Mr. Lang's "singing science lesson" didn't last long. It's not Ah Kang's fault, the cause comes from Principal Zhao Sihua.

Principal Zhao has been sullen these days. The scores of the district-wide unified examination were announced, and the mathematics scores of the first and second grades of this elementary school actually fell out of the top five, while they had always been in the top three. This made him very embarrassed when he met the principals of other elementary schools, and he felt sorry for the good reputation of this elementary school. Principal Zhao specially convened a meeting of mathematics teachers to study.

A math teacher put it this way:

"Every year some kids come here for primary school, this year, last year, and next year. These children look the same, but there are always some differences. It's like planting apple trees and harvesting apples in my hometown in the countryside. This year's apples are quite sweet, next year's apples may not be too sweet, and the year after will probably be very sweet again. ”

Another math teacher put it this way:

"The scores are all practiced. If you want to improve, you need to do more questions and leave more homework. But the above has been asking for a reduction in the burden of schoolwork. If you leave more homework, maybe some parents will oppose it and call the district education committee to complain to us. ”

The teachers all felt that there was nothing wrong with their teaching, which made Principal Zhao very helpless.

Akang, a crow in the park, was expecting children to sing under his tree after the "science lesson". Its wishes were soon frustrated. It's not because the classrooms for the after-school classes have been repaired, but because Mr. Lang doesn't come to class anymore. For some reason, Ah Kang took advantage of the recess to inquire about the children, and Tarzan told him:

"Mr. Lang is not coming. ”

"And who's going to give you a science lesson?"

"Math teacher, she took us to do mental arithmetic. ”

"What a waste!" Akon shook his head helplessly and flew away.

When Wang Daben came to Principal Zhao again to discuss how to promote his "Abnormal Child Training Program", the principal suddenly had an idea, and he said to Wang Daben:

"Dr. Wang, can our training plan be more directional?"

"Directionality?" Wang Daben didn't keep up with Principal Zhao's train of thought for a while.

Principal Zhao told him about the decline in mathematics scores this semester, and then said:

"People often think that whether a child learns math well or not has something to do with whether a child is smart or not, and if our 'Abnormal Child Development Program' can contribute to improving math performance, it will not be very helpful to promote the program to the whole society. ”

"Yes, the headmaster has a vision. I immediately consulted with my team to adjust our plan. ”

When Principal Zhao Sihua convened the mathematics teacher for the second time to hold a "performance analysis meeting", Wang Daben was specially invited to attend. Wang Daben was a little nervous, which was due to the memory of his student days. He didn't do well in elementary math, and he was most afraid that the math teacher would find him when he was in school. Now sitting with a group of math teachers, he feels uncomfortable. The math teachers respected him very much, because he is now Dr. Wang, and he is also an expert invited by the principal.

Wang Daben's cleverness lies in the fact that he knows when to speak and when not to speak, and he sits there politely and listens to what other teachers have to say. He got some important information. It turns out that the main reason for the decline in grades is that most children are not good at mental arithmetic, and this exam has a lot of mental arithmetic questions. The one who gave the exam thought that mental arithmetic was very important for future math learning, while the teacher here thought it was not that important. However, Principal Zhao Sihua believes that everything that matters is related to grades and grades.

Wang Daben knew that he had to stand firmly behind the president's views. He meditated for the next few days.

Wang Daben asked a math teacher to help him choose a "mental arithmetic workbook". He contacted the publisher of the pamphlet and wholesaled a hundred copies at a very low price. At the school's parent-teacher conference, he distributed it to every parent for free, asking parents to encourage their children to do more mental arithmetic exercises. However, the effect was not as good as expected, because even if the parents thought it was a good thing, the children were reluctant to cooperate. Even children like Natsuha who love to learn are not willing, and the children want to do what they want to do in their spare time.

One day, Wang Daben went to the fruit and vegetable stall downstairs of his house to buy vegetables, and Lao Wu, who sold vegetables, greeted him warmly. This vegetable stall is run by Lao Wu and his wife, and they have been at the entrance of the community for more than ten years, and they are very familiar with each other with the residents here. His wife is also surnamed Wu and is called Wu Xihua. Lao Wu is mainly responsible for serving food every morning. Before dawn, I went to the vegetable wholesale market to buy all kinds of vegetables and fruits, loaded them into a small van and transported them back to the vegetable stall. The task of selling vegetables is mainly in charge of his wife Wu Xihua. These two old people are farmers, Lao Wu went to elementary school, Wu Xian is illiterate, he has not been to school for a day, except for his own name, there are few words that can be written. But this Wu Xihua has an extraordinary skill - she is very good at arithmetic. She didn't use a calculator, she didn't use an abacus, and she didn't have modern tools like cash registers. No matter how many fruits and vegetables you buy, you can't go wrong when you blurt out how much you should pay.

Wang Daben chose a cabbage, two celery, two potatoes, and five apples, and after passing the scales one by one, Wu Xihua reported: "12 yuan 3 mao six, even if it is 12 yuan 3." ”

Wang Daben said with a smile: "If it comes out all at once, won't it be wrong?"

Wu Xihua shook her head:

"How could I be wrong? Even though I didn't go to school, I was selling vegetables all day long. It's as if it can jump out of its head. ”

When Wang Daben took back the change that Wu Xihua found for him, a thought suddenly popped up: This Wu Xihua should be a talent!

Wang Daben has a second plan of action, he wants to organize a "mental arithmetic competition" in primary schools, and there will be a folk mental arithmetic expert on stage in the middle.

With a plan, Wang Daben began to act.

The kids have a good time after school. The other children were running around in the park, but Natsuba was leaning over the bench and doing arithmetic problems on a large page. Akon wonders and asks if she hasn't finished her homework yet. She said:

"It's not homework, it's special exercises. Tomorrow afternoon, I will represent my class in the 'Mental Arithmetic Ring Competition', and I am doing pre-competition training. ”

As she spoke, she held up the piece of paper to show Ah Kang, which was densely packed with many questions.

"Only one representative from each class can participate in the competition, and the teacher appointed me to represent our class. She said proudly.

"Then I want to congratulate you and wish you a successful start tomorrow!"

"Akang, you must come to watch me play tomorrow and cheer me on. ”

Akang understands that children like Natsuha love to compete and love to compete. It's in the nature of many people to be competitive, and they are willing to do things they don't like in order to overwhelm their opponents. On the matter of "training mental arithmetic", Akang completely disagrees with the views of Principal Zhao Sihua and Wang Daben. Whether it is forcing or tempting children to do so many questions, it is a waste of time.

At sunset, children happily chase and jump, play and laugh, which is good for their development. Mental arithmetic is not included, which is more of a "life skill" than math. Akon himself is not good at math, but he still knows a little bit about math. You know that Akon used to live on a college campus for many years, and he had a very good friend, a professor of mathematics, and they used to talk a lot.

How much does mental arithmetic have to do with future math learning? Akon didn't go back to the math professor to discuss this issue, but if you think about it, you can see that these are two different things. For children like Xia Ye and Taishan, they are eager to know more about the world, there are too many beautiful books and fun games waiting for them, who are interested in spending time and energy for mental arithmetic. Principal Zhao Sihua took a fancy to this matter for his face and the reputation of the school, and Wang Daben must be keen on this matter for profit, because he is a businessman.

Akon was powerless to prevent people from holding a "mental arithmetic competition". Seeing Xia Ye's excitement, it was reluctant to pour cold water. Ah Kang also felt sorry for Taishan and Zhang Xiaotro, their mental arithmetic was always not up to par, and they were always left in the classroom to correct their mistakes, and they had a lot less time for free activities.

At noon on the day of the "Mental Arithmetic Competition", Wang Daben first dressed himself up in the mirror, with a new suit and a new hairstyle. He has invited a reporter from the TV station, and there will be an interview with Principal Zhao Sihua and him after the event. He also has to bring someone to participate in the event, that is, Wu Xihua, who sells vegetables. Wang Daben gave Wu Xihua a title: folk mental arithmetic. In the ring, Wu Xihua will PK with the calculator.

When Wang Daben came to Wu Xihua's vegetable stall, she was still guarding a bunch of radish and cabbage, and Wang Daben was anxious when she saw it:

"Wu Xihua, didn't we all talk about it yesterday? I also trained you for half a day, and I even bought a new coat for you, why do you seem to have forgotten about this?"

Wu Xihua said helplessly:

"Boss Wang, you don't know. Last night, someone from my hometown came to talk about it, saying that Lao Wu's nephew and daughter-in-law gave birth to a big fat boy, and he was invited to go home and drink full moon wine today. He left early this morning, leaving me alone to take care of the stall. I can't live without it today, let's change the day. ”

Wang Daben immediately jumped up:

"Eldest sister, eldest aunt and grandmother, you can't trick me! It's all ready, the people from the TV station have arrived. ”

Wang Daben is ruthless:

"Wu Xihua, I'll pay another three hundred yuan, and I'll cover all the rest of your dishes. ”

Wu Xihua finally took away her vegetable stall, washed her hands, changed into a new coat, and got into Wang Daben's car.

Two movable chalkboards are placed side by side on the playground platform. The mobile blackboard can be written on both sides and is fixed to a stand with wheels under the stand that can be pushed around.

Principal Zhao Sihua personally served as the referee of the competition. Here's how it went:

On the back of the two blackboards, the teacher has written some questions in advance. Two students from different classes stood in front of the blackboard, and as soon as the principal's whistle blew, the timer began. Move the blackboard and turn around at the same time, and the two contestants start to answer the questions on the blackboard, and the questions must be completed within the specified time, and the one who answers the questions correctly wins.

Before the official competition, the "folk mental arithmetic expert" performed on stage, and it was that Wu Xihua. Of course, no one except Wang Da knew that she was a vegetable seller. Wu Xihua's performance is the highlight of Wang Daben's preparation. Wu Xihua is a rural woman who has never gone to school, and although she has been selling vegetables in the city for many years, she is still afraid of big scenes. This time, Wang Daben relied on lotus-like rhetoric and hard grinding to push her onto the stage.

As soon as Wu Xihua came to the stage, she was dumbfounded when she saw the addition, subtraction, multiplication and division formulas on the blackboard. She couldn't understand it at all, and stood on the stage dumbfounded. Wang Daben saw Wu Xihua standing still on the stage, and knew that something was wrong. Wang Daben had a flexible brain and reacted quickly, and immediately saw the problem.

Wang Daben came to the stage and said to everyone, this "expert" is the best at "application questions", let's change the topic to application questions. Wang Daben erased the original question and picked up the chalk to write the question:

"Chinese cabbage 5 catties and 6 taels, 4 cents and 5 cents per catty; potatoes 10 catties and 8 taels, 3 cents and 2 cents per catty; radish 10 catties and 9 taels; 7 cents and 6 cents per catty; grapes 4 catties and 4 taels, 4 yuan and 5 cents per catty; fungus 1 catty and 3 taels; 20 yuan per catty and 8 cents and 7 cents. How much is it?"

Seeing such a question, Wu Xihua had a smile on her face and gave the answer in only 5 seconds. On the other side of the stage, a teacher pressed the calculator and pressed it for half a minute before announcing that the answer was correct.

After that, Wang Daben asked the audience to arbitrarily change the numbers in the question and add more kinds of vegetables or fruits. Of course, this is not difficult for Wu Xihua, she answered quickly and accurately. Again, the teacher accidentally pressed the wrong key, causing a misjudgment. However, it was quickly corrected, and Wu Xihua's answer was correct.

After Wu Xihua's performance, the official competition will be held. Akang the crow had been standing on a large poplar tree on the edge of the playground to watch the excitement. Because Xia Ye was going to represent her class in the competition, Ah Kang agreed to come and watch her performance and cheer her on.

It was no surprise that Natsuha was the final winner of the grade, because she did have the strength. But Ah Kang was not happy at all, he looked helplessly at Wang Daben and the principal with a smug look, and felt really sad for the children. It's more like a farce of humiliating IQ.

The "Mental Arithmetic Competition" was successfully concluded. A few days later, the education news of the local television station broadcast an interview with the elementary school's "mental arithmetic competition". Principal Zhao Sihua was very satisfied, and Wang Daben was very proud. Their efforts were not in vain.