If I could make one improvement in the language, I'd rename the numbers:.
I'd change "ten" to:"onety" and then count like this:
one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. onety!
Onety-one, onety-two, onety-three, onety-four, onety-five, onety-six, onety-seven, onety-eight, onety-nine, and then twenty.
Instead of having a language that obscures the number system creating years of unnecessary confusion, we'd have a simple language that teaches the basics of our number system. This would save teachers and students vast amounts of currently-wasted time which could be invested in more useful learning. Or allow for more PE, recess, art, or music!
To be clear, a major problem in elementary schools is getting the kids to be able to count, to memorize the numbers, and most importantly, to get them to understand the number system.
ReplyDeleteThe problem of place value and that once you count to onety (ten), you have a zero in the ones column and a one in the next column. The problem is that our language is based on history. Having a distinct name for each word up to 12 descends from the history of having a base twelve system. Base 12 is derived from counting with the ten fingers and the two feet. It's the basis for 12 inches in a foot and 24 hours in a day. The use of the "teens" for 13-19 derives from the base 20 system when people counted using all the fingers and toes.
But, our number system is based on base ten and the language, if it reflected this, would make it easier for kids to learn it.