Project Math Access DVD 04 - Application of Math Skills - Part 07 Transcript Start Audio Description: Part seven; student interview. STICKEN: Peter, can I ask you a few questions? PETER: Sure. STICKEN: How do you like this system? How do you like this program? PETER: The payroll thing? STICKEN: Yeah. PETER: Yeah, actually it's pretty good, because then when you grow up you‘ll know what everything is. It's not like you know people, I don't know, like the first couple times people won‘t know what to do. STICKEN: Right. PETER: It gives you pre-... you get to learn how to like manage money and stuff. STICKEN: And do you believe that that really will teach you? PETER: Probably. STICKEN: I mean do you personally believe that or is it just something you have to do, because your teachers make you do it? PETER: It's both honestly, I mean it's like I do it, because I have to but it's also showing you how to handle money and stuff. STICKEN: Let me just tell you from a mother‘s perspective, I wish my children had gone to Albright Middle School. Good, okay. And then, what about math in general, what are your feelings about math? Are you a number-oriented kind of kid or are you more of a reader kind of kid? PETER: No, no, I'm number-oriented, when it comes to reading [moan], I honestly don't like reading so, I'll read but it's not like, I won‘t be like ‘‘let‘s go read and pick up a book"! [laughter] STICKEN: You like math. PETER: Yeah and plus I have a good teacher. STICKEN: You do, you do have a good teacher. So do you think prior to starting in this program where you're using real-life situations, with payroll and figuring out your net pay and keeping track of your expenses and so forth, prior to this, did math have meaning for you? PETER: Well, I mean I guess, but it's like I wouIdn‘t have known how to... I mean like... [laughter] STICKEN: Let me ask it a different way. Has this program, so far, helped you with your understanding of mathematics and the reason that you do things the way you do, add and subtract STICKEN: and figure out percentages? PETER: Yeah, yeah, to figure out, yep. STICKEN: Okay. So you would recommend this for other kids? PETER: Probably, yeah STICKEN: What‘s difficult about it? What‘s the most difficult thing about it? PETER: Oh, I know. On the time sheet, if you mess up, you can‘t erase it and go back. You have to restart a whole new time sheet because it would be difficult to put things in there. TEACHER: Or you could probably “for out" the whole line I suppose but... PETER: Yeah, but then... STICKEN: Right, great. TEACHER: And that will be taken care of next year when you're in 7th grade and you're using it on the spreadsheet. See you won't even have to do the calculating of it; you won't have to add that deposit. The computer will automatically do it for you. PETER: Oh really, cool. TEACHER: Yes, so that's why they're understanding the process here a little bit and then we move to where the computer does it for you. But as an adult, you probably will either use a computer, or like I say the Braille Note, and that'll do your computing for you, okay.