TEACHING ABOUT PROFITS

The winter 1993-1994 issue of 21st Century p 21 reports that French electricity exports have now reached 54 billion kilowatt hours per year. Yearly sale of this electricity provides enough capital to build one or two new nuclear power plants. There are 56 now operating in France with 5 under construction. The same issue has a short piece on the "evolution of the math problem'' which we reproduce here as a tribute to socialism in education and in place of a cartoon.

In 1960: "A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of this price. What is his profit?

In 1970 (traditional math): "A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of this price; in other words, $80. What is his profit?

In 1970 (new math): A logger exchanges a set L of lumber for a set M of money. The cardinality of set M is 100, and each element is worth $1. Make one hundred dots representing the elements of the set M. The set C of the costs of production contains 20 fewer points than set M. Represent the set C as a subset of M, and answer the following question: What is the cardinality of the set P of profits?

In 1980: "A logger sells a truckload of wood for $100. His cost of production is $80, and his profit is $20. Your assignment: underline the number 20.''

In 1990 (Outcome Based Education): By cutting down beautiful forest trees, a logger makes $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? (Topic for class participation: How did the forest birds and squirrels feel?)'' Unfortunately this cartoon lacks humor, because it is too close to the truth. It also has a lot to do with the difficulty of teaching American kids the advantages of nuclear power policies and profits.