2 Plus 2 Equals 5--Says 'Reform Math'

Washington, DC (TLS). Throw out all you know about exact science, precise mathematical calculations, and right and wrong answers. In 'Reform' math, all you need is an 'approximation' rather than a precisely correct answer.

Thus, 2 plus 2 DOES, in fact, equal 5, approximately speaking.

This balderdash is what your kids and grand-kids are being taught in public schools across the nation. And some parents are up in arms.

Some are even taking matters into their own hands after being mortified by the shocking lack of knowledge their children exhibit concerning basic mathematical equations. More than a few parents are charging that the Reform Math is causing their children to miss the boat on tests and college entrance exams.

No wonder the United States continues to lag behind other industrialized nations in math and science skills.

Apparently the government-run public school system continues to fail our nation's youth by dumbing down the requirements and skills needed to function in the real world. When I go to the local restaurant, I don't want the cashier giving me 'approximately' the correct change. Nor do I wish for the government's confiscation program otherwise known as the IRS to shortchange my refund as long as they can claim it was 'approximately close' to what they owe me.

Unless this nation begins to mandate certain basic skills that ALL school children must learn in order to graduate, then I am afraid that with super-powers like China looming on the scene, whose citizens run circles around Americans in math and science, the U.S. is headed for the ash-heap of irrelevance on the world stage.