"Please write your numbers the American Way"

[MykesCrazy]

I went to visit my Sister last night. My little nephew asked me to help him with his homework, so of course I went right in... He had his new Homework updated with a little message:

Please write your numbers the AMERICAN WAY!

I never realized that we had an American way of writing numbers but apparently this 3rd Grade Teacher felt so.

The Left side is the UnAmerican Way, The Right Side Is The American Way!!


Any thoughts??? Are any other Americans Being UnAmerican and writing your numbers the incorrect way?

[Irishluck31]

What country are the ones on the left from?

my 4 has been open on the top for as long as I can remember. What exactly is that thing growing on the 7 and why is it there. I use the lazy one not the 1 like the key board says it should be.

i really dont like teachers, never have.

[pkagel]

Depends what I'm doing but sometimes I write my 7's like on the left. I always write my 4's like on the left and usually write my 1's like on the right. I guess I'm unAmerican. I wonder if the Navy knew that about me ;-)

[School Cop]

The 7 on the left is most European countries. The 4, I don't know. I always wrote my 4s open too. I guess soon it will be time to pay the piper for all my unauthorized 4s, huh?

I do usually put the hask mark on my Zs, though, especially on tickets. I don't have loops on my 2s, and I don't want the clerk to get the license plates wrong.

[leopold99]

i believe the 7 on the left is used in "computer speak" to tell it from a 1 (one). the same can be said of zero with a slash to tell it from O.

there needs to be something similar with i and j

[MykesCrazy]

I do usually put the hask mark on my Zs, though, especially on tickets. I don't have loops on my 2s, and I don't want the clerk to get the license plates wrong.

When I brought this to the attention of my brother in law (Ex Marine), he said that he had taught my nephew to write like that because of similar reasons...

My Bro-in Law was Very angry, especially for being an ex-Marine and been told that his son was not writing the numbers the American WAY!!

I personally make my 7's with the line through it because of all the Math Classes I took. The professors usually did it that way and I mimic'd it.

My 4's used to be the one on the right untill I turned in soo many Ads with customer numbers looking like 9's! I changed to the left.

My 1's are the ones on the right. If I can make a single dash, I will. No one gets confused with the 1...

But who knows?? Maybe my Bro in law over reacted.. I guess I will be continuing writing numbers the UnAmerican way!!!

[Taylor1430]

I write the 7 and the 1 the 'American Way'. My 4's I keep open at the top because I have horrible handwriting and if I closed my 4's, they would look like 9's.

[willowdared]

I think your brother-in-law should have a talk with the Principal.

[ateamer]

My 7s and 1s are American and 4s are un-American. Otherwise, the 4s look like 9s (which are probably un-American, since American 9s look like a standard typeface 9, instead of an l with a loop at the top.

I would teach the kid to write in Sanskrit or Chinese, or Albanian or something and turn in an entire paper in that alphabet.

[katzeyze]

I think that if that was MY kid his/her teacher and I would be having a seriously long discussion about being nit-picky so and so. If that is the only thing that the teacher could find to criticize then the teacher ought to be:
a) thanking the parents for raising a good kid
b) thanking his/her lucky stars that the kid WANTS to learn
c) getting a freaking life and
d) getting her head examined for being hyper-critical of a student

In this day and age of kids who would rather get high, get pregnant, get drunk, get stupid or get abusive she should be greatful that she has even ONE kid actively participating.

I'd also like to use this opportunity to point out that her remarks could be (if one wanted to get really, really, nit-picky) percieved as "bullying". It's at the very least belittling and and almost humiliating. I could go on a tirade how some people take a personal pride in being american, but I'll just say to tell someone (a child especially) that something about them is perceived as unamerican - just blows my mind. Don't teachers understand - especially in light of the Virginia Tech incident - how little it takes to steer someone, especially if they already have some kind of mental issues, (not saying by any means that this is the case with your nephew) around the bend?? Time to go have a drink and remind myself why I think homeschooling is a good idea.

[miami-k9]

The kid needs to be pulled out of that class as the teacher is an idiot.

[Taylor1430]

BTW, what was the assignment for? Could the lesson be applicable to what is being taught? It may not be nitpicking on the teachers part but fit into something they are discussing. An example would be Roman Numerals. I cannot remember a time in my life that I have used Roman Numerals that past V. Yet, I still learned them and had to know them back when I was in school.

[Bearcat357]

A. I write my 7 and 4 like what was on the left of this pic.....and the 1 is like the one on right....

B. I would be an *** to the teacher and ask her to show me where it says my kids have to write her way...... She should be happy that they can read/write...... Freaking idiot......

[amblnc38]

I guess that makes me a bloody Brit or something...

[WAPM]

I write my numbers the Canadian way. A little bit from column A. and a little bit from column B. But, really, this teacher is being extremely nit picky. IMHO the way people write is an extremely unique and personal thing. My grade five teacher used to pick at people who used circles instead of dots for their j's and i's.

The only time I write my z's with the hash mark is when I'm using it as a variable in math so that I don't mistake it as a two if I'm writing in a hurry and my printing gets sloppy.