Teach Gambling in Schools to improve Maths?

[Rod Paradise]

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/78025-print.shtml

I can see the guy's logic - but it'd never get past the people that believe by not informing kids they are protected.

[Swordpoker]

Great article and good logic but I agree, Rod, it doesn't stand a snowballs chance in hell (now children, what are the odds of that?)

[boldie]

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/78025-print.shtml

I can see the guy's logic - but it'd never get past the people that believe by not informing kids they are protected.

I think it's a great idea...and can't stand the whiners who immediatly say "If you teach people odds you condone gambling"..what a load of bollox...Teach kinds woodcarving and you condone cutting down the rainforest.
blah.

[Sheriff Fatman]

The easiest way to teach probability and expectation is to use examples involving dice and cards - this is how I was taught at school and how most textbooks cover the subject.

I don't think he's proposing anything out of the ordinary here.  If it had been phrased as 'using examples with dice and cards' rather than 'simple gambling games' it wouldn't have even been a story!

[Royal Flush]

Yeah i don't get it, cards and dice were how i learned at school.

[bobby1]

Play darts at school to improve maths.

[Longy]

As a former maths teacher i always found this a fine line to tread especially given my interest in poker and sports betting. As mentioned above cards and dice are standard ways of teaching probability so this is already in place. I had a few things i used to do which were effectively gambling disguised, probability games based around horse racing etc.

Alot of the children found this interesting especially the boys, which was good as engaging pupils in maths is difficult to say the least at times. Though i have to say i did get some pupils after lessons coming up to me to tell tales about their Dads gambling habits and how they put bets on for them etc.

Also a teaching friend of mine managed to make a right arse of attempting to introduce gambling into her lesson. It was just before Euro 2004 and she has got the odds from the paper for the upcoming England vs France game, which were something like 10/11 France 5/2 Draw 2/1 England. So at the end of the lesson she writes them on the board and asks the kids what they think. Not a bad idea you would have thought.

So one of the kids asks why would you bet on France as you would lose money no matter what(fair question i suppose) at this point my friend goes "i don't know it makes no sense". Lol she knows nothing about gambling, and geniunley believed people would go into the bookies and bet on a certain loser. None of the kids picked her up on this and it only came to light that weekend when she told me and another mate what had happened.We started killing ourselves laughing and explained those odds are just profit you have to add in your original bet in the returns.

I suppose she managed to put those kids off gambling.