalized.  Invariably the answer is absolutely not!  Then I will
point the fact that property tax rates are quoted in mills per dollar
and ask what that means.  Seldom do adults know that a mill is one
thousandths of a dollar although they usually know that a cent is one
hundredths of a dollar, and that a dime (think deci) is one tenths of a
dollar.  So then I ask what would be so difficult to apply this same
principle to volume, weights, and distance?

 

The metric system is so easy.  The avoidance of its use by Americans
is sad if not frightening.  So many equate it with France (and
unfortunately too many have negative feelings toward France, even though
they befriended us during the Revolutionary War), where it was first
developed.  Few Americans realize that it has spread throughout the
entire world including virtually all English speaking countries.  Even
the U.K. is dragging itself toward metric because they need to conform
to the E.U. if they intend to be part of the European economy.  Canada
would have completed metrication were it not for our resistance.

 

I like to present this little problem to friends to demonstrate the ease
of adding millimeters as compared to fractions of an inch.  Add 1/64
+ 1/32 + 1/16 + 1/8 + 1/4 + 1/2 = \_\_\_\_\_\_.  Now add 1 + 2+ 4 + 5 +
6 + 7=\_\_\_\_\_\_.

 

Please add them before checking the answer lower on this email.  After
adding them and before checking for the result, please answer these two
questions:

 

How long did it take to add the fractions of an inch?  How long did it
take to add the millimeters?  Now scroll down to the answer.

 

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--\
**From:** []{#GlennMeselsohn .anchor}Glenn Meselsohn
\[mailto:gmeselsohn@yahoo.com\]\
**Sent:** Wednesday, May 17, 2006 8:39 PM\
**To:** National Math Panel\
**Subject:** Metric Education in America

I think the time is right regarding the use and education  of the metric
(SI) system in the USA.  I believe this should be the
**[only]{.underline}** system to be used and learned.  I have two
children (ages 12 and 10) and I teach them the metric system.  In fact
my daughter was the only one in her class when her math teacher (from
France) did her lesson only in metric.  Teach only metric the system
which makes \"sense\".

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--

From: []{#BillHooper .anchor}Bill Hooper
\[mailto:hooperbill@bellsouth.net\]

Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2006 8:27 PM

To: National Math Panel

Subject: Comment for National Mathematics Panel meeting

Mathematics education can benefit all students by emphasizing

measurement in the SI metric system.

1\. Mathematics education should use the SI metric (and use it

correctly) in all phases of curriculum, including problem solving

exercises which involve numbers that are measurements, even when the

subject of the particular problem is not the metric system itself.

2\. Emphasis on metric cannot be accomplished by a continuation of the

teaching of the old English measurement units. Eliminate the use of

old English units in all aspect of mathematics education.

3\. As a corollary to #2 above, the arithmetic of common fractions

(\"Which is larger: 3/8 inches or 5/16 inches?\"), mixed numbers (3

3/4 pieces of pie plus 5 2/3 pieces of pie), measurements expressed

in mixed units (e.g. \"5 ft 9 inches\"), etc. can all be greatly

reduced if not entirely eliminated from the curriculum. (Converting

from common fractions to decimal fraction and vice versa can also be

eliminated since metric is always all decimal.)

4\. Since 95% of the population of the world uses I metric in daily

activities, US students are at a disadvantage in the job market,

especially in employment with companies which are involved with

international trade. Most of the world wants metric products,

therefore businesses (and their employees) have to be familiar with

them.

William Hooper, BS, MS, EdD

Professor of Physics (ret)

The University of Virginia\'s

College at Wise

email: hooperbill@bellsouth.net

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--\
**From:** []{#GStanleyDoore .anchor}G Stanley Doore
\[mailto:stan@doore.net\]\
**Sent:** Tuesday, May 16, 2006 12:40 PM\
**To:** National Math Panel\
**Subject:** The SI and Video game platforms for educaton

International System of Units (SI)

\> The US Metric Association resource for metric education is far
superior to federal resources metric.  It\'s too\
\> bad the feds can\'t use the best of resources when they are available
and\
\> appropriate.  The federal government can waste billions of dollars
without\
\> blinking an eye on other non-federal entities.\
\>\
\> I expect the US DoEd could reproduce the SI chart with its own money
and put\
\> its credit on the bottom like our Rotary club has done.  Then it
could be\
\> made available to classrooms and libraries throughout the US.  To the
US\
\> DoEd, it would be just another piece of material (poster or flier) in
huge\
\> budget.  However, it would be directly productive and related
directly to\
\> education at all levels.  It cost our Rotary club less than \$800 to
print 20\
\> 000 copies of the SI UNITS poster.  So we\'re talking about a
minuscule\
\> amount of money out of the US DoEd budget for the entire nation.\
\> Also, why not spend a few million dollars for course software for use
on\
\> automated assisted learning (AAL) using video game devices like
PlayStation,\
\> Xbox, Nintendo etc.?  It would be for  English, math, science, US
History\
\> etc. to support the Florida school motto:  \"Anytime, Any Place, Any
Path,\
\> Any Pace.\"  It sure would be more cost effective than what the US
Department\
\> of Ed is now doing.\
\> There are more than 100 million video game devices around, but not
in\
\> education.  Video game controllers are designed for small hands and
they are\
\> used by Pre-K kids and adults alike.  The devices are inexpensive and
are\
\> designed for quick response interactivity; and, they can keep score\
\> (assessment) as a by-product.  This is  integral to learning material
for\
\> high school gradation.  Video game platforms are ideal for learning
since\
\> they have a triggers for quick advance and quick replay of subject
matter\
\> and they have a button to freeze-frame a graph, picture or whatever
for the\
\> learner to study.\
\> Since you need something federally supported, how about contracting
with the\
\> USMA, our Rotary club or Colorado State University (Don Hillger) to
produce\
\> and distribute the SI UNITS chart and associated user friendly
material such\
\> as rules for writing SI among others?   For example, we could
include\
\> weather stuff like a millimeter of rain over a square meter has a
volume of\
\> one liter of water which weighs one kilogram (2.2 pounds).  1 000 mm
of rain\
\> has a volume of one cubic meter (1000 liters) and weighs a metric ton
(2200\
\> pounds).  User friendly isn\'t it?  The NIST stuff is not user
friendly.\
\> Since the US lags other nations in science education, why not take
this\
\> cost-effective approach to help people learn something basic for all\
\> science?  Most people, including many educators, don\'t understand
that the\
\> SI is metric but not all metric is SI.\
\>\
\> I\'d be happy to work with you all on this.\
\>\
\> Regards,  Stan Doore\
\> Silver Spring MD

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--\
**From:** []{#MikeMillet .anchor}Mike Millet
\[mailto:fuzzball963@gmail.com\]\
**Sent:** Monday, May 15, 2006 4:42 PM\
**To:** National Math Panel\
**Subject:** Metric education

Hello,\
\
\
I\'m writing in to ask the panel to recommend that schools and other
educational institutions place emphasis on teaching metric units instead
of the standard US customary ones. My reasons  for this are twofold.\
\
\
First, as a recent high school graduate and soon to be college major in
electronics engineering , I\'ve been at a disadvantage when dealing with
metric units because even though I learned them, the lack of everyday
metric usage in the US has led to me having to take a refresher course
before I could comfortably use it. This is in contrast to all the other
educational systems in the world where metric is taught as the primary
and indeed the only system which they use.\
\
The second reason is that the United States can no longer afford the
burden that having two measurement systems places on its economy. A
proposed amendment to the Fair Packaging and Labeling act would allow
metric only labelling on packages sold within the US instead of the
current dual units system. If this passes it will be a major step
forward in metrication as Americans will grow accustomed to seeing and
using SI units in their daily lives. In order to do this however, we
need to increase the familiarity with it from within the public
education system, otherwise we\'ll end up with kids who don\'t know how
to use metric and are suddenly thrust into what is increasingly becoming
a metric only world, which puts them at a disadvantage.\
\
In conclusion, I\'d like to say that I don\'t believe the United
State\'s conversion to metric is an \"if \" but intead a when question.
The longer we delay the more we will fall behind the rest of the world
in educational and other opportunities.\
\
Thanks for you time,\
\
Mike Millet