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Show Schoolv and V-M Home tJ by Dr. Daryl J. McCarty Executive Secretary Utah Education Association National Metric VVeek observance Let's face it: Young people rarely get chance to demonstrate superior knowledge when they're around their parents. But listen in on this dialogue between a father and son at a self-service gasoline pump: Dad: "Here's something strange. They've changed this machine so it doesn't show how many gallons you're buying- Now they're measuring it in liters." Rich, his son: "Right, Dad. It's one more way we've converted to the metric system!" Dad: "That's terrible. Now how will I know how much gas I get for my money?" Rich: "Four liters is equal to a little bit more than one gallon. To be exact, four liters is one and six-hundredths gallons." , Dad: "Hey, where'd you pick up that information?" Rich: "At school, Dad." Schools are doing a lot to introduce students to the metric system of measurements. In fact, there's a line in the Utah State Constitution about metric education. It goes this way: "The metric system shall be taught in the public schools of the state." Teaching of metrics is by no means confined to Utah schools, however, At the recent annual meeting of the National Council of Teachers of mathematics, at least six of the sessions were devoted to metric education. The United States has not yet adopted themetric system of measurement, but i it's reasonable to expect that this changeover will come sometime in the future. This country is one of the very last in the world that has not "metricated." You're probably hearing and reading a lot about metrics this week. That's because it's National Metric Week. The purpose of this observance is to encourage en-courage each person to develop and maintain an awareness of the metric system. ! If there's anything you need to know about metrics, ask your child. Chances are, he or she learned the answer in school. |