MathPlus's definitions

Singapore

Math educators’ promised land that combines the best practices of math education from the East and the West—one such concoction is the “model method,” the problem-solving heuristic that has had global appeal, especially among homeschoolers in the US, in solving challenging word problems that would traditionally need formal algebra for their solutions.

Due to their stand on democracy and freedom of speech, a number of American educators have stood firm in rejecting Singapore math, although they acknowledged that the math curriculum of the “fine” city is a superior one compared to those used in a number of US states in helping to raise the quantitative literacy of the students.

by MathPlus October 3, 2021

X

The letter nonbinary people, who see themselves as neither male nor female, want to use on identification documents like their birth certificate or passport to reflect their gender—preventing them to do so would force them to lie about their true identity.

Although a number of countries allow their citizens to use X and O (for “others”), rather than M or F, on their passport to identify themselves, however, the odds of their being denied entry by border control authorities elsewhere are never zero.

by MathPlus March 17, 2021

Political Mask

When the wearing of a face mask has turned into a divisive political issue in a number of countries that protect their citizens’ individual rights, whose selfish behaviors in donning zero masks in public in the midst of a pandemic crisis endanger the health of the majority.

Alt-right politicians are pushing their political mask agenda, by pretending to address the anti-social demands of a noisy minority to win their votes.

by MathPlus March 9, 2021

Covid-🦃

When desperately needed foreign workers trained to slaughter and process turkeys reared for Christmas are not allowed in the country unless they serve their 14-day quarantine on arrival, whose absence would affect producers with low supply and consumers with high price.

Thanks to Covid-🦃, a lucky percentage of the nine million turkeys in the UK would have their lives spared during this 2020 Christmas period.

by MathPlus October 22, 2020

Christmask

When tens of thousands of children in developing countries are asking Santa Claus for face masks rather than toys to protect themselves and their parents (and also their teachers, doctors, nurses, and frontline workers) from the coronavirus.

Since both her parents lost their jobs due to Covid-19, Mary’s wish this Christmas is for Father Claus to deliver at least one box of Christmasks for her and her two younger siblings, who have been told to reuse their masks as often as possible to save money.

by MathPlus December 9, 2020

Mask Wave

When people from high-risk countries that have been hit by more than one wave of Covid-19 are so paranoid or petrified that they would wear more than one face mask each time—for instance, two masks for a second wave, and three for a third wave.

As Covid-19 second wave hits Singapore, third wave sweeps Delhi, and fourth wave grips Hong Kong, first-world countries are worried that their local supply of masks might be hijacked by a mask wave, as some extreme citizens take extra-precautionary measures to avoid getting infected.

by MathPlus May 25, 2021

Awardising

When Singapore parents proudly (or boastfully) display their child’s “academic achievement” or “leadership or volunteering award” on Facebook to tell the world how “exam-smart,” “inspiring,” or “caring” he or she is—or maybe to boost their own fragile egos.

Besides showcasing on social media the exotic food they’ve partaken of, or the branded goods they’ve purchased, during their overseas trips, few vain Singaporeans would miss awardising their children’s school achievements, desiring to get dozens of likes from friends and fans.

by MathPlus May 3, 2018